Thematic Track: Advancing Sustainable Building Practices: Role of Laboratories and State-of-the-art Infrastructure to Enhance Energy Efficiency & Thermal Comfort.
Date: 8th February 2024; Time: 4:00- 5:30 PM
Venue: Casuarina Hall, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi
A green building utilizes the available resources in an optimized manner to provide a comfortable environment to its occupants, while saving energy. One intervention used in a green building is daylight harvesting, to cut down on the energy used by artificial lights. To analyze the amount of daylight that a space shall receive, assessments are done using daylight simulation software's, to estimate the accurate illuminance levels received in an interior space.
The International Commission on Illumination (CIE) has defined 15 general sky types representing different sky conditions. These models help to assess the sky luminance under various weather conditions ranging from a clear sky to an overcast sky. Understanding sky conditions helps to design appropriate daylighting measures for the building.
Sky luminance is an essential component of developing and categorizing these sky condition types. However, the unavailability of measured luminance data in many countries limits the use of the CIE sky model for passive window design in various locations. Due to this limitation, daylight analyses are conducted using a default 'overcast' sky condition to simulate indoor spaces; which might not be the most accurate definition for a tropical sky.
To address this gap, the Mahindra TERI Centre of Excellence (MT CoE has executed the first-of-its-kind sky modelling study through which the measured sky Luminance (in cd/m2) and Radiance (in W/m2/s) of the sky dome was captured and a daylight analysis plugin using data from measured sky model at Gurugram has been developed. By using this plugin, the accuracy of daylight simulations would be as close to the actual illuminance values a building shall receive in context to tropical region of India. The plug-in can be used to compute point-in-time illuminance simulations as well as climate-based simulations such as Daylight Autonomy (DA) and Useful Daylight Illuminance (UDI). This enables building practitioners to design the buildings with integration of passive strategy and access illuminance levels in a more accurate way.
We are pleased to invite you to the launch of this plugin at the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) 2024
Click here for AgendaMahindra Lifespaces (MLDL) and Sustainable Habitat Program, TERI jointly released the ‘Guidelines on Water Efficient Measures for Residential Townships’ on the occasion of ‘World Water Day’. A webinar was organised for the launch of the guidelines in order to share its findings and sensitize stakeholders on water conservation and its management. The event brought together stakeholders from various domains such as real estate developers, green building rating bodies, engineers etc., to discuss the challenges and opportunities on water sustainability in residential townships.
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The Mahindra-TERI Centre of Excellence (CoE), a joint research initiative of Mahindra Lifespaces Developers Ltd. (MLDL) and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), was established through a memorandum of understanding signed between Mahindra Lifespaces and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in 2016.
As a culmination to the Phase-I, Mahindra Lifespaces and TERI jointly hosted a launch event and webinar series from 22nd – 24th November 2021 for the release of ‘Guidebooks and Toolkits under Mahindra-TERI Centre of Excellence (CoE)’ with a special focus on disseminating the innovation & outcomes of the project and creating awareness amongst the built environment professionals.
Day-1: Launch event
The launch event for the release of guidebooks and toolkits was conducted at Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Nirman Bhawan, New Delhi in presence of Shri Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, MoHUA, Government of India; Dr. Vibha Dhawan, Director General, TERI; Mr. Arvind Subramanian, MD & CEO Mahindra Lifespaces Developers Ltd. (MLDL); Dr. Winfried Damm, Head Indo-German Energy Programme (IGEN), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH; Mr. A.R. Unnikrishnan, Chairman, Glazing Society of India (GSI); and Mr. Sanjay Seth, Senior Director, Sustainable Habitat Programme, TERI.
Mahindra Lifespaces and TERI also announced the commencement of Phase-2 of research efforts at the CoE, which will continue to focus on developing science-based solutions for India’s construction industry.
The event also saw the kick-off for the project “Multi-pronged Approach to Promote Use of Energy Efficient Glazing in Indian Context” This project is envisaged under the aegis of MoU signed between TERI and Glazing Society of India (GSI) in February 2021.
Day-2 & 3: Webinar series
As a follow-up to the Day-1 event, a two-day webinar series on 23rd & 24th November 2021 was conducted to demonstrate the guidebooks and toolkits. The pool of experts intervened post the demonstration to discuss the current sector state of play and the way forward to mainstream the sustainability principles in the upcoming building stock.
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Mahindra Lifespaces (MLDL) and Sustainable Habitat Program, TERI jointly released a study on 'Water Sustainability Assessment of Gurugram' on the occasion of 'World Nature Conservation Day'. A webinar was organised for the launch of the report and to share the findings of the study, emphasizing the need for sensitizing the end users on water conservation and its management. The event brought together stakeholders from various domains such as real estate developers, architects and NGOs, to discuss the challenges and opportunities on water sustainability in Gurugram.
This is the third report in the series after Pune and Chennai, which shows the water sustainability assessment of Gurugram city, with study identifying potential risks associated with water governance, infrastructure and demand & supply and provide recommendations to mitigate the same. The report envisages the future of the water sustainability in Gurugram and concerns related to it.
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Mahindra Lifespaces (MLDL) and Sustainable Habitat Program, TERI jointly released a study on 'Water Sustainability Assessment of Chennai' on the occasion of 'World Environment Day'. This is the second report in the series which shows the water sustainability assessment of Chennai Metropolitan Area with study identifying potential risks associated with water governance, infrastructure and demand & supply and provide recommendations to mitigate the same. A webinar was organised for the launch of the report and to share the findings of the study, emphasizing the need for sensitizing the end users on water conservation and its management. The event brought together stakeholders from various domains such as metropolitan boards, real estate developers, architects, engineers and researchers, to discuss the challenges and opportunities on water sustainability in Chennai.
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Officials from United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Mr. Atul Bagai, Head of Country Office, Ms Divya Datt and Mr. Karan Mangotra visited the MT CoE Lab on 3rd March 2021. TERI team provided a walk-through tour of the CoE and demonstrated the on-going testing of building material’s thermal properties in the lab using TPS 500S and Guarded Hot Box equipment. Visitors were also acquainted with the various sustainability principles and design features espoused by the CoE building.
Ms. Janhavi Parab from Mahindra Lifespaces was invited as a sustainability expert and represented Mahindra Lifespaces as well as MT CoE at the event. She mentioned that the construction sector accounts for 30% of the energy consumption and highlighted the need for in-house R&D to tackle sustainable cooling challenges. Furthermore, she highlighted the MT CoE’s is contribution towards the sustainability by providing innovative and state-of-the-art research techniques, tools, and performance measurement solutions.
As a part of the water related activity, a study to assess the water sustainability in Pune was carried out. A webinar was organised for the launch of the report and to share the findings of the study, emphasizing the need for sensitizing the end users on water conservation and its management. The event brought together stakeholders from various domains, to discuss the challenges and opportunities on water sustainability in Pune.
To provide oversight to the research activities of the TERI-Mahindra CoE, a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) has been constituted with research and industry professionals. This was the 1st meeting of the TAC and members were introduced to the CoE and its research activities.
The first ‘Dialogue, Demonstration and Stakeholder Consultation Programme’ was held on Thursday, 22nd November 2018, at the Mahindra TERI Centre of Excellence at TERI Gram, Gwal Pahari Campus, Gurgaon. The event brought together a group of relevant industry professionals consisting of architects, technical experts, consultants, academicians and government agencies to test the relevancy of the planned outputs of the CoE.
