| |AUGUST 20229Energy-efficient green building solutions can automatically turn off HVAC systems when not needed in order to maintain an accurate temperature and humidity in the roomconservation and significantly reduce pollutant emissions. Green technology aims at the active use of renewable re-sources ­ sunlight, water and wind through solar panels, dams, geothermal wells wind turbines.A green building's efficiency can be amplified by the adoption of innovative methods and technologies. There are many green building methods and technologies being used across the world like; Biomimicry, green roofs, verti-cal & rain gardens, Glass Fibre Reinforced Gypsum (GFRG) panels, smart glass panes and others.It is estimated that 30-40 percent of commercial build-ings is typically unoccupied at any given time. Green building technology makes use of motion detectors, RFID scanners, access card readers, and other sensors to mon-itor the occupancy status of the buildings. Whenever an area of a structure becomes unoccupied, the green tech-nology automatically shuts off lights and adjusts HVAC, cooling, heating, and ventilation options. Building own-ers can see as much as 30 percent savings in their ener-gy expenses by eliminating unnecessary use of energy in any manner.There are numerous reasons that can cause an un-healthy environment in commercial buildings, particularly where ventilation issues are a concern. When HVAC sys-tems are constantly left on, they can accumulate condensa-tion that allows unhealthy environment. Energy-efficient green building solutions can automatically turn off HVAC systems when not needed in order to maintain an accurate temperature and humidity in the room.A paper on Net Zero Energy Building Movement in India indicates that more than 50 percent of energy is used in buildings for occupants comfort like cooling and lighting. Energy consumption in the building sector will contin-ue to increase until buildings can be designed to produce enough energy to compensate for the growing energy de-mand of these buildings. This has provided with a reason to push for zero energy buildings in the country. This is a relatively new concept where the total amount of energy consumed by the building on an annual basis is equal to the energy produced on and off the site. This helps in reducing greenhouse gasses and has a lower impact on climate. However, there are certain challenges in the evolution and long-term adoption of green technologies in the con-struction industry. Currently, the initial cost of construct-ing a green building can be relatively higher than the con-ventional one, but there are numerous long-term benefits such as lower operating costs, better health and enhanced productivity. Besides, there are other challenges towards the evolution of green technology in construction like low awareness, expensive equipment, availability of experts, policy inadequacies, additional clearances and lack of enough incentives.The future looks bright as there are growing awareness programmes on the importance and need for green build-ings. The Last several years, green building construction has seen a dramatic increase in India making it the second largest green footprint at 3.59 billion square feet. Green buildings are projected to grow 20 percent in the country by 2018 estimated to be at 10 billion square feet by 2022. Leading drivers of this growth are the customers' demand, environmental regulation and an enhanced awareness of the occupant and tenant benefits of green buildings. Ener-gy shortage in the country has further pushed developers to opt for the `Green' options. Vineet Kashyap,Managing Director
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