If someone is asked that which part of your building consumes energy the most, the answer undoubtedly will be “the heating and cooling system - HVAC”.

One of the ways to stop this gluttony equipment gulping so much of energy is to replace it with newly designed energy saving model, which ultimately will cut down on overall utility bills and increase the inhabitants comfort. The alternate approach is to use zero - volatile organic compounds - the “Zero-VOC”, or low volatile organic compounds – the “low-VOC”, to ensure that the indoor air quality is maintained with minimum or no pollution.

However these techniques are on the small scale measures. What’s happening out there is a greater challenge and hence Zero energy building or buildings with “zero net energy consumption, are deemed to be the best solution as of now. And while net zero buildings make their way, solar, wind and geothermal are likely to be the preferable ways of generating energy, as they generate the same amount of energy that is consumed by these buildings, solar panels and other equipments are becoming more affordable too.

Role of LEED and BREAM in Sustainable Green Buildings

After Paris summit and rising global warming challenges; LEED, BREAM and various building construction standards are taken into consideration seriously while designing building structures. And these are not the new comers. The thought process of suitability in building design incepted way in year 2000. This was when LEED - Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program was developed by the USGBC - U.S. Green Building Council. Since then, it transformed the way buildings are designed, constructed, operated and maintained, bringing out a new side of green building construction for the people.

Zero Energy Buildings, though difficult are attainable

While a lot of creditable construction ventures thrive to meet the impossible aim of net zero homes, project teams across the world are showing that net-zero is achievable. Technologies like 3D model simulations and energy modeling aids in enhancing the design coordination process of the net zero construction process. The future holds the guarantee of significant models and measures to deal with carbon footprint of buildings with help of cutting edge instruments. There are other popular approaches as well that architects are using for sustainable design, such as lighting and green roofs.

Though vertical garden is quite popular among architects given the fact that it’s incorporated in various designs for schools, skyscrapers, high-rise towers etc., the concept of green roof is quite an easy way for increasing the building efficiency and reducing the energy consumption. It also reduces the risk of water runoff in case of any unprecedented event. The whole idea of “Living” architecture is fascinating and apt for sustainable building designs. Lighting however makes more difference, as it represent up to 30% of building cost and hence often we see owners replacing lighting with LED bulbs, to save energy.

Conclusion

For one of the clients in Dubai, Hi-Tech worked on HVAC zones and lighting analysis of the Hospital Building. The project team created HVAC zones for the building, based on the model developed in eQuest using the ASHRAE 90.1-2007 standards, and a report on the building’s energy consumption. The client was expecting 10-12% savings on their total energy expenditure whereas, with the ECMs, they ended up saving 14%. But that’s the known and often applied energy consumption measure. What is more to lighting is the new conceptual technology is the OLED. The appealing aspect of OLED is its flexibility that enables you to integrate this in free forms.