Developing energy efficient and ECBC compliant opaque wall assembly unit for warm-humid and hot-dry climate under Ministry of Science & Technology, Department of Science & Technology, Government of India (July 2017 to Ongoing)

Opaque wall assembly comprises a major component of building envelope that is directly related to building heating and cooling and to the thermal comfort of occupants. A CMIE study conducted in 2001 indicated that nearly 34% of energy consumption in residential buildings in India is attributed to fans while in the commercial sector nearly 60% is attributed to HVAC. This clearly indicates lack of thermal comfort in the summer months and the resulting use of fans and AC for providing thermal comfort. This is mainly due to poor design of building envelope.

While the Energy Conservation Building Codes (ECBC) launched by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), Ministry of Power, Govt. of India in 2007 provides U-values for opaque wall assemblies, roofs and fenestrations of the building envelope, it is presently applicable only for commercial buildings and is yet to be mandated by all States in India. Attempts to work on pilot projects compliant with ECBC have shown that very few options are available in the market for walling materials.

With technological advancement, people failed to continue the tradition of maintaining harmonious balance between buildings, climate and their lifestyle. Modern architecture has become a “conquest” of nature in the sense that, environmental conditions notwithstanding, a building could be given a sleek, clean and well-proportioned exterior façade, and the interior made as comfortable as required with the help of artificial devices. However, the drawback is that, such buildings consume an enormous amount of energy.