GREEN BUILDING TECHNOLOGIES

Introduction

At the rate of development the world is using the scares and limited resources found on the earth, it
becoming obvious that unless there are major changes in the mans thinking and behaviour, the future of
civilization as known today is dubious. This complex subject has no straight forward solution, especially
considering the sustainability is a goal for all to reach as they continually strive to reach toward it. The
green technology in the construction field will provide a partial solution in reducing the energy
consumption, water wastage, economical benefits, social benefits and reducing the pollution to the
maximum extent. The selection of technologies for the building construction should satisfy the needs of
the users as well as the development needs of the society, without causing any adverse impact on the
environment. So the following are such technologies used for the construction of green building so that
the energy consumption can be reduced to maximum effect, aesthetic view of the building can improved.
The technologies must be selected not only in the green way of doing things, but more importantly it
should be economic.

PASSIVE SOLAR HEATING:

Passive solar heating systems captures the suns heat within the building elements and release that heat
during periods when sun is not shining. South facing glass for northern region and vice-verse.Thermal
mass to absorb, store, and distribute heat. There are three approaches to passives over heating system direct
gain, indirect gain, and isolated gain.

1. Direct gain

In this system, the actual living space is a solar collector heat absorb and distribution system. South
facing glass admits solar energy into the house where it strikes directly and indirectly thermal mass
materials in the house suchas masonry floors and walls .The direct gain system will utilize 60–75%
of the sun’s energy. In a direct gain system, the thermal mass floors and walls are functional parts of
the house. The thermal mass absorbs solar radiations during day time and radiates the heat energy
during night time into the living space
 About one-half to two-thirds of the interior surface area of the floors, walls and ceilings must be
constructed of thermal storage materials. Thermal mass area should have an area of 5 to 10 times
the surface area of the direct-gain collector (glass) area. Depending on climate and with adequate
thermal mass, south-facing glass area in a direct gain system should be limited to about 10 to 20%
of the floor area (e.g., 10 to 20 ft2 of glass for a 100 ft2 floor area) the thermal mass floor area should
be about 30 to 50 ft2. This should be based on the net glass or glazing area. Note that most windows
have a net glass/glazing area that is 75 to 85% of the overall window unit area. Above this level,

.
problems with overheating, glare and fading of fabrics are likely (Arvindh Chel et.al Geethanjali

et.al 2017) .

Advantages of direct gain system:

1. Direct gain passive solar homes are the easiest to implement.

2. The basic approach is extremely simple: orient south, add windows, insulate and tweak.
3. The gains in comfort and heating cost reduction are immediate.
4. The designs have low environmental impact, especially if the greenest materials are used.
5. The direct gain requirements fit well into a multitude of architectural styles.
6. Direct gain passive solar homes are aesthetically pleasing.
7. Solar glazing can go on the front, sides or back of the house, whichever faces the sun.
8. Passive solar homes tend to have light, airy interiors which are bright and cheerful.
9. Direct gain designs get a lot of day lighting, reducing electrical bills and giving a pleasant living
and working environment.
10. Direct gain homes with open plan designs can be smaller than traditional houses.
11. The extra solar glazing often gives exceptional views of natural beauty.
12. The reduced air infiltration in passive solar homes means they are never drafty.
13. With appropriate thermal mass, solar homes are comfortable and warm, maintaining stable
temperatures throughout the year with little additional heating.
 2. Indirect gain

In an indirect gain of solar passive heating system, thermal mass is located between the sun and the
living space. The thermal mass absorbs the sunlight that strikes it and transfers it to the living space
by conduction(the process of transferring heat to living space when there is temperature difference
between the space and the material).Theindirectgainsystemwillutilize30 –45%of the sun’s energy
striking the glass adjoining the thermal mass. There are three types of indirect gain systems

1.Thermal storage wall systems(or Trombe wall).

2.Waterwall.

3.Roofpondsystems.

1.Thermal storage wall systems(or Trombe wall):

Trombe wall absorbs and stores heat during the day. Excess heat is carried out by passage air between
wall and glass through thermo syphonprin cipleinto the interior space .At night Trombewall vents are
closed and the storage wall radiates heat into the interior space. A thermal storage wall typically consists
of a 4 to 16 in (100 to 400 mm) thick masonry wall coated with a dark, heat-absorbing finish (or a
selective surface) and covered with a single or double layer of high transmissivity glass. The glass is
typically placed from ¾ in to 2 in from the wall to create a small airspace. In some designs, the mass is
located 1 to 2 ft (0.6 m) away from the glass, but the space is still not usable. A classical Trombe wall,
also generically called a vented thermal storage wall, has operable vents near the ceiling and floor levels
of the mass wall that allow indoor air to flow through them by natural convection. As solar radiation
heats the air trapped between the glass and wall and it begins to rise. Air is drawn into the lower vent,
then into the space between the glass and wall to get heated by solar radiation, increasing its temperature
and causing it to rise, and then exit through the top (ceiling) vent back into the indoor space. This allows
the wall to directly introduce heated air into the space; usually at a temperature of about 90 °F (32 °C).If
vents are left open at night (or on cloudy days), a reversal of convective airflow will occur, wasting heat
by dissipating it outdoors. Vents must be closed at night so radiant heat from the interior surface of the
storage wall heats the indoor space. Generally, vents are also closed during summer months when heat
gain is not needed. During the summer, an exterior exhaust vent installed at the top of the wall can be
opened to vent to the outside. Such venting makes the system act as a solar chimney driving air through
the building during the day.

Vented thermal storage walls vented to the interior have proven somewhat ineffective, mostly because
they deliver too much heat during the day in mild weather and during summer months; they simply
overheat and create comfort issues. Most solar experts recommended that thermal storage walls should
not be vented to the interior.(Arvindh Chel et.al Geethanjali et.al 2017).
2.Water wall:

The wall is
composedofwaterstoredinthetransparent/opaquecontainers.Duringdaytimewaterabsorbssolarheatand
radiatesheat during night. The present review has revealed a number of contradictory claims reported
in the literature. For instance, Balcomb et al. concluded that a water wall was better than a double-
glass wall in a winter application, whereas Liu and Shen argued that the water wall should be
converted into a double-glass wall because water was not a prominent heat insulating material
compared with air. Another example of contradicting claims is regarding the heat flux entering a
heated space through transwall. Sodha et al. found that the thickness of the water column between
the trap and the outside glazing should be smaller than the width of the water column between the
trap and the room. However, Upadhya et al. reported that the thickness of inside water column of
the transwall should be minimised. These controversies suggest that, although much attention has
been paid to the water wall research, the understanding of the complex flow and heat transfer
processes in water wall systems is still incomplete. Moreover, there are still many gaps in the
available information about the flow and heat transfer processes in water wall systems, Chengwang
Le et.al 2015.
3.Roof pond system:

The roof pond system acts as both passive solar heating/cooling system which uses water encased in
ultraviolet ray inhibiting plastic bed sunder- lined with a dark color, that are place donaroof. During the
summer day the roof pond is closed by the sliding insulation so that the summer heat is reflected and the
water on the roof release coolness in to the space without get heated. During the summer night the movable
insulation is removed and the water radiates heat out side the room by absorbing the heat from the interior
living space. Winter heating occurs when sunlight heats the water, which then radiates energy into the
living space as well as absorbs heat with in the water thermal mass for-night time distribution. During
night time in winter months, movable insulation is covered over the roof pond and hence it radiates heat
in the interior living space. It typically is constructed of containers holding 6 to 12 in (150 to 300 mm) of
water on a flat roof. These systems require good drainage systems, movable insulation, and an enhanced
structural system to support a 35 to 70 lb/ft2 (1.7 to 3.3 kN/m2) dead load.

(Ayyoob Sharifia Yoshiki Yamagatab et.al December 2015).

 To define the effect of the pool on different room conditions, the resultant cooling load necessary to
drop the temperature inside the room to 26 1C was calculated. These were done using a building thermal
simulation program called Ecotect. Version 5.2 was used.

The results of the simulation were as follows:

Cooling load Cooling load with Difference

without pool pool

Stand alone room 2133 1767 366

With insulation in walls 2006 1513 493

With two adjacent 1674 1213 461

rooms

With three adjacent 1504 1046 458

rooms

cooling loads are in kwh. The calculations show that the effect of the pool increases when the effect of
the walls decreases as expected. It also shows that in an actual building the drop in cooling load for a
single room is between 28% and 30%.

Isolated gain system:

An isolated passives solar heat gain system has its integral parts separated from the main living area of a
house. Isolated gain involves utilizing solar energy to passively move heat from or to the living space
using a fluid, suchas water or air by natural convection or forced convection (the movement caused within
a fluid by the tendency of hotter and therefore less dense material to rise, and colder, denser material to
sink under the influence of gravity, which consequently results in transfer of heat). Examples are sun
room and convective loop through flat plate air collector to a storage system in the house. The ability to
isolate the system from the primary living areas is the point of distinction for this type of system. The
isolated gain system will utilize15–30% of the sunlight striking the glazing to ward heating the adjoining
living areas. A masonry thermal wall will need approximately 0.3 ft2 of thermal mass wall surface per
ft2 of floor area being heated. Solar energy is also retained in the sun room itself (Arvindh Chel et.al
Geethanjali et.al 2017).
PASSIVE SOLAR COOLING:

A combination of proper insulation, energy efficient windows and doors, day lighting, shading, and
ventilation will usually keep homes cool with a low amount of energy use. There exists different
technologies for cooling purpose of the building (Arvindh Chel et.al Geethanjali et.al 2017).

(I) Ventilation and Operable Windows

O Place operable windows on the south exposure.

O Casement windows offer the best air flow. Awning (or hopper)windows should be fully opened or air
will be directed to ceiling. Awning windows offer the best rain protection and perform better than
double hung windows.

oIf a room can have windows on only one side, use two widely spaced windows instead of one window

(II) WingWalls

Wing walls are vertical solid panels placed along side windows perpendicular to the wall on the
wind ward side of the house. Wing walls will accelerate the natural winds peed due to pressure
differences created by the wing wall C.M. Mak *, J.L. Niu, C.T. Lee, K.F. Chan10 October 2006
 (III) Other Ventilation Strategies

O Make the outlet openings slightly larger than the inlet openings.

O Place the inlets atlow to medium heights to provide air flow at occupant levels in the room.

Green roofs:

A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation
and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers
such as a root barrier and drainage and irrigation systems. Rooftop ponds are another form of green roofs
which used to treat gray water. It also acts as a skin for nitrogen, lead, and zinc. It also a source of
phosphorus. On the thin soil of extensive green roofs which does not affect the concentration of heavy
metals in runoff water that means the concentration of heavy metals in runoff water were the same as
that in precipitation. Nonetheless green roof retained over 65% of the zinc from precipitation. In addition
found that more than 90% of the copper and zinc concentrations from green roof runoff were in dissolved
form. Adding green roofs to 50 percent of the available surfaces in downtown Toronto would cool the
entire city by 0.2 to 1.4 °F (0.1 to 0.8 °C). green roofing is able to reduce the solar heating of a building
by reflecting 27% of solar radiation, absorbing 60% by the vegetation through photosynthesis and evapo
transpiration, and absorbing the remaining 13% into the growing medium. Such mitigation of solar
radiation has been found to reduce building temperatures by up to 20 °C and reduce energy needs for air-
conditioning by 25% to 80%.

Green roofs are of two types such as

1. Intensive roofs - They are thicker with minimum depth of 5” and can support a wider variety of plants
but are heavier and require more maintenance.

2. Extensive roofs - They are shallow ranging depth from 0.79” to 5” lighter than intensive green roofs
and require minimal maintenance (Li W.C , Yeung K.K.A et.al 2014 ).
.

The costs of constructing green roofs depended on the components, including the growing medium, type
of roofing members, quantity of plants and drainage system. As indicated in the report conducted by
Environmental Protection Agency it was estimated that the initial cost were varied from rs686/- per
square meter for a simple extensive roof to rs18536/- per square meter for intensive roof. Maintenance
cost for both roofs varies from rs550/- to rs755/- per square meter. The maintenance costs for extensive
green roofs drops when plants covers the roofs entirely (Amany Ragheb, Hisham El-Shimy, Ghada
Ragheb et.al 2015).

Advantages of green roof:

▪ Reduce air-conditioning costs

▪ Reduce winter heating costs
▪ Up to 15 LEED credits
▪ Transform dead space into garden space
▪ Reduce city “heat island” effect
▪ Reduce smog and improve air quality
▪ Provide green space
▪ Reduce carbon monoxide impact
▪ Remove nitrogen pollution from rain
GREEN WALLS:

Green Walls also known as vertical greenery is actually introducing plants onto the building facade.
Comparing to green roof, green walls can cover more exposed hard surfaces in the built environment
where skyscrapers are the predominant building style (Jonathan, 2003). According to Ken (Ken,2008),
if a skyscraper has a plant ratio of one to seven, and then the facade area is equivalent to almost three
times the area ( J. Coma et.al 2014) So, if the building is covered two thirds of the facade, this have
contributed to doubling the extend of vegetation on site. So a skyscraper can become green, thus
increasing the organic mass on the site (Wilmers, 1990). The green walls can be divided into three
fundamental types according to the species of the plants; types of growing media and construction
method.

1. Wall-climbing Green wall is the very common and traditional green walls method. Although it is a
time consuming process, climbing plants can cover the walls of building naturally. Sometimes they are
grown upwards with the help of a trellis or other supporting systems (Wilmers, 1990).

2. Hanging-down Green Wall is also another popular approach for green walls. It can easily form a
complete vertical green belt on a multistory building through planting at every story compare to the wall-
climbing type (Wilmers, 1990).
3. Module Green Wall is the latest concept compared to the previous two types. It requires more
complicated design and planning considerations before a vertical system can come to place. It is also
probably the most expensive green walls method.
Fenestration technologies:

Fenestration refers to openings in a building envelope that are primarily windows and doors.The
fenestration plays a vital role in providing thermal comfort and optimum illumination levels in a building.
They are also important from an architectural standpoint in adding aesthetics to the building design. In
recent years, there have been significant advances in glazing technologies. These technologies include
solar control glasses, insulating glass units, low emissivity (low-e) coatings, evacuated glazing's, aerogels
and gas cavity fills along with improvements in frame and spacer designs . A simulation study was carried
out on 10 different glazing types applied to five different climatic zones in India . It was observed that
the annual energy savings by a window is dependent on not just the thermal conductivity (U-value) and
the solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC or g-value) of the window but also on its orientation, climatic
conditions and building parameters such as insulation level, floor area, etc. For passive solar heating
applications, windows with low U-value and high total solar energy transmittance are preferred. A
tradeoff should be made between U-value and solar transmission as most likely the measures to lower
U-value shall lower the solar transmission. In day lighting applications, spectrally selective low-e
coatings allow the visible light of the solar spectrum and block the other wavelengths that are generally
responsible for solar heat gains (Robert F. Boehm 2011).

Types of glazing technologies:

1. Aerogel glazing:

Aerogels are a class of open celled mesoporous solids with a minimum porosity of 50% by
volume. They have a density ranging from 1 to 150 kg/m3 and are typically 90–99.8% air.
Aerogels can be formed from a variety of materials including silica, alumina, transition and
lanthanide metal oxides, metal chalcogenides, organic and inorganic polymers and carbon.
Aerogel, as an insulation material was originally developed by NASA and is the lowest density
solid known—often termed solid air. Significant capacity of translucent curtain walling using
aerogel started to appear on the market in 2006 . Polycarbonate construction panels which
enclose the granular aerogel weigh less than 20% of the equivalent glass unit and have 200
times the impact strength. Light transmission and U-value of aerogel panels are a function of
panel thickness. For example, a 25 mm thick panel (equivalent to a standard 6/12/ 6 mm double
glazed unit, typical U-value 1.4 W/m2 K) would have a U-value of 0.57 W/m2 K, a light
transmission of 45% and a g-value 0.43 (solar heat gain coefficient of 43%) [19]. Such high
performance, coupled with low density and excellent light diffusing properties make them
particularly appropriate for roof light applications.
2. Vacuum glazing:

Vacuum space is created between two glass panes to eliminate the conductive and convective
heat transfers between the glass panes reducing the center-of-glass U-value to as low as
1W/m2 K. Most often, low-e coating is applied on one or both of the glass panes to reduce the
re-radiation into the indoor space. Although, the technology faces some challenges in
maintaining vacuum for longer periods, it is still a widely used energy efficient glazing option.

Type of glass Construction(glas U value G value Tv(light

s thickness, inter transmittance)
(W/m2k) (overall
pane cavity mm)

Energy
transmittance)

IGU, argon 4/12 - 16/#4 1.4 - 1.1 0.63 - 0.53 0.8 - 0.75

IGU, krypton 4#/8 - 12/4/8 - 0.7 - 0.5 0.55 - 0.47 0.72 - 0.68
12/#4

Vacuum 4/0.7/#4 0.5 0.54 0.73

IGU - insulating glass unit

# - position of low-e coating

3. Self cleaning glazing:

self-cleaning property is due to the photo catalytic reactions of a titanium dioxide thin-film
surface—once exposed to UV radiation, the coating breaks down any organic deposits, and
causes rainwater to ‘‘sheet’’ down the glass and wash away the loosened organic and inorganic
dirt and dust. The self-cleaning coating does not affect the glass in terms of strength, but it
somewhat reduces the light and energy transmitted through the glass by about 5%. For certain
viewing angles it also has a slightly greater reflectance than normal glass. The self-cleaning
coating is developed to last as long as the glass unit itself, and as it is integral to the glass, and
thereof permanent, it will not peal, break, faint or discolor with time. However, silicone or
silicone-based products may compromise the effectiveness of the self-cleaning coating, so
silicone sealants or gaskets should be used with care.self-cleaning effect, it needs an activation
period to be fully operational; around 5–7 days of solar radiation exposure is enough.It is only
suitable for external use. If there are heavy dirt deposits on the surface, the solar radiation may
not penetrate the dirt layer and reach the coating, it might then be necessary to wash off the
surface by hand and let the surface reactivate itself for a few days to be fully operational again.

Specifications of self cleaning glass:

U = 0.60 W/Km2

Tuv (ultra violet transmittance) = 10%

Tvis (visible transmission) = 67%

Conclusions:

From the above review the following conclusions are made

1. Passive solar heating system includes different technologies, in that direct gain system is more suitable.

2. Passive solar cooling system includes ventilation strategies for fresh air ventilation the wing wall
system can be suitable.

3. Green roofs and green walls are best technology to be implemented to grow the vegetation and to
reduce the heating effect in the building. But the green walls must be located at the outer faced so that the
vegetation can be exposed to the sunlight for photosynthesis process.

4. Fenestration technologies are the techniques used for the windows by using different glazing systems
by comparing the properties of different glazing systems argon filled double glazing system can be best
suitable.
REFERENCES

1. Alexandria Engineering Journal Renewable energy technologies for sustainable development tof
energy efficient building

ArvindChel,GeetanjaliKaushikReceived25October2013;revised14January2017;accepted27February201
7.

1. Wujek, Joseph (2010). Mechanical and Electrical Systems in Architecture, Engineering and
Construction. Pearson Education/Prentice Hall.

2. Energy and Buildings. A review of research and development on water wall for building applications
Ting Wu, Chengwang Le. Received 15 April 2015 Received in revised form 16 October 2015 Accepted
4 December 2015.

3. Roof pond cooling of buildings in hot arid climates Sahar N. Kharrufa, Yahyah Adil Department of
Architecture, University of Technology, Baghdad, Iraq Received 23 January 2006; received in revised
form 7 November 2006; accepted 27 November 2006.

4. Roof ponds as passive heating and cooling systems: A systematic

reviewAyyoobSharifiaYoshikiYamagatabissued on December 2015.
5. Energy and Buildings 39 (2007) 995–1002A numerical simulation of wing walls using computational
fluid dynamics C.M. Mak *, J.L. Niu, C.T. Lee, K.F. ChanReceived 27 July 2006; received in revised
form 20 September 2006; accepted 10 October 2006.

6. Urban Planning and Architecture Design for Sustainable Development Green Architect: A concept of
Sustainability Amany Ragheb, Hisham El-Shimy, Ghada Ragheb. Accepted on october 2015.
7. International Journal of Sustainable Built EnvironmentA comprehensive study of green roof
performance from environmental perspective Li W.C. ⇑ , Yeung K.K.AReceived 27 February 2014;
accepted 20 May 2014.

8. Green roofs; building energy savings and the potential for retrofit

H.F.CastletonaV.StovinbS.B.M.BeckcJ.B.Davisonb issued onOctober 2010.

9. Evaluation of green walls as a passive acoustic insulation system for buildings Z. Azkorra a,b , G.
Pérez c , J. Coma c , L.F. Cabeza c , S. Bures d , J.E. Álvaro e , A. Erkoreka a,b , M. Urrestarazu
f,Received 22 May 2014 Received in revised form 18 August 2014 Accepted 11 September 2014.
10. Green wall systems: A review of their characteristics.

MariaMansoJoCastro-Gomes issude on January 2015.

11. Emboided energy of common and alternative building materials and technologies by B.V
venkatarama Reddy, K.S Jagadish in 25 november 2001.

12. Renewable and sustainable energy reviews; passive building energy savings: A review of building
envelope components Suresh B.Sadhineni, Srikanth Madala, Robert F. Boehm Received on 7 July 2011,
Accepted on 5 July 2011.