Causes of Urban Heat Island:

•Low Albedo Materials: According to Bouyer, Albedo is the ratio of the reflected solar energy to the
incident solar energy. If the albedo of the urban surface is low, it will store more solar energy, causing an
increase of urban temperature.
•Paved and Impermeable Surfaces: Paved over surfaces, such as roads and parking lots, can absorb
solar radiation as heat.
•Thermal Mass: Buildings and infrastructures contain a lot of thermal mass, which results in absorbing a
lot of heat during the day and are slow to emit it at night.
•Dark Surfaces: Dark roofs absorb more energy into the building as heat, so they get hotter than lighter-
coloured surfaces.
•Lack of Vegetation: Plants and trees provide shade and keep the temperature cool through
evapotranspiration. But areas with paved surfaces do not have this luxury.
•Climate Change: Extreme heat waves in urban areas lead to urban heat island formation.
•Urban Canopy: The heat reflected by a building is trapped by the buildings, which is known as the
urban canopy. UHI is also formed due to the factor of urban canopy as well.
Vermiculite Vermiculite in its natural form looks a lot like
mica, with a layered rock appearance
EU_India_CECP_RI_report_on_low_embodied_energy_building_materials.pdf

Energy efficient buildings are key to reducing the

global Green-house gas (GHG) emissions, however,
the energy, water, and related carbon savings
achieved once a new building is occupied can take a
long time to overcome the embodied carbon that
was emitted during its construction.5 Research
suggests that new buildings can take anywhere
between 10—80 years to pay back the emissions
generated from the construction process, even if
the new buildings are 30 percent more efficient
than conventional buildings.6
ALBEDO
… the percentage of the Sun’s energy that is reflected off a surface.
Albedo values range from 0 to 1 (or 0 to
100 %). A pure black surface absorbs all of the incoming light and refle
cts none (0 percent), so it has an albedo value of 0. A mirror, on the oth
er hand, which absorbs no light and reflects all of it (100 percent), has a
n albedo value of 1. In general, the higher the albedo of a surface, the
more light it reflects; the lower the albedo, the more light it absorbs. Th
e images below show the typical albedo values of some common materi
als.
Tip Sheet on HVAC System-2.0 March 2011(Public) ECBC.pdf

Energy Conservation Building
Code (ECBC)
ECBC 2017 STANDARDS
COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS:
The Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) sets minimum
energy standards for new commercial buildings having a
connected load of 100 kW or contract demand of 120 kVA or
more.
There are three levels of energy performance standards in the
Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) i.e. ECBC, ECBC Plus,
Super ECBC. In ascending order of efficiency, ECBC compliant
building has approx. 25% savings, ECBC+ building approx. 35%
savings and compliance with Super ECBC building will show
energy savings by 50% or more as compared to conventional
building.
RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS:
Eco Niwas Samhita (Part I: Building Envelope) has been prepared to
set minimum building envelope performance standards to limit
heat gains (for cooling dominated climates) and to limit heat loss
(for heating dominated climates), as well as for ensuring adequate
natural ventilation and daylighting potential. Part I – Building
Envelope of ENS is designed in a simple-to-apply format,
requiring only simple calculations based on inputs from the
architectural design drawings of buildings. This can be used by
architects and engineers and will not require any simulation
software.
India, BEE Part-II: Electro-Mechanical and Renewable Energy Systems