1

[1] Assistant Professor[2] Postgraduate Scholar[3] Professor and HeadDepartment of Architecture & Planning, IIT Roorkee

A STRATEGY FOR SUSTAINABLE HOUSING

CONSTRUCTION IN THE SEMI-URBAN

TOWNSHIPS OF NORTH INDIA

P.S. Chani [1] , Shailja Singh [2] and S.Y. Kulkarni [3]

THE PROBLEM

CONSTRUCTION SECTOR A MAJOR CONSUMER OF ENERGY

INCREASING CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY

⇓

INCREASING REQUIREMENT OF BUILDING MATERIALS

⇓

INCREASING ENERGY REQUIREMENT

2

THE PROBLEM

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000E

NERG

Y (

x 10

^6 G

J)

ENERGY CONSUMED IN MANUFACTURING BUILDING MATERIALS#

#

Reddy, B.V.V., Embodied Energy in Buildings, Dept. of Civil Engg., IISc, Bangalore

CURRENT 2020 AD

Additional problem - topsoil

consumption to manufacture

traditional burnt clay bricks

Brick manufacturing currently

consumes top soil (upto 300

mm deep) from about 1000

sq. km. of the available arable

land annually

THE PROBLEM

3

THE PROBLEM

HOUSING CONSTRUCTION

OTHER CONSTRUCTIONS

BUILDING MATERIALS NEEDED FOR

AROUND 3.9 MILLION HOUSES NEEDED PER ANNUM FROM 2001

- 2021 AD

THIS PRESSING NEED CANNOT BE MET BY EXISTING SUPPLY

OF BUILDING MATERIALS

60%

IMPERATIVES

TO CHECK ENERGY CONSUMPTION OF

CONSTRUCTION SECTOR

AND SIMULTANEOUSLY

PROVIDE LARGER QUANTITIES OF BUILDING

MATERIALS TO MEET INCREASING DEMAND

4

IMPERATIVES

TO BE ACHIEVED BY PROVIDING ENERGY EFFICIENT SUBSTITUTES FOR CONVENTIONAL BUILDING MATERIALS

⇓⇓

POSSIBLE TO MANUFACTURE LARGER QUANTITIES OF ENERGY EFFICIENT MATERIALS WITHIN EXISTING LEVELS OF ENERGY CONSUMPTION BY CONSTRUCTION SECTOR

⇓⇓

THEREFORE, ESSENTIAL TO ESTIMATE ENERGYREQUIRED FOR CONSTRUCTION

ENERGY ESTIMATION IN HOUSING

TWO MAJOR CATEGORIES

1. OPERATING ENERGY COST (OEC)

ENERGY NEEDED FOR HEATING, COOLING, LIGHTING

AND OPERATING EQUIPMENT ETC

2. CONSTRUCTION ENERGY COST (CEC)

ENERGY REQUIRED FOR CONSTRUCTION

5

ENERGY ESTIMATION IN HOUSINGCONSTRUCTION ENERGY COST(CEC)

EMBODIED ENERGY COST (EEC)

Energy embedded in all building materials in a constructed structure

SECONDRY ENERGY COST (SEC)

Energy needed for:On site construction work

Installation of electrical and sanitary fixtures

Providing infrastructureWorkers engaged in the construction work

Studies undertaken by various researchers highlight:

Significance of energy needed for housing

construction

Methods of estimating this energy

EEC W.R.T. SEC

EECSEC

EEC ≅ 80% OF THE CEC ⇒ EEC MAJOR COMPONENT OF CEC

6

ENERGY ESTIMATION IN HOUSINGEEC

EECT

Sum of Embodied Energy Values (EEV) of all building materials:EEV consists of the energy needed to:Quarry raw materialTransport to manufacturing unitManufacture materialTransport finished material to distribution outlet

TECT

Sum of Transport Energy Values (TEV) of all materials required

TEV - energy needed to transport building material from distribution outlet to construction site

•EEV - Embodied energy per unit quantity of material

•TEV - Transport energy per kg of material

TOTAL TEC VS TOTAL EEC

TOTAL TEC TOTAL EEC

EEV obtained by DA/BMTPC - most comprehensive energy values for

building materials in India

EEC estimation using building elements has limited application

EEC could also be estimated by breakup of materials required in

construction, but this also cannot be directly adopted for preparing EEC

estimates

Most suitable format for estimating EEC - the detailed cost estimate

Database of basic energy values/energy rates of materials essential to

estimate the EEC, i.e., Schedule of Embodied Energy Rates

Identification of the major contributor to the EEC ⇒ what needs to be

targeted for maximum energy saving ⇒ use of alternative building

materials

7

BOQ OR

DETAILED COST ESTIMATE

MATERIALS REQUIRED FOR CONSTRUCTION

EEV

EECT

EER

METHODOLOGY

ESTIMATION OF EECT

Using the format of the detailed building estimate

A detailed estimate requires:

1. Drawings of the Building/Project

2. Specifications of the Items of Work

3. Schedule of Rates

⇓

SCHEDULE OF RATES ~ SCHEDULE OF ENERGY RATES

8

Embodied Energy Values (EEV)

Embodied Energy Rate (EER)

0.00cum-Fine sand3.6.70kg-Cement2.4.50nos22.9x11.4x7.6Traditional brick1.

EEV (MJ/Unit)

UnitSize (Dim. in cm)

Building MaterialS.No.

2641.75MJ/cum

2223.00

418.75

4.50

1675.00

494

0.25

nos

cum

1st class bricks

Cement mortar 1:6

Masonry Work1st class brick work in foundations & plinth in cement mortar 1:6 (1 cement : 6 coarse sand)(Details for 1 cum)

2.2.15.

1675.00MJ/cum

1675.00

0.00

6.70

0.00

250.00

1.07

kg

cum

Cement

Fine sand

Mortar WorkCement mortar 1:6 (1cement: 6 coarse sand)(Details for 1 cum)

1.22.

EER (MJ/Unit)

Energy Value (MJ)

Energy Value

(MJ/Unit)

Qty.UnitMaterialsDescription of Item of Work

Item Code No.#

METHODOLOGYComputation of EECT using Embodied Energy Rates (EER)

EECT = EEC1 + EEC2 + EEC3 + EEC4 + EEC5

where EEC1 = EEC for masonry work

EEC2 = EEC for concrete work

EEC3 = EEC for RCC work

EEC4 = EEC for Flooring

EEC5 = EEC for Finishing

9

143.60Residence of Y.P. Sharma at Plot No. J-25, II Phase Development, BHEL Yojna, Ranipur, Hardwar

10132.63Single Storeyed Residence9104.68

Residence for Shri R.K. Bansal at Plot No. K-112, II Phase Development, BHEL Yojna, Ranipur, Hardwar

8

104.48Residence of O.N.Vidyarathi at II Phase Development, BHEL Yojna, Ranipur, Hardwar

778.66Dwelling Unit with Three Rooms6

73.13Principal’s Residence , Navodaya Vidyalaya5

54.96Staff Residence, Navodaya Vidyalaya – a Block of Two Units4

52.68Dwelling Unit with Two Rooms and a Front Verandah336.35

Dwelling Unit with One Room, a Bathroom and a Front Verandah

2

23.64Dwelling - One Room and a Front Verandah1

FA (sqm)

DescriptionProject No.

LIST OF PROJECTS

INFERENCESINFERENCES

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10PROJECT NO.

PER

CEN

TAG

E B

REA

KU

P O

F EE

C

EEC - MASONRY WORK EEC - CONCRETE WORK EEC - RCC WORK

EEC - FLOORING EEC - FINISHING

BREAKUP OF THE EEC

10

INFERENCESINFERENCES

ENERGY SHARE OF BRICKS AND STEEL IN THE EEC

BRICKS AND STEEL REMAINING MATERIALS

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

RE M AI NI NG CI V I L WORK

M ASONRY AND RCC WORK

CONTRIBUTION OF MASONRY & RCC WORK IN EECT

ENERGY SHARE OF BRICKS IN MASONRY

WORK

BRICKS REMAINING MATERIALS

ALTERNATIVESMasonry Units Mortar Mixes

1. Traditional bricks(22.9cm x 11.4cm x 7.6cm)

a. Lime mortar 1:1:1(1 lime putty: 1 flyash: 1 fine sand)

2. Modular bricks(20cm x 10cm x 10cm)

b. Cement mortar 1:3(1 cement: 3 fine sand)

3. Clay flyash bricks(20cm x 10cm x 10cm)

c. Cement mortar 1:4(1 cement: 4 fine sand)

4. Sand lime bricks(20cm x 10cm x 10cm)

d. Cement mortar 1:5(1 cement: 5 fine sand)

5. Hollow concrete blocks(40cm x 20cm x 10cm)

e. Cement mortar 1:6(1 cement: 6 fine sand)

6. Hollow concrete blocks(40cm x 20cm x 20cm)

f. Composite mortar 1:1:6(1 cement: 1 lime putty: 6 fine sand)

7. Aerated concrete blocks(40cm x 20cm x 20cm)

g. Composite mortar 1:1:7(1 cement: 1 lime putty: 7 fine sand)

8. Solid concrete blocks(30cm x 20cm x 15cm)

h. Composite mortar 1:1:8(1 cement: 1 lime putty: 8 fine sand)

9. Fal-G blocks(30cm x 20cm x 15cm)

i. Composite mortar 1:2:9(1 cement: 2 lime putty: 9 fine sand)

11

ALTERNATIVESDROP IN EEC USING ALTERNATIVES

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

EEC

IN

%

MASONRY IN TRADITIONAL BRICKSMASONRY USING FAL-G BLOCKS,CLAY FLYASH BRICKSMASONRY USING HOLLOW AND AERATED BLOCKS

ALTERNATIVESEnergy savings achieved in masonry work by using hollow blocks

and aerated blocks vis-à-vis traditional bricks because:

Size of blocks: Blocks larger in size ⇒ only 63 nos. of each type of

block required per cum of masonry work

As against

494 nos. of traditional bricks ⇒ their contribution to the EER of

masonry work is substantially less.

Saving in mortar volume: Larger size of the blocks ⇒ reduction in

number of mortar joints required per cum of masonry work ⇒ further

reduction in the EER of masonry work

12

IN CONCLUSION• Clear shift towards concrete based products for walling in some parts

of India

• Significant shift of about 11%, over the last decades; this figure expected to grow very rapidly, particularly in the large cities

⇓

• Especially true in areas where suitable clay for manufacturing traditional bricks are not available; in many of these areas concrete block are already replacing bricks.

• Manufacture of concrete blocks can be ideally combined with stone crushers ⇒ utilisation stone dust and chips (> 10 mm), which is otherwise a waste.

• Integrating concrete block production utilising stone dust is one way of immediately mitigating the effects of air pollution that this waste is creating

IN CONCLUSION

Clay flyash bricks and Fal-G blocks immensely useful as they utilise

flyash - an ecological hazard.

Flyash replaces clay by upto 40% in clay flyash bricks ⇒ reducing the

consumption of clay ⇒ Saving precious top soil ⇒ greater quantity of

brick production (by upto 40%) from the same quantity of soil.

Flyash also has a small calorific content due to the unburnt carbon left

behind as a residue ⇒ This carbon aids the firing of clay flyash bricks

in the kiln ⇒ reduced energy requirement in their firing ⇒ saving coal

upto 3-5 tonnes per 100,000 bricks.

Amongst mortars, 1:6 cement mortar (1 cement: 6 fine sand) has the

least EER

13

SATELLITE IMAGE OF ROORKEE

SEMI URBAN TOWNSHIP DEVELOPMENT

14

DRYING BEDS OF RIVER SOLANI

DRYIN BEDS OF RIVER SOLANI

RECOMMENDATIONSAnother major advantage - saving in top soil used in manufacturing traditional bricksConcrete blocks a suitable replacement, particularly in areas where stone or stone aggregates are available in abundance

15

RECOMMENDATIONSTraditional brick masonry work must be replaced by

suitable alternatives to achieve a substantial reduction

in the EEC of housing construction

⇓

This will help in producing larger quantities of masonry

units within the existing energy levels

Moreover, the use of materials like clay flyash bricks and

Fal-G blocks will help in dealing with the ecological

problem of flyash

END OF PRESENTATION

THANK YOU