Introduction
What exactly is green building?
A ‘green’ building is a building that, in its design, construction or
operation, reduces or eliminates negative impacts, and can create positive
impacts, on our climate and natural environment. Green buildings preserve
precious natural resources and improve our quality of life.
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Why we need green building?
• Buildings have a tremendous impact on the environment, using about 40% of natural
resources extracted in industrialized nations.
• consuming virtually 70% of electricity and 12% of potable water
• and producing between 45% and 65% of the waste disposed in our landfills
• Additionally, they are responsible for a massive amount of harmful emissions, accounting
for 30% of greenhouse gases, due to their operation, and an additional 18% induced
indirectly by material exploitation and transportation
• Simultaneously, the
• bad quality of indoor environments may result in health issues to employees in office
buildings, hence, reducing efficiency
• Also Building construction consumes 40% of the raw stone, gravel, and sand used
worldwide annually, and 25% of the raw timber. From the environmental impact
perspective, the building sector has a significant effect on the entire environment
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Advantages of Green building
• Green building consumes less water and boosts energy efficiency.
• conserves natural resources, produces minimal waste and provides healthier environment for
residents as compared to a conventional building.
• Green buildings also integrate alternate energy sources to produce energy onsite with well
balanced water and waste management.
• The selection of eco-friendly materials with recycling facility is another important factor which
increases the building’s environmentally friendly nature.
• The indoor environmental arrangement with better thermal quality, nice visual comfort and
excellent air quality are maintained.
• Green building uses lesser electricity as compared to conventional buildings.
• Green building also comprises on-site energy production with the help of renewable energy to
meet the energy demand. For example, solar thermal arrangement can help to make hot water
and replace the electrical geyser in buildings.
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• Green buildings cause minimal pollution during construction. It prevents air and noise
pollution during construction and operation and offers minimized effect on the surrounding
environment.
Different rating systems used for green building in India and worldwide.
• BREEM (Building Research Establishment Environmental
Assessment Method) UK
• LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)
US
• CASBEE (Comprehensive Assessment System for Building
Environmental Efficiency) JAPAN
• GREEN STAR AUSTRALIA
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• GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment)
INDIA
• SAGRS SAUDI ARABIA
Materials used in green building construction
Green building materials are composed of renewable, rather than
nonrenewable resources. Green materials are environmentally responsible
because impacts are considered over the life of the product.
For the reduction of wastage rigorous observation and regulation of materials
are necessary, with the help of the government awareness regarding waste can
be created. Integration of right material planning and ordering with higher
security is essential. An effective site management and involvement of
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incentive ideas are also important.Improvement of material quality and
storage options with better way of communication between top management
and workers can improve the growth. The utilization of stable, useful and
environmentally friendly construction material is a key constituent of any
good-performance building effort.
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1. Earthen structures.
• Earthen materials like adobe, cob,
and rammed earth are being used
for construction purposes since yore.
• For good strength and durability-
chopped straw, grass and other
fibrous materials etc. are added to
earth.
• Even today, structures built with
adobe or cob can be seen in some
remote areas.
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2. Engineered Wood
• Wood is one of the most famous
building materials used around the
world.
• But in the process of conversion of
raw timber to wood boards and
planks, most percentage of wood
may get wasted.
• This wastage can also be used to
make structural parts like walls,
boards, doors etc. in the form of
engineered wood.
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3. Bamboo
• Bamboo is one of the most used
multipurpose and durable materials
used in construction.
• These trees grow faster irrespective
of climatic conditions. So, it makes
it economical as well.
• They can be used to construct
frames or supports, walls, floors etc.
• They provide a good appearance to
the structures.
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4. SIPs
• Structural insulated panels (SIPs)
consist of two sheets of oriented
strand boards or flake board with a
foam layer between them.
• They are generally available in
larger sizes and are used as walls for
the structure.
• Because of their large size, they
need heavy equipment to install
however, they provide good
insulation.
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5. Insulated Concrete Forms
• Insulated concrete forms contain
two insulation layers with some
space in between them. This
space contains some
arrangement for holding
reinforcement bars, after placing
reinforcement, concrete is
poured into this space.
• They are light in weight, fire
resistant, low dense and have
good thermal and sound
insulation properties.
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6. Cordwood
• If wood is abundantly available and
easily accessible to the site of
construction, cordwood
construction is recommended.
• It requires short and round pieces of
wood which are laid one above the
other, width wise, and are bonded
together by special mortar mix.
• They are strong, environmental
friendly and also give good
appearance to the structure.
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7. Straw Bale
• Straw bale is another green building
material which can be used as
framing material for building
because of good insulating
properties. They can also act as
soundproof materials.
• Non-load bearing walls of straw bale
can be used as fill material in
between columns and, in beams
framework is recommended.
• Since air cannot pass through them,
straw bales also have some
resistance to fire. 14
8. Earth Bags
• Earth bags or sand bags are also
used to construct walls of a
structure.
• These types of structures can be
seen in military bases, near banks of
water resources etc.
• Generally, bags made of burlap are
recommended but they may rot very
easily and hence, polypropylene
bags are used nowadays.
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9. Slate Roofing
• Slate is naturally formed rock
which is used to make tiles.
• Slate tiles have high durability
and they are used as roofing
materials.
• Slate roofing is preferred when
it is locally or cheaply available.
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10. Steel
• Steel roof panels and shingles
are highly durable and they
can be recycled again and
again. So, these are the best
choices for green roofing
materials.
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Conclusion
As discussed at the beginning of the project, the
“greenness” of building materials is often a matter of
perspective.Ultimate choices on what material stouse
depend on the goals of the builder,architect and
owner. However, our overview of common green
materials provides a good summary of the materials
builders can use to rebuild properties to a green
standard.
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Reference
● Energy Conservation and Green Building
Textbook,Niralipublication.
● GreenBuildingMaterialsArticle,byVikramSingh.
● https://www.worldgbc.org/what-green-building
● https://www.slideshare.net/pulkitshukl/green-building-
materials-30035938
● https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_building
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