How green are the ‘green’ homes
|
The Indian Green Building Council has come up with a new Green Homes Rating System.
|
You may have fondly chosen to label your home a ‘green’ one because you had gone for solar energy or rainwater harvesting. Or maybe because you had avoided cutting down trees and preserved the greenery in your plot while building the house.
But that will not be enough if what you are looking for is ‘green’ credentials that are impeccable.
A new rating system for homes and residential complexes just brought out by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) spells out rigorous terms for acquiring the ‘green’ certification. You will be required to meet a number of parameters in matters such as site efficiency, water efficiency, energy efficiency, materials, indoor air quality and innovation to earn the ‘green’ label.
The IGBC launched the new ‘green’ rating system exclusively for individual homes and residential complexes some weeks ago.
It is the first time that the council has come up with this rating system for homes; its earlier efforts were directed towards the commercial sector, leading to the launch of the country’s first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) India rating system for New Construction last year.
The IGBC is a consensus-oriented, not-for-profit council representing the building industry which aims to encourage builders, developers and owners to build green to “enhance the economic and environmental performance of buildings.” Its rating systems are based on the LEED system in vogue in a number of countries.
The voluntary Green Homes Rating System lays down a rigorous framework for certifying whether buildings follow an internationally accepted regime for construction based mainly on the principles of sustainability, environmental preservation and energy conservation.
It can be used as a tool by home designers and builders to apply green concepts and criteria and uphold these principles in practical ways.
The rating system covers individual homes, gated communities, high-rise residential apartments and existing residential buildings that retrofit and meet the mandatory requirements.
Benefits
A home that follows the parameters laid down offers benefits, both tangible and intangible, the council says in the abridged version of the rating system brought out recently.
A 20 to 30 per cent saving in water and 30 to 50 per cent in operating energy costs are the tangible benefits.
The intangible benefits include enhanced air quality, excellent day lighting, health and wellbeing of the occupants, safety benefits and conservation of scarce resources. Water conservation through reduced use and recycling and lower energy consumption through the use of efficient electrical devices are emphasised. The system encourages less use of fossil fuels and more of alternative fuels for transport and captive power generation.
It encourages waste management through segregation, storage and effective disposal.
The rating system aims at the optimal utilisation of day lighting and ventilation, such that it enhances the health and well being of the occupants of the home.
Apart from meeting certain mandatory requirements, which are non-negotiable, the builder can aim for different rating levels.
The certifications levels are: ‘Certified’ recognises best practices; ‘Silver,’ outstanding performance; ‘Gold,’ national excellence; and ‘Platinum,’ global leadership.
The certification levels are decided by the points awarded for following different practices.
The system awards certain credit points using a prescriptive approach and other credits on a performance-based approach.
The mandatory ‘non-negotiable’ practices that have been listed are compliance with the required statutory regulatory codes and soil erosion control with regard to site efficiency and adoption of rainwater harvesting systems and installation of water efficient fixtures in the case of water efficiency. The home should only use CFC-free equipment in terms of energy efficiency parameters and go for separation of household waste in terms of its approach to handling materials.
As far as maintaining indoor air quality is concerned, it should be tobacco-smoke-free and ensure connectivity between the interior and the exterior environment, by providing good day lighting.
This is just the starting point. For a home to secure a ‘green’ label, it will have to follow various other practices of achieve certain targets and accumulate points. An individual home would have to garner 32-39 points to achieve the basic certification; 40-46 for Silver, 47-54 for Gold and 55-79 for Platinum. The points for multi-dwelling units are: Certified 30-37, Silver 38-44, Gold 45-52 and Platinum 53-75.
To secure registration, those constructing the homes or apartment complexes would have to register themselves on the IGBC web site www.igbc.in on payment of a fee and gain access to the relevant documents, templates and other information.
Then all the supporting documents will have to be submitted in stages, as required.
The process continues in different phases with the culmination being the granting of a formal letter of certification and a mountable plaque once any of the certification levels are met.
T.RAMACHANDRAN
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Property Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Hyderabad
Kochi
Malabar
Thiruvananthapuram
