Methods for Assessing Building Sustainability

Taking a BREEAM scheme and its comparable schemes from other environmental assessment methodologies, please describe their differences and advantages and disadvantages

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

ABSTRACT

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

1.2 RESEARCH DISCUSSION

2. SUSTAINABLE ASSESSMENT TOOLS

2.1 SUSTAINABILITY AND ITS PARAMETERS

2.2 OVERVIEW OF SUSTAINABILITY PARAMETERS OF THREE COUNTRIES

3.OVERVIEW OF SUSTAINABLE ASSESSMENT METHODS

3.1 LEED SCHEME

3.1.1 STRENGTHS LEED

3.1.2 LEED INDIA

3.2 BREEAM

3.2.1 STRENGTHS OF BREEAM

3.3 GRIHA

3.3.1 THE BASIC FEATURES GRIHA

3.3.2 STRENGTHS OF GRIHA

4. CONCLUSIONS

REFERENCES

TABLE CONTENTS

Table 1 Analysis of the Sustainable Parameters of USA, UK and India 6

Table 2 Comparison of main features  of LEED, BREEAM and GRIHA 7

Table 3 Comparison of the Key assessment criteria in the LEED, BREEAM and GRIHA 10

ABSTRACT

Sustainable assessment methods are increasing day by day in the built industry.The sustainable rating system is getting vast with people being more concerned about the energy efficiency of buildings .A lot of effort has been put to achieve and implement sustainable strategies for the development of the construction industry. Further research has been done to investigate the different sustainability assessment schemes. the research involves an objective comparison of sustainability performance. The agenda of this research is to compare the three most efficient sustainability assessment schemes namely LEEDS USA, BREEAM UK, and GRIHA INDIA. Bose(2011) noted that there are various aspects which are not been addressed to respond to the Indian context.

This research focuses on intending on those aspects and comparing them with the two most leading systems of the world that are LEED and BREEAM. This investigation through a comparison of the three assessment systems determines the pros and cons of the existing sustainable parameters. moreover, taking into consideration the similarities of their assessment criteria, benchmarks, energy performance system. The essay focuses on developing countries like India as there is a scope within the sustainability assessment tools to take over the health and well being of society.

1.    INTRODUCTION

Despite of individual approaches enhancing sustainability measures in the society rating system were developed which focuses on reducing energy consumption and enhancing the performance of a building for management and construction.

The purpose is basically the increase of energy efficiency and increasing the building performance  for their on site work and maintenance. This would help in people’s well being and heath. (J.Burnett, 2008) (M Evans, 2009) As “Energy efficient” is a subjective term, which can be judged individually hence it was necessary to form a common ground and rating or assessment tool.The paper reviews this tools aiming at distinguishing those aspects and declaring a technique to deal with them within the indian rating tool through a comparative study of this method with two of the most leading schemes of the world which are LEED and BREEAM.

The study is based on the comparison by their similarities and differences on of their assessment criteria, ratings , and the building performance

LEED India is based on per capita energy consumption of the country which is similar to USA , where as it does not match india’s per capita energy consumption as it is very low in comparison to other developing countries . However , for the purpose of this study GRIHA which is widely used in India will be looked upon. Scope of development of the GRIHA assessment tool and enhance its categories making it more advanced and beneficial for the society.

1.1AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The main aim is to analyse how well the current indian GRIHA assessment system evaluates and rates the sustainability of buildings. The comparison is done with the two most leading assessment methods in the world which is LEED based in USA and BREEAM based in United Kingdom. The objective is to identify those aspects which pulls forward a strategy to address them in the indian rating tool through the comparative study. This represents that how adequate is the assessment tool used in India and how it it designed to fit the cultural aspects.

Assessment tools evaluates progress against targets of sustainable development within a particular area and therefore enhancing existing observing  and construction techniques and promoting preferred behaviour against targets (Becker, 2004)

aspects of studies concern emerge from this assertion: the first concerns the scope of the GRIHA assessment tool in assessment to the LEED and BREEAM. this is completed via a comparative analysis of what is measured through the selection of Key performance signs (KPI); the second interest is in analyzing the quality of the assessment tool from the outlook of its robustness as a method of appraisal inside a given context and in this case is India: that is,  to what extent does the schemes helps a particular context and is customized as regards to socio-cultural aspects of that given context.

1.2 RESEARCH DISCUSSION

The research question involves about how the tools asses and how are the different from each other? How can we make structural and understandable comparisons? And how different tools promote different improvement measures for an architectural project

The research involves both qualitative and quantitative types of approach that has been adapted to inspect the parameters of sustainability within the rating system. It involves the analysis based on similarities and differences of the LEED BREEAM and GRIHA. Mainly focusing on the shortcomings in the recently developed assessment system like GRIHA and how the other two assessment tools can help it develop further.

The robust and credible building scheme plays an immense role in evaluating sustainability credentials and building energy performance.therefore building industry plays a crucial role in the well being of people as well as regional and global resource consumption. The countries which do not have their assessment rating schemes should aim at developing their own terms of assessment based on their own customised schemes for future.

The main aim of all the three assessment schemes is evaluation of  the environmental behaviour, energy consumption and the amount of carbon emission in a building. They go through various kinds of environmental problems such as the energy consumption , materiality , water consumption , increase in pollution levels and also indoor environmental quality.

2. SUSTAINABLE ASSESSMENT TOOLS

These are the assessment tools which were developed with the motive of increasing the concept of environment friendly building construction on this planet. Various countries have come up with their own ways of quantitatively rating the efficiency of the building. Whereas the rating systems are different in every country based on the climatic conditions and cultures. The parameters for judgment varies having the same aim to protect earth by reducing harmful construction (Radu Zmeureanu, 1999)

The basis of suitability for such kind of assessment tools in various countries is achieved from the local  minimum standards to form assumptions (Dirlich, 2011) and (Reed, 2011) , although they incorporated aspects of traditional architecture of the surroundings providing a fixed system to rate the building as a common ground to sustainable development. (Kibert, 2008) The need where choices of options are evaluated to determine on a performance basis the preferred option, and that on a regular basis the effectiveness of the favoured option is evaluated thus provides a rationalised method of goal-directed decision- making (Friendand Hickling, 2005).

2.1 SUSTAINABILITY AND ITS PARAMETERS

“Sustainable development is development that meets the need of this without compromising the ability of future generation to meet their own needs.” [The United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development].

2.2 OVERVIEW OF SUSTAINABILITY PARAMETERS OF THREE COUNTRIES

Total population of Usa is 4.5% of total world’s population were as uk having the minimum of 0.89% of world’s population . India being highly populated of about 17.13% of world’s population. This helps to understand that the difference in populations should differ in the building sustainability assessment tool within each country India having the maximum population out of the three has 2% of land area whereas Usa has 6% , this is also another crucial parameter for consideration Environmental sustainability parameters also depends on biodiversity and forest cove which is minimum in the uk and max in Usa. Therefore the preservation of natural resource criteria should also vary. India still needs awareness and adapt of sustainable construction within the industry Population under poverty line is another factor which needs to be highly considered by any sustainability scheme for promoting social justice and cultural sustainability within the country. India being highest percentage of poverty population needs to develop koi to address this . (SERVICE, 2001) (Sian Atkinson and Mike Townsend, 2011)

Table 1 Analysis of the Sustainable Parameters of USA, UK and India (SERVICE, 2001) (Sian Atkinson and Mike Townsend, 2011) (India, 2011).

Studying the countries and public awareness of sustainable design is scrutinized here by comparing the number of sustainable buildings in all the three countries mentioned in the table above . In this case UK takes the lead with the maximum number of sustainable buildings whereas india having the least number of sustainable building

3.OVERVIEW OF SUSTAINABLE ASSESSMENT METHODS

Table 2 Comparison of main features  of LEED, BREEAM and GRIHA (Sleeuw, 2011) (ICE, 2011)

The comparison between all three assessment schemes in accordance to their country of origin is mentioned in table 1 . Following are the main aspects of the sustainability assessment method in all three schemes

3.1 LEED SCHEME

LEED is a process which is known globally as a rating scheme for sustainable buildings. It has assessed in more than 24 countries. (J.Burnett, 2008) The current scenario is based on some necessary conditions and credits for upcoming projects. Every credit is based on various aspects of designing like site, water efficiency , materials and resources, regional priority, energy and atmosphere and indoor air quality. The ratings given in case of energy consumption credit and renewable credit depends on performance achieved. However, one point for all the other credit issues counts for the total points of the building. In LEED, 69 point can be achieved with four levels of awards depending on the number of achieved points. (certified,gold,silver,platinum).

There are 2 types of approaches for the assessment method of LEED

Credit EA1- optimize energy performance

This is a procedure which is followed by the accomplishment of prescriptive measures and is also known as prescriptive compliance path.

The whole building energy simulation

2 points are required for each approach. The entire building simulation considers for 14.5% of the total scheme. It uses a simulation program to analyse thermal analysis to specification according to ASHRAE standards (ASHRAE,2006) known as the performance rating method (PRM). There are two types of building models in this method , the first one being the baseline building model and second one is the proposed building model. The calculation of the rating system is based on the annual energy cost against the average cost of the baseline building

3.1.1 STRENGTHS LEED

The LEED system works on the principle of post occupancy and the well being other people. The post occupancy evaluation provides the scheme operators with a valuable feedback on how effective the particular credits are. Also the heat island effect can also be controlled by planting green trees and by using shading devices. Thermal comfort is provided by other schemes but LEED confirms it by verifying after the building is in use. LEED also promotes the use of mechanical ventilators to refine the air quality. It works in reference to the USA climate . (J.Burnett, 2008)

3.1.2 LEED INDIA

Is based on per capita energy consumption of country similar to USA were as it doesn’t work in India’s per capita energy consumption is very low as compared to other developed countries. This is why LEED does not  work for major buildings and therefore is not a scheme for comparison in this research.

3.2 BREEAM

BREEAM is another sustainable building rating system for buildings in UK. There is a particular benchmark for a building regulation to assess. A new development is in process called the BREEAM international which has been formed for various countries . the various issues on which the assessment scheme depends are energy consumption, transportation, water efficiency, sustainable material, land use management and pollution level. The assessments includes and total of 102 credits which are available . the final score on the credits is determined by the percentage calculated based on the credits available and the number of credits achieved for each category and a weighing factor. (Government,2008)

3.2.1 STRENGTHS OF BREEAM

There are 5 levels of awards given by BREEAM to the building.Categorised as Unclassified (<30%), Pass (_30%), Good (_45%), Very Good (_55%), Excellent (_70%) and Outstanding (_85%) . (Sleeuw, 2011)

Life cycle cost analysis is a part of the appraisal in BREEAM. (Barlow,  2011  transport seen with great importance on the system. A book named Green Book Live and the Green Guide to Specification for green material has been started by BREEAM  (Sleeuw, 2011)

3.3 GRIHA

Green star rating for integrated habitat assessment is a green building rating system curated by TERI and developed by the ministry of new and renewable energy , government of india november 1 2007. A vast number of projects across india of varying scale and functions are being developed based on GRIHA guideline. The rating system was started to cater the building industry of india. It is a quantitative and qualitative tool with assessment criteria to measure the environmental performance of the building. It connects 2 aspects of assessment, the existing practicing and the upcoming sustainable concepts within the indian context. It works on various aspects such as reducing thermal stress, improving the energy efficiency of the building,using limited resources.

The new scheme implemented by GRIHA for new construction is with five star rating. It focuses on passive design strategies to create thermal comfort. GRIHA qualification requires minimum 32 criterias and their satisfaction. The approval is valid for 5 years with regular audits till the time its valid. (TERI, n.d)

3.3.1 THE BASIC FEATURES GRIHA

The scheme has been started to help design and asses the new buildings or the buildings at an initial stage . the assessment in GRIHA is based on its predicted performance over its entire life cycle . the evaluation is based on these stages

Stage 1 – pre construction – this is based in initial times and is of major concern to the kind of soil , kind of land ,the location of the site, kind of vegetation on the site before the building is started , landscape etc

Stage 2 – Building planning and construction stage- reduction of energy and conservation of resources for the residents well being. Reuse and utilize resources. Resources which are considered are land water energy air and green cover

Stage 3 – maintenance and building operation stage – the maintenance system of a building when its operational , monitoring of energy consumption and occupants health.

3.3.2 STRENGTHS OF GRIHA

Climate plays a crucial role while designing with minimum use of energy in the assessment made by GRIHA.In a place like India noise is a major aspect to be concerned about, therefore GRIHA focuses on the reduction of noise pollution in the construction process.

Similar to LEED post occupancy in which the building can be inspected anytime in 5 years of validity. In india landscapes are given a lot of importance , so as by GRIHS assessors, less water used in landscapes gives a higher rating with good points. (TERI ,n.d.)

Table 3 Comparison of the Key assessment criteria in the LEED, BREEAM and GRIHA

4. CONCLUSIONS

The aim of the research was to examine the capability of the GRIHA  assessment tool now use in a developing country like india by the process of designing , building efficiency and the construction process as the means to judge the efficiency of buildings. The main motive for the research was to check id GRIHA tool in reference to other more widely used tools in the world would be able to compare to other tools. Therefore the most widely used assessment schemes LEED-USA and BREEAM-UK were used to assess the objectivity present in the use of GRIHA-INDIA

Coming to a conclusion that BREEAM has the most number of environmental categories and is much more detailed and efficient than LEED and GRIHA. The evaluation process of all the three tools being satisfactory.

The upgradation of BREEAM and LEEDS systems have been ongoing since years now , and the scope of their development is getting more refined with the increase in environment categories and life cycle dynamics of environmental change as well as the post occupancy evaluation in case of LEED.

There are a various differences to understand.From the rating benchmark it is believed that BREEAM has the most advanced and efficient scoring system and is considered to be the most structured and well planned. It is also seen from the study that BREEAM has larger scope of sustainability with more assessed categories than LEED and GRIHA

India being a developing country with the maximum number of people is meant to have special credit categories taking in consideration the health of the community.

Therefor a huge difference is there in social cultural and economic aspect.

Comfort with the same level of satisfaction cannot be achieved with general system schemes.

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