siliconindia | | November 20189As of now, consumers want green and eco-friendly real estate, and it is the way forward in the industry, with more & more developers adopting green practices in constructionEnvironmental Design), or GRIHA council (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment). This has an exhaustive set of guidelines which require a highly disciplined development approach. Specific mandatory requirements and green credits are also applicable. Projects can qualify for pre-certification once the developers have incorporated the provisions in the project's design and submitted the relevant documents. The final certification is awarded once the project is complete. The developer, at every step of project completion, is required to provide all supporting documents. This must include information on how and to what degree the developer intends to adhere to the prescribed certification norms.Measures Taken by DevelopersReal estate developers and builders to go green in both residential and commercial properties have undertaken a slew of moves. Rainwater harvesting is one of the most critical green measures undertaken at green projects. The government mandates that any site of more than 60 ft. by 90 ft. dimension should possess a rainwater harvesting system. Pits and wells in the surroundings can be recharged, and no excess water is wasted and instead sent into the storm water drains. Rainwater collected from the rooftops is then recycled to flush tanks, watering lawns and even washing vehicles.Solar PV panels are installed in most buildings to generate electricity, which serves to reduce the load on energy consumption by the building. Besides this, the energy fixtures in common areas and all public areas are green compliant. Most have shifted to LED bulbs and smart lighting to reduce a load of power drawn. Highly efficient water-cooled chillers with a high coefficient of performance are used in the green buildings. The high-performance glass is also used on the façade and energy efficient Air Handling Units motor integrated with VFD. All these are known to consume less power. They also use high SRI (Solar Reflective index) paint that is coated on the terrace roof to minimise the heat island effect. This in turn reduces the AC load in the building. Many builders have opted for advanced sustainable practices such as zero net emissions, which are accounted for Zero-energy buildings. Zero energy buildings are defined as buildings that produce as much energy as they consume over a full year. `Zero energy' states that the heat generated on-site through renewable sources such as wind & sun is equal to the energy used by the building when annual accounting is undertaken.Most projects have stopped the use of conventional clay bricks and now use eco-friendly fly ash bricks. Other envi-ronment-friendly construction materials like fly ash-based concrete, glass, aluminium, floor tiles, ceiling tiles, paver blocks, and certified wood are used to help sustainability and green practices. This also reduces the carbon footprint by using construction materials that are procured locally or no more than a distance of 400 kilometers from the site. Developers are implementing practices for controlling soil erosion and sedimentation at their sites to avoid air and land pollution.Right now, the cost of machinery and the equipment used in green constructions is higher than conventional buildings, but it is expected that once the demand for more green structures goes up, the cost of this kind of equipment will come down. As of now, consumers want green and eco-friendly real estate, and it is the way forward in the industry, with more & more developers adopting green practices in construction.
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