Energy efficient buildings

Energy efficient buildings Dr J D Bapat The public sector must be the front-runner in raising energy-efficiency standards for buildings, according to 45 European cities that have come together to contribute to a review of EU laws regarding the energy performance of buildings. The cities, from 18 EU member states, have united in pursuit of sustainable communities by integrating energy-efficiency improvement techniques and the use of renewable energy sources. They argue that the revamped Energy Performance of Buildings Directive should oblige authorities to display energy-performance certificates in visible places in all public buildings. In addition, all new public buildings should exceed national regulations by a certain percentage, they recommend. The key recommendations include: Lowering the current 1000m2 threshold required for buildings undergoing a major renovation in order to meet specific efficiency standards, Including final energy-use figures, as well as the corresponding primary energy-use and CO2-emissions ratings, in energy performance certificates, and; Creating a certified professional category, introducing certification to guarantee the quality of inspections and energy-performance certificates. The EU has set 20% emissions reduction goal by 2020. Preliminary findings indicate that the first 26 cities alone should achieve CO2 emission reductions of 21,000 tonnes per year. The initiative, launched by the EU executive, comprises 18 projects across Europe working to become as self-sufficient regarding energy supply as possible, all of which could contribute to the revised directive. For example, the four French cities participating in the initiative managed to raise standards nationally by introducing higher standards into local tender processes. Source: EurActiv.com, 16 January 2009 Question: Discuss various ways in which buildings could be made energy efficient Concrete home of the future: Concrete home of the future should incorporate a range of concrete attributes, to promote concrete as a sustainable building material. Read more .... ....

Housing for all CII formula

Housing for All : CII formula Dr J D Bapat The prevailing high interest rate has dampened the overall demand and has severely affected the purchasing power for housing , thus making it a distant dream of a common man. The 5% subsidy approved by the Union Cabinet, Government of India, for Economically Weaker Section(EWS) and Low Income Group (LIG) is thus a move in the right direction which will serve the twin objective of providing much needed relief to general masses and at the same time boosting demand in the economy. The Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) has called for supplementary measures to further strengthen it. The cost and the availability of the land is a major bottleneck in making housing affordable. Land is limited in cities and cost of land is growing exponentially. There is, therefore, an urgent need to increase the supply of land at affordable prices. CII has particularly suggested: Increase the Municipal Limits of the Existing Cities : The city centers in India are already saturated in terms of space and capacity of infrastructure. The land that is available in the necessary magnitude is in the periphery of the cities. In order increase the supply of land, one of the most effective solutions is to increase the municipal limits of the existing cities. However, this needs to followed with a very committed, time-bound programme to upgrade the infrastructure of the expanded areas, particularly the accessibility through public transport. Simplify the process of conversion of land from agricultural to residential/ commercial : The land that is available in periphery of cities most of the time is agriculture land.The development of a residential project in such areas would require the conversion of land from agricultural to residential/ commercial. This process represents a major procedural bottleneck and needs simplification. Provide infrastructure status to Integrated Township Development: Another measure would be to encourage development of tier II and III cities and the construction of integrated satellite townships. The supply of well developed and commercially viable supply of land would bring down the prices in the current markets. A major recommendation in this respect is to provide infrastructure status to Integrated Township Development. Relax Floor Space Index (FSI) policy with a thrust to develop existing infrastructure: The FSI policy, if liberal, could open up a supply of land in the existing city centers. Allocate specific land in the Master Plan for economically weaker section (EWS) of the community: This land could be made available at a reasonable rate to developers to build affordable housing meant for economically weaker section of the society. In addition to the above, CII has also suggested that government should consider either waiving off or substantially reducing the stamp duty for EWS and also promotion of appropriate low cost housing technologies. With the phenomenal increase in population and urbanisation, the shortage of housing is expected to increase from 24.7 million dwelling units in 2007 to 26.5 dwelling units by 2011. 90% of the shortage of housing is in the urban segment. Any fillip to this segment of housing will spur economic activities, stimulate demand and generate employment. Question: What is your formula to make housing affordable to urban middle class ?