Environmental Impact of Building Materials: A Study of Energy Efficient Materials For Building Facade Systems in Mumbai City

Research thesis
Environmental Impact Of Building Materials:

A Study Of Energy Efficient Materials For Building
Facade Systems In Mumbai City.
-Ar. Mitisha Prajapati
Guide: M.Arch. (Environmental Architecture)-Sem-14
Ar. Vinit Mirkar
IES College of Architecture
Table of Content
1. Introduction
2. Aim & Objectives
3. Background Study
3.1. Literature Review
3.1.1. Current Trend of Green Building Materials.
3.1.2. Role of Various Green Building Rating Systems
3.1.3. Exiting Policies and government initiatives
3.2. Case Study : Criteria for the selection and rating of Green building materials
4. Need and Importance of Study
4.1. Introduction of Building Material & Construction industry of India.
4.1.1. Environmental Impacts
4.1.2. Building Façades in Mumbai: Trends & evolution pattern
4.2. Problem Identification
5. Hypothesis
6. Description of research and Limitations
6.1. Identify Scope of research
6.1.1. Identify Building Systems to be studied
6.1.2. Identify Criteria of Environmental impact assessment
6.2. Limitations of Research
7. Research data collection & Analyses
8. Proposed Strategies
8.1. Alternative Façade Solution
8.2. Façade Design considerations for optimum day lighting
8.3 Further Suggestions & Conclusion
Environmental Impact Of Building Materials –Ar. Mitisha Parajapati, M.Arch, Research Thesis
1. Introduction
 Mumbai is the financial capital of India with the highest number of population of all the Indian cities.
Mumbai is undergoing a massive construction boom, with more than 15 super-tall buildings, hundreds of
skyscrapers and thousands of high-rises under construction (The Economic Times, Dec-2014).
 With the rapid automation and mechanization, the construction industry of the city has emerged as
most dynamic as well as rapidly advancing industry sector. With the industry facing fast-time growth in
past few years, the expansion and modernization involve use of new technologies as well as new
materials to match the demands.
 At the same time in India, with a value of 22%, the construction sector is
responsible for higher share of carbon dioxide emissions and previous
research has demonstrated that the use of alternative building
technologies can reduce drastically (up to 50%) the embodied energy
of the production processes ( Venkatarama & Jagadish, 2003).
 It is found that high proportion of this energy is used to produce a small
number of key materials such as concrete, mortar, plaster and bricks. The
highest energy is used in the manufacture of aluminum, copper, stainless
steel and plastics (primary energy requirements for production vary from
250 Giga Joules (GJ)/ ton to 100 GJ/ton) followed by glass
 The country has incorporated use of green building materials to march
toward sustainable development. Green Building Materials are
environmentally responsible because its environmental impacts are
considered over the life of the product (Spiegel and Meadows, 1999).
They include the resource inputs and the product outputs of industrial
production which can be assessed. Depending upon project-specific
goals, an assessment of green materials may involve an evaluation of
one or more of the criteria.
2. Aim & Objectives
 Objective of the study is to understand environmental impact of various building materials and systems.
 Review the various initiatives taken for the encouragement of sustainable building materials worldwide.
 categorize the criteria to assess building materials for environmental impact within the selected context
and assess the selected materials to find the energy efficient materials.
 Identify potential of using energy efficient building materials for various building systems.
 Suggesting upon appropriate building technologies to the various stack holders of the building industry
for the benefits of reducing environmental impacts and energy consumptions.
Executive Summery-importance of the study

 The Building construction industry is generating worldwide substantial environmental impacts. In fact, it
contributes to about half of the total energy consumption of high income countries and is responsible of
a major share of greenhouse gas emissions also in developing nations. Scientific data on environmental
impacts of building materials and technologies in developing countries are rather limited and it is difficult
to make informed choices aiming at reducing such impacts.
 The study aims at filling a gap in the assessment and documentation of environmental impacts of
building materials in India. It is based on a detailed analysis of various building façade materials and
technologies in the city of Mumbai mainly focused on commercial buildings. Based mainly on primary
data, the impacts have been assessed including the production chain of materials, their transportation
on site, construction activities and maintenance activities over years. With the tools like LCA (life cycle
assessment), Embodied energy, material performance, Contribution to green house gas emissions etc
comparative analyses is generated.
3.1 Literature Review 3. Background Study
 The Aim of Literature review is to understand background of existing
Green building material trends and innovations within the selected Green Building Movement in India
context. 2000
Green Building Registerd
3.1.1. Current Trend of Green Building Materials.
Number of Building
Green Building Certified
1500
 As the awareness of green building materials come to pass, the
demand for the research in the direction of sustainable building
materials is occurring worldwide. 1000
 Below are few examples of various green building material related 500
initiatives carried out by few organizations.
1. GRIHA Product Catalogue 0
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
 GRIHA Product Catalogue is an online product catalogue which has Year
been developed to provide green building designers and clients with
all necessary information on green building products which can be
used in order to make buildings GRIHA compliant.
 While GRIHA has prepared the list with the greatest care, GRIHA is not
able to guarantee that the information provided is accurate and/or
exhaustive, and as such GRIHA cannot be held liable for claims
pertaining to use of the information.
 At the same time the criteria are based on product property &
performances such as VTL(visual light transmittance), U-value, recycle
content, sound transmittance, noise reduction coefficient etc.
 however it does not highlight the embodied energy or life cycle
approach based criteria through which the environmental impact of
product and energy consumption measures are examined.
3. Background Study
2. Various ECO-Labeling for Products
 (i) Central Pollution Control Board ECO LABEL: A government operated seal of approval
program for environmentally preferable consumer products. Launched in 1991 with the
aim of easy identification of environment-friendly products.
 The criteria follow a cradle-to-grave approach, i.e. from raw material extraction, to
manufacturing, and to disposal.
Limitations
 Criteria of ECO LABEL • 16 product categories that Government of
• Production process including source of raw materials; India has notified the final criteria for.
• Use of natural resources; • Which covers hardly 2 architectural products
• Likely impact of the environment; i.e. Wood, Paints & powder coating.
• Energy conservation in the production of the product; • The drawback of the scheme is its
• Disposal of the product and its container; complicated layered process of the
examination and lack of awareness.
• Utilization of "Waste" and recycled materials;
• As per a survey of manufacturers, the data
• Suitability for recycling or packaging; and
required for the criteria is time and money
• Biodegradability consuming, which has led them to loose
• Effect of waste arising from the production process interest.
 (ii) ISO 14000 : The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) develops
international standards for all industrial sectors. The ISO 14000;2004 family addresses
various aspects of environmental management.
 There are various companies in India that provides training service for ISO;14000
standards. There are also a few industries which has received ISO14000 certification.
As we see lack of popularity and interest of consumer in terms of knowledge & the
benefits of ISO;14000, there is no awareness and enough information available to
reach such certified industries.
3. Background Study
3. Market demand and product innovations
 India is a growing Building Materials market in terms of increasing demand and need for innovations. A
lot of new construction material and technologies are being introduced to consumers day by day.
 Solar reflective surfaces, Energy star for power saving products, Noise reducing, U-Value for heat transfer
coefficient etc. are various properties of material being demand by consumer for particular awareness
of Sustainable products. Various manufacturers have come up with innovative products with such
properties, which is also a marketing factor for them.
Case Of Saint-Gobain glass India
• Saint-Gobain, One of the leading architectural glass provider in India, has
come up with the ‘Glass is Green’ movement to support glass product with
the properties that makes it green.
• The company has taken efforts to educate clients on how the glass is
‘Green’ with various awareness seminars and other marketing sources.
Recyclability, Energy-efficiency, Day lighting, Transparency, Noise control
etc are the properties to consider a glass green.
• To support these properties the company has come up with products with
higher VLT (visual light transmission), less SHGC (solar heat gain coefficient),
low-e Glass coating and sufficient U-value.
• However it is not highlighted the embodied energy & carbon emissions of
product.
Conclusion
The country has initiated incorporating the idea of Green building and materials, yet we lack upon
proper structuring, government initiated schemes, funds and access to correct data. Since the trend
of green building materials is rather new, it is more over trend and market demand driven rather
research driven.
3.1.2. Role of Various Green Building Rating Systems
3. Background Study
(i) GRIHA Manual / Guidelines (Synopsis of the (ii) IGBC- LEED v4 for Building design and
criteria for rating), 2011: Total 34 criteria under 9 construction, April 2015:Total 45 Credits & 12
major points; 1. Sustainable Site Planning, 2. mandatory prerequisite under 8 major categories;
Health & Well Being, 3. Building planning & 1. Location & Transportation, 2. Sustainable sites,
Construction, 4. Energy; Renewable, 5. Recycle- 3. Water efficiency, 4. Energy & Atmosphere, 5.
Recharge-Reuse of Water, 6. Waste Material & Resources, 6. Indore Environmental
management, 7. Health & Well Being, 8. Building Quality, 7. Innovation, 8. Regional.
operation & Maintenance, 9. Innovation
Points.(total point 104). Credits for the rating concerned with Materials:
Criteria concerned with Energy efficient materials: • Mr-credit 1-building life-cycle impact reduction ; intent-
to encourage adaptive reuse and optimize the
 Criterion 15: Utilization of fly-ash in building
environmental performance of products and materials
structure(Max. 6 Points)
• Mr-credit 2-building product disclosure and
 Criterion 16: Reduce volume and weight, and time of
optimization—environmental product declarations
construction by adopting
• Mr-credit 3-Building product disclosure and optimization
 Criterion 17: Use low-energy material in interiors (Max. 4
– sourcing of raw materials;
Points)
• Mr-credit 4-Building product disclosure and optimization
– material ingredients;
 Thus the manual tries to cover a part to promote
green building materials such as fly ash, yet it  LEED 04 version has incorporated major points for
does not succeed at suggesting upon the sustainable building materials with LCA based
materials which has less embodied energy, life approach and labeled or third party rated
cycle approach and avoids possibility to product. Yet this version is very new (Launched in
promote green rated or labeled materials. India in April 2015) and thus no project is found
being rated on the same in India.
3.1.3. Existing policies and Government initiatives
3. Background Study
(i) Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) for Building envelope : Requirement for Fenestrations
 Fenestration must be rated using procedures and methods specified in ECBC; three fenestration
performance characteristics are significant in ECBC :
1. U-Factor; determines the heat conduction through the material.
2. Solar Feat Gain Co-efficient (SHGC); indicates how well glazing/glass and fenestration products insulate heat
caused by sun falling directly on it.
3. Visible Light Transmission(VLT); indicates penetration/transmission of day light through the given product.
 The code successfully guides user in selecting appropriate façade technology that helps reduce energy
loads on building due to, HVAC and artificial day lighting with the given mandatory criteria.
WWR<40 40%<WW Frame Types Glazing Clear Glass Tinted Glass
% R<60% Type U-Factor SHG VLT U-Factor SHG VLT
Climate Max U- Max. Max. (W/m2K) C (W/m2K) C
Zone factor SHGC SHGC All Frame Single 7.1 0.82 0.76 7.1 0.70 0.58
Composite 3.30 0.25 0.20 Types Glazing
Hot & dry 3.30 0.25 0.20 Wood, vinyl, Double 3.3 0.59 0.64 3.4 0.42 0.39
Warm & 3.30 0.25 0.20 Fiber glass Glazing
Humid frame
Moderate 6.90 0.40 0.30 Metal And Double 5.1 0.68 0.66 5.1 0.50 0.40
Cold 3.30 0.51 0.51 Other Frame Glazing
• At present, there are no specific policies or guidelines from the government body of India on using
sustainable building materials to reduce environmental impacts and conserve energy.
• Yet there is concerned awareness of promoting Life Cycle based approach for the organization to
achieve sustainable development
3. Background Study
 Discussed below are the policy initiatives put forth by different Ministries and Government bodies which
includes a consideration of life cycle based approach for sustainable development:
1. National Voluntary Guidelines on 2. SEBI Guidelines on Business 3. Guidelines on Corporate Social
Social, Environmental & Economic Responsibility Report Responsibility and Sustainability for
Responsibilities of Business Issued by: Securities and Exchange Central Public Sector Enterprises
Issued by: Indian Institute of Board of India (SEBI) Issued by: Department of Public
Corporate Affairs (IICA) Ministry: Independent regulator Enterprises
Ministry: Ministry of Corporate Affairs Objective: SEBI has asked listed Ministry: Ministry of Heavy Industries
Aim: “Businesses should provide companies to mandatorily submit and Public Enterprises.
goods and services that are safe and an annual business responsibility Aim: corporate enterprises are
contribute to sustainability throughout report wherein they have to disclose expected to produce goods and
their life cycle. Responsible compliance to various services which are resource
businesses, therefore, should engineer environmental, social and efficient, consumer friendly and
value in their goods and services by governance aspects. environmentally sustainable
keeping in mind these impacts.” throughout their life cycles.
Conclusion
As already identified, the lack of data about the environmental impact and energy consumptions by
various products has kept back the consumers from making informed choices on energy efficient
building materials. At the same time due to lack of government initiatives, there is lack of awareness.
3.2. Case Study: Criteria for the selection and rating of 3. Background Study
Green building materials
• Below are few initiatives for the successful application of Green Building material rating systems, Apart
there are few certification systems discussed to understand the criteria of rating a product ‘Green’.
(i) Singapore Green Building Rating System- (Est. year 2010):The Singapore Green Building Product (SGBP)
certification scheme is the first certification scheme dedicated to assessing green building products and
materials, and setting benchmarks for a building product’s environmental performance.
 AIM: Identifying and helping the industry select environmentally-preferred products and materials to
achieve environmental sustainability for Singapore’s built environment. Complies with the ISO 14020 Type
I International Standard for environmental labeling.
Certification Assessment Requirements
1. Energy Efficiency
2. Water Efficiency
3. Resource Efficiency
4. Health and Environmental Protection
5. Other Green Features
• On the basis of criteria certified products are included
in SGBC certification directory which is online and
easy accessible. Along with certified products, SGBC
also provides information of trusted certified services
for Green Architecture, Environment Sustainability
Design, Energy performance contracting, Mechanical
& Electrical services.
• This has led to more than 1,500 green buildings in
Singapore, translating to a floor area of nearly 47
million square meters, or 20 percent of Singapore
buildings’ total Gross Floor Area (GFA).
•Various sectors of green building material rating.
3. Background Study
(ii) Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Product Standard (Est. year 2002 CA, USA) is a certification and label based
on criteria that addresses the materials contained in a product, the material reutilization cycle, the
amount of energy and water used in manufacturing, and corporate social responsibility.
 Aim: Products Program is to encourage continuous improvement, innovation, and formulation of
products that benefit humans and the environment.
The criteria set for certification are simplified in 5 categories to
examine all products from different industries.
1. Material Health
Knowing the chemical ingredients of every material in a
product, and optimizing towards safer materials.
2. Material Reutilization
Designing products made with materials that come from and
can safely return to nature or industry.
3. Renewable Energy & Carbon Management
Envisioning a future in which all manufacturing is powered by
100% clean renewable energy.
4. Water Stewardship
Manage clean water as a precious resource and an essential  With the launch of the new LEED v4, Cradle to
human right. Cradle Certified products are written into LEED.
5. Social Fairness Choosing certified products can earn project
Design operations to honor all people and natural systems teams up to two points for Materials &
affected by the creation, use, disposal or reuse of a product Resources Credit 4.
Inferences
The case studies demonstrated here are successful model of building material rating systems, with the
appropriate criteria to rate products/materials.
The third party involvement for the rating system can be established for the successful implementations.
4.1. Building Material & Construction industry India.
 The construction sector in India has grown at a tremendous pace in last
few years, faster than the 9 percent pa growth of GDP. The emergence of
newer segments in the economy like Hospitality, Retail, Entertainment and
Education have largely contributed to this stupendous growth.
 Here are various figures showing growth in various Building material
industries:
1. Cement Consumption per Capita in 2011 (in Kg.), Census of India-Ananad Rathi
2. Split of National Aluminum Consumption by end use Sectors (Source Aluminum
Association India)
3. Demand of various building materials over one decade.
4.1.1. Environmental Impacts

 The manufacturing process and various property of building materials can
contribute to environmental impacts such as Green house gas (GHG)
emissions, non renewable energy consumptions, Pollutions, Deploying of
resources, waste generation etc.
 Some of the figures showing impacts are shown below.
1. As per Data provided
by UMEP, Sustainable
Building and
Construction
Initiatives,2006:
Building product raw
material use up to
30% of resources and
entire built
environment has 40%
GHG emission 3. CO2 Emissions per unit
of GDP from fossil fuel use
in cement production
The Data here is example
2. Here is a pie chart of to shows that being a
an experiment that is country to produce lower
indicative of how goods than developed
high energy country, due to its less
consumptions (in efficient processing
terms of Carbon Systems, places it
Tonnage) can be in amongst higher CO2
the process of emitting counties across
construction world specific for cement
(assuming air- industry.
conditioned office
building or house).
(i) GHG Emissions
 Here are few data that indicates the
emissions from various industries,
Highlighted are specific data of the
materials extensively used in Building
construction sector.
 Out of gross emissions 12% are from only
2 building material related
industries.(other material industries are 1. The chart shows GHG Emissions by sector in India in 2007 (million tons of
not accounted) CO2 equivalent),Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India
(ii) Energy Consumption 2. The table showing
Industry CO2 Emissions
 After the emissions, it is considerable to figures of energy
(Thousand
note that the building construction consuming building
Tons) material industries
sector beg for good amount of energy
showing critical data of
consumption overall. Cement production 129920
Co2 emission in
 Here it is shown that around 35% of Glass & Ceramic 300 2007.(GHG Emission Data,,
energy is consumed by Building Industry. Production Source: INCCA; GHG
Iron & Steel Production 116958
emissions report-2007,
MOEF, India)
Aluminum Production 2730
3. Figure shows the major
source of energy
consumption in building
process after operational
in use energy is the
material and product
manufacture activities.
1. Breakdown of Initial Embodied
Energy by Typical Office Building
Components Averaged Over
Wood, Steel and Concrete
Structures [Cole and Kernan,
1996].
2. Embodied energy of
Different wall
construction sytems,
Published by: Ruth Soni
on Sep 24, 2011
(iii) Various Pollution Impact

• The Central Pollution Control Board has identified 17 highly polluting
industries, majority of which are building material manufacturing industries.
3. category wise PM
(particulate Matter) load
in Mumbai City
4. Status of large and medium

industries in 17 highly polluting
industrial sectors (as of June 2010)
4.1.2. Building Façades in Mumbai:
Trends & evolution pattern
 Mumbai has scarcity of land to accommodate ground based
construction, since the tall buildings are the solutions suggested by
municipal authorities with providing higher Floor Space Index (FSI).
 here is the Survey of building facade materials usage pattern in
city, which indicates identical increase in the pattern of using
glazing based products and cladding materials in façade.
Ratio of facade material usage

80%
60%
40% Usage Pattern & Evolution
20% • Over last decade the commercial
0% buildings in city has come up with
lot of innovative designs
1. Opaque Walls
1. Opaque Walls
3. Cladding of various
1. Opaque Walls
1. Opaque Walls
2. Glazing based Fenestration

demonstrating modern materials

and technology with loud façade
material
material
material
material
design and architecture
statements.
• There is an evolution pattern
noticed over a decade where it is
easy to identify how the façade
systems has took over from
traditional method of solid wall and
Before 2000 2000-2005 2005-2010 2010-2015 windows opening to transparent
glazed facades.
Conclusions
• As we assess the data of environmental impacts and energy construction from the building
construction industry, the need for efficient construction and material is observed.
• At the same time one of the fastest growing construction industry of Mumbai city has a rising demand
of modern façade materials; thus the study is pursued to understand environmental impacts and
energy consumptions by such materials.
4.2 Problem Identification
5. Hypothesis
 Looking at the current scenario of environmental impact and increased demands of architectural
facades, below are the problems prevail in the direction to achieve energy efficient building façade
materials.
1. Lack of Awareness: the most importantly awareness of the benefits of energy efficient materials is not
present, though being aware of green building benefits, it is noticed that building materials are not
often selected on the bases of energy efficiency measures.
2. Lack of Data & Research: the proper research & data to indicate the energy efficiency & environmental
impact criteria of materials are most important to have the awareness. Since there is no proper research
and data base available architects & developers are abandoned from making informed choices on
efficient building materials.
3. Lack of Initiatives: Lack of policies are the major drawback for efficient green building material
consumption and promotion. At the same time among a few initiatives taken by Green building rating
systems in India (GRIHA & IGBC), the Green building material segment is given less importance and
being optional same is many times being avoided.
4. Trend Driven Market: India is developing country and seeks for many global technologies for the
advancement. Such influential approach many times lead to the direction of unsustainable
development and big abundance to local technologies, responsible for energy intensive development.
5. Hypothesis
 In the city of Mumbai, where the construction industry is growing at its peak, selection of appropriate
building material with low embodied energy and minimum environmental impact can contribute
towards reducing carbon emission and energy efficient constructions at the urban level.
6.1. Identify Scope of Research 6.2. Limitations of Research
 The research is applied for selection of façade
 The research will cover study of one building element
materials and systems of tall commercial building
to understand various materials available within
type up to the height of 40 floors (125Mt.) within the
Mumbai city based on market studies, Surveys and
limits of Mumbai city.
observations.
 The materials studied and compared within the
 The research will establish criteria to rate boundary of research are strictly environmental
environmental impact factor of selected building performance based. In overall study and impact
materials & technology and with the results will assessment it will not consider, sustainable
provide comparative analyses of all materials to find construction methods and overall building
the more efficient material. sustainability performance.
 The research will test weather selecting appropriate  The research dose not aim to suggest materials that
material with less impact can improve environmental can benefit the building for Green certification
performance of building and have environmental ratings, the considerations are not based on rating
benefits at larger context. systems.
 The materials selected to study are based on trend
6.1.1. Identify the building Systems to be studies and demands, cost factor are not considered while
 On the bases of previous survey study, most of the selection process however, the cost effective
commercial tall building façade systems in the city are material are highlighted to understand Life cost
cladding based, which can be broadly classified as factor.
below.  The research will provide basic strategies for the
• Glazing based façade cladding system building façade design based on;
• Metal based façade cladding system 1. Selection of appropriate building material with less
• Stone based facade cladding system environmental impact.
2. Within the framework of aesthetical requirement of
• Wooden based cladding products
building façade design including modern materials.
• Other cladding product products(concrete sheets,
3. Functional considerations such as day lighting,
pvc, tensile fabric etc)
view/visibility & opacity for the desired area.
 The building façade systems to be studied for the environmental performance are given as below;
1. Glazing Based Façade cladding System 2. Aluminum Based Cladding System
Type of Façade: Stick built curtain wall, it is a cladding and Type of Façade: ACP Panel cladding
exterior wall system, which is hung on the building structure It is a composite panel consisting of two
from floor to floor. It is assembled from various components to aluminum cover sheets and a plastic core,
include steel or aluminum anchors, mullions, rails, vision glass, screwed on aluminum carrier sections and
spandrel glass and insulation. In addition, various hardware framing and sealed with appropriate sealant.
include anchors, aluminum connectors, setting blocks, corner
blocks, pressure plates, caps, gaskets and sealants.
 Product/Materials to be studied for  Product/Materials to be studied

the assessment: 12mm thick clear for the assessment: 4mm thick
Float Glass. ACP Sheet.
3. Stone based Cladding System 4. Wooden Façade Cladding System
Type of Façade: Sand Stone Dry cladding System Type of Façade: Engineered wood panels cladding system is a
It is a cladding system of fixing approved make of cladding system of fixing wooden panels of soft, hard or
stone to the wall with dry cladding using S.S. angle, engineered wood to the wall using stud blocks, nails, sheathing,
clamps, anchors bolts/dash fasteners and necessary groove joints, bolts / fasteners and necessary adhesive.
adhesive for grouting of clamps in stone.
 Product/Materials to be studied for the

assessment: 18mm thick Ply wood (due
 Product/Materials to be
to the lack of data for wooden composite
studied for the assessment: panel and engineered wood products,
18mm thick Marble stone. data considered for 18 mm thick ply)
6.1.2. Identify Criteria of
Environmental impact assessment
Important definitions
 Environmental impact of building materials: Environmental impact assessment is the formal process used
to predict the environmental consequences (positive or negative) of a plan, policy, program, or project
prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action. Environmental impact of building
material is the impact caused to environment due to various stage activities of building material i. e. -
mining/extraction/harvesting, manufacture, construction, use, demolition.
 Life Cycle Assessment: LCA is a technique to assess the environmental aspects and potential impacts
associated with a product, process, or service, by: Compiling an inventory of relevant energy and
material inputs and environmental releases. Evaluating the potential environmental impacts associated
with identified inputs and releases.
 Embodied Energy: Embodied energy is the total energy required for the extraction, processing,
manufacture and delivery of building materials to the building site. Embodied energy is measured as the
quantity of non-renewable energy per unit of building material, component or system. It is expressed in
mega joules (MJ) or gigajoules (GJ) per unit weight (kg or tonne) or area (m2).
Stage-3 Stage-4 Stage-5

• Here is the LCA based
process inventory considered
for the assessment of various
materials. ENERGY (Embodied
Energy)
Environmental Impacts
Minerals
depletion & soil
GHG GHG Emissions &
Waste (solid &
GHG Wastage & Material
property based
Solid
erosion effects Emissions Liquid) generation Emissions Pollutions impacts waste
Goal and Scope Definition for the LCA method
 Goal: The goal of the study is to evaluate the overall environmental impact of tall commercial Building
Façade systems to help in identifying the life-cycle stages and materials processes causing maximum
impact. The study is focused on determining the inventory analysis results in terms of energy use, resource
use and emissions, and impact assessment results available in terms of impact categories.
 Scope: The scope of the LCA is limited to assessing environmental impacts in terms of GHG emissions,
various types of pollutions, wastage and disposing methods and overall performance of selected
building façade system. These categories have been chosen as being common to the various
environmental issues at country level. Having common categories should facilitate easy comparison and
benchmarking of the LCA results of this study.
 Functional Unit: For comparison purposes, the results have also been normalized on a per-square-meter
basis.
 System Boundary: The study includes upstream processing and production of materials and energies that
make up the production of the stated functional unit, transport of materials to production sites transport
to warehouses and customers, and end of life disposal.
 Building Lifespan: A 50-year building life has been estimated
 Based on the various environmental impacts of building materials studied previously, the environmental
performance of any product it can be tested within 3 major categories;
1. Environmental Impact; Green House Gas emissions, water utilizations, waste and pollutions being
generated.
2. Energy consumption; embodied energy.
3. Material performance; reutilization, disposing methods, climatic conditions based performance.
 This LCA aims at providing quantitative and comparative values of the environmental impacts of various
building technologies in the given context. It is applied to the understanding of selected case studies of
facade materials and systems through their life cycle. The product to be assessed is the façade
materials & system of tall commercial building (up to 40 floors-125 mt.) within the city of Mumbai.
Criteria Indicators Particular Data & Unit LCA Stage
Environment 1.GHG Emissions from GHG emission during its KgCO2/m2 Stage-2
al Impact manufacturing process manufacturing process emission
2. Water consumption Amount of water used Lt/m2 water Stage-2

during the manufacturing during manufacturing consumption
process process
Energy 3. Embodied energy Embodied energy of major mj/m2 energy Stage-2 & Stage-3
consumption material
Material 4. Climate condition based Thermal performance of U-value W/m2 K Stage-4

performance performance material/system for the
climatic conditions of City
5. Reutilization how much of the material % can be reused Stage-5

can be reused in the same
form
6. Method of disposing At the demolition stage how 1. Biodegradable Stage-5

methods
material the material is disposed
2. Non-biodegradable
methods
Criteria 1: GHG Emissions from Criteria 2: Water consumption during
manufacturing process the manufacturing process
Product Co2 emission Product Water Con-

sumption
Glass(12 mm float glass) 24 Kg Co2/m2
Glass(12 mm float glass) 90 Lt/m2
Aluminum(4 mm ACP 55 Kg Co2/m2
Panels) Aluminum(4 mm ACP Panels) 40 Lt/m2
Stone(18mm Marble sheet) 4 Kg Co2/m2 Stone(18mm Marble sheet) 10 Lt/m2
Wood (18 MM thick Ply 12 Kg Co2/m2 Wood (18 MM thick Ply 15 Lt/m2
wood) wood)
Co2 emission ( Kg Co2/m2 ) Water Consumption (Lt/m2)

60 100
50
80
40
60
30
20
40
10 20
0 0
Criteria 3: Embodied energy Criteria 4: Climate condition based performance
Product Embodied Product U-Value

Energy
Glass(12 mm float glass) 2.1 W/m2 K
Glass(12 mm float glass) 600 Mj/m2
Non-biodegradable 1.4 W/m2 K
Aluminum(4 mm ACP Panels) 1375 Mj/m2
Stone(18mm Marble sheet) 80 Mj/m2 Stone(18mm Marble sheet) 1.5W/m2 K
Wood (18 MM thick Ply wood) 120 Mj/m2 Wood (18 MM thick Ply wood) 0.28 W/m2 K
Embodied Energy (Mj/m2) U-Value (W/m2 K )

2.5
1500
1000
1.5
1
500
0.5
0 0
Criteria 5: Reutilization Criteria 6: Disposing materials
Product Reutilization Product Disposing method

Glass(12 mm float glass) 35 % per m2 Glass(12 mm float glass) Non-biodegradable
Aluminum(4 mm ACP Panels) 0 % per m2 Non-biodegradable Non-biodegradable
Stone(18mm Marble sheet) 75% per m2 Stone(18mm Marble sheet) Biodegradable

Wood (18 MM thick Ply wood) 90% per m2 Wood (18 mm thick Ply wood) Biodegradable
Reutilization (% per m2 )
LCA Based Analyses:
100 • Environmental Impact: As identified; Glass and
90 aluminum are the highest impactful material with
80 higher amount of water consumption & GHG
70 emission. Also the stone is least impactful material
60 • Energy Consumption: As identified; Aluminum is
50 the highest energy consuming material; whereas
40 stone is lowest energy consuming material.
30 • Material Performance: As identified; wood has
20 the best performance in terms of climate
10 response and a reutilization criterion, glass is least
0 performing material.
Criteria Indicators Glass Aluminu Stone Wood • As the comparative analyses suggest;
m  1. Aluminum is highly energy intensive
materials and has higher GHG emissions,
Environmenta 1.GHG 24 Kg 55 Kg 4 Kg 12 Kg having the highest environmental impac t
l Impact Emission Co2/m Co2/m2 Co2/m2 Co2/m2 aluminum facade system is considered
most energy intensive façade material
2
for Mumbai city. Due to the less recycle
2. Water 90 40 Lt/m2 10 Lt/m2 15 Lt/m2 and reuse possibility aluminum facades
are not considered sustainable & not
consumption Lt/m2
recommended.
Energy 3. Embodied 600 1375 80 Mj/m2 120  2. At the same time Glass is also poorly
consumption energy Mj/m2 Mj/m2 Mj/m2 performing against weather conditions
and has its own impacts upon
Material 4. Climate 2.1 1.4 W/m2 1.5 W/m2 K 0.28 environments, the only positive point is
condition W/m2 K K W/m2 K recycle & reuse factor.
performance
based  3. Stone is considered less energy
consuming material with lower
thermal embodied energy and minimum
performance environmental impacts except a few of
waste generation. At the same time the
5.Reutilization 35 % 0 % per 75% per m2 90% per only drawback is poor thermal
per m2 m2 m2 performance.
 4. Wood is the material with lowest
6. Disposing Non- Non- Biodegrada Biodegra environmental impact and little high
embodied energy compared to stone;
materials Biodegr Biodegra ble dable the climate based performance is
adable dable considerable with the great possibility of
reuse factor.
8.1. Alternative Façade solution
(i) Building introduction:
Commerz –II, Oberoi Garden City, Goregaon(E),
Mumbai.
 Design and Features:
 It is a 30 storied high rise commercial tower., with
glass frontage and separate drop off zones.
Modern elevation with double glazed unitized glass
façade system providing a great view of the lush
green Aarey expanse. Centrally air conditioned
building.
 Received LEED Gold pre-certification
(ii) Floor Plans Elevation & Views
(iii) Energy efficiency & Impact assessment 8. Proposed Strategies
Façade Façade Sytem- Façade System- Façade Façade GHG Emission Embodied Water
Elevation System from building Energy from Consumption of
Elevation 1: 2:
façade (Kg building building
Double glazed ACP Sheet
Co2) façade(Mj) façade(Liter)
unitized facade Cladding 1. South Façade 147,000 3,675,000 551,250
South façade 6125 Sq.mt. 200 Sq.mt. façade System-1
East façade 4550 Sq.mt. 100 Sq.mt. Façade 11,000 275,000 8,000
System-2
North façade 6125 Sq.mt. 200 Sq.mt.
2. East Façade 109,200 2,730,000 409,500
West facade
Façade System-1:4550 Sq.mt.
Double 100 Sq.mt.
glazed unitized façade façade System-1
GHG Emissions from manufacturing process (Kg Façade 5,500 137,500 4,000
Co2/m2): 24 Kg Co2/m2 System-2
Embodied Energy façade(Mj/m2): 600 Mj/m2
3. North Façade 147,000 3,675,000 551,250
Water Consumption during manufacturing process
(Liter/m2): 90 Lt/m2 façade System-1
Façade 11,000 275,000 8,000
Façade System-2: ACP Sheet Cladding System-2
GHG Emissions from manufacturing process (Kg
4. West Façade 109,200 2,730,000 409,500
Co2/m2): 55 Kg Co2/m2
Embodied Energy façade(Mj/m2): 1375 Mj/m2 facade System-1
Water Consumption during manufacturing process Façade 5,500 137,500 4,000
(Liter/m2): 40 Lt/m2 System-2
Total Façade Area 545,400 13,635,000 1,945,500
(iv) Proposed Alternative Strategies
 Strategy-1: Reducing use of Glass on the wall/solid
surfaces; limit the glass usage for the vision cone
and integrating daylight into spaces.
 Strategy-2: Replace Aluminum panels with
efficient material claddings such as dry stone
claddings.
(v) Applying Alternative Façade Strategies:
Façade Façade Sytem- Façade System-

Elevation 1 2
Double glazed Dry Stone
unitized façade Cladding
South façade 4805 Sq.mt. 1520 Sq.mt.
East façade 3680 Sq.mt. 970 Sq.mt.
North façade 4805 Sq.mt. 1520 Sq.mt.
West facade 3680 Sq.mt. 970 Sq.mt.
(vi) Energy efficiency & Impact assessment for
proposed strategy
Façade System-1: Double glazed unitized façade Façade Façade GHG Embodied 3.Water
GHG Emissions from manufacturing process (Kg Elevation System Emission Energy Consumptio
Co2/m2): 24 Kg Co2/m2 from from n of
Embodied Energy façade(Mj/m2): 600 Mj/m2 building building building
Water Consumption during manufacturing process façade (Kg façade(Mj) façade(Liter)
(Liter/m2): 90 Lt/m2 Co2)
1. Sout Façade
Façade System-2: Dry Stone Cladding
h façade System-1 115,320 2,883,000 432,450
GHG Emissions from manufacturing process (Kg Façade
Co2/m2): 4 Kg Co2/m2 System-2 6,080 121,600 15,200
Embodied Energy façade(Mj/m2): 10 Mj/m2 2. East Façade
Water Consumption during manufacturing process façade System-1 88,320 2,208,000 331,200
(Liter/m2): 18 Lt/m2 Façade
System-2 3,880 77,600 9,700
3. Nort Façade
h façade System-1 115,320 2,883,000 432,450
Façade
System-2 6,080 121,600 15,200
4. Wes Façade
t facade System-1 88,320 2,208,000 331,200
Façade
System-2 3,880 77,600 9,700
Total Façade Area
427,200 10,580,400 1,577,100
(vii) Comparative Analysis 8. Proposed Strategies
GHG Emission from Embodied Energy Water Consumption Comparative Analyses
building façade (Kg of building of building
Existing
Co2) façade(Mj) façade(Liter)
Proposed
Existing 5,45,400 13,635,000 1,945,500
Proposed 4,27,200 10,580,400 1,577,100
Difference 21% 22% 18.9%
Conclusion
• The comparative analyses shows that replacing a few areas of
GHG Emission Embodied Water
building façade can bring up to 20% reduction in impact, resource from building Energy of Consumption of
and energy consumption. façade (Kg building building
• Thus using energy efficient material in the building facades can help Co2) façade(Mj) façade(Liter)
reduce the load of environmental impact and energy consumption.
Suggested alternative materials:

• 1. Bamboo laminated composite:
• Specification: Bamboo plant, wood Bamboo mat, waste wood chips, polymeric
resin, Application: Flooring, walling and partitions. Benefits: Light weight, durable,
energy efficient, Easy installation. Embodied energy: Low to Moderate
• 2. Ultra thin honeycomb lightweight stone panels
• Specification: 3-4mm thick stone veneer (marble, granite or limestone) adhered to
Aluminum Honeycomb sheet. Application: Wall Cladding, interiors. Benefits: Non-
fragile, light weight, Soundproof, heat insulation, fireproof, humidity proof, and anti-
decay. Embodied energy: Moderate to high
8.2. Façade design considerations for optimum day light
 General Considerations for Study model.
• Working model area: 9 sq.mt. Office Building with
exterior facades facing North & West sides.
• Façade types: 1. Glazed surface-Façade (Glass with
appropriate property for optimum day light), 2.
Opaque surface-Façade (Plastered Brick wall).
• Sky conditions: Considered the average annual low
illumination for day lit hours: 10000LUX.
• Minimum Illumination required at the work surface:
300-500 LUX.
• Height of working surface: 0.8 mt.
• Sky Conditions: Clear.
• Time of daylight calculation: 10:00 am.
• No Reflective surfaces considered.
CASE-1
• Façade Area : 1. Glazed façade- 0
sqmt. 2. Opaque Façade- 36 sqmt.
• Illumination range at the working
surface at 0.8 mt height: 00 LUX to 00
LUX
CASE-2
• Façade Area : 1. Glazed façade- 18
sqmt. 2. Opaque Façade- 18 sqmt.
• Illumination range at the working surface
at 0.8 mt height: 1400 LUX to 4000 LUX .
CASE-3
Façade Area : 1. Glazed façade- 7.2
sqmt. 2. Opaque Façade- 28.8 sqmt.
Illumination range at the working
surface at 0.8 mt height: 540 LUX to
9000 LUX.
Comparative Analyses
Minimum Comfort level Glazed facade area Embodied Energy of Cost (INR)
Illumination (LUX) to Opaque area ratio Entire Façade (MJ)
(%)
CASE-1 0 Less than comfortable 0 4500 46800
CASE-2 1400 More than comfortable 100 10800 126000
CASE-3 540 Comfortable 40 7020 78480
Daylight Stimulation of selected Study Building
• General Building Design Features, Commerz –II, Oberoi Garden City, Goregaon(E), Mumbai.
• Office Type: Computer based working systems.
• Clear Floor Height: 4 mt.
• Minimum Illumination required at the work surface: 300 LUX.
• Considerations for daylight
stimulations
• Sky conditions: Considered the
annual average low illumination for
day lit hours: 10000 LUX.
• Height of working surface: 0.8 mt.
• Time of daylight calculation: 10:00
am.
• No Reflective surfaces considered.
• Types glazed façade: Double
glazed with aluminum framing.
• Type of opaque façade: Brick
walls with plaster.
• Types of Floors & ceiling: Concrete
slab.
• The lowest range of illumination is 760 Lux, which is enough. Thus there is a scope to
reduce glazed areas without compromising optimal daylights.
• Since the property of glass is not considered, a suitable design strategy can be
suggested with the design of optimum glazed area to receive daylight, internal paints &
reflectors. Appropriate glass property with required VLT values and filming.
 Conclusion
• Using the excess amount of glass can create discomfort illumination level such as glare, and the same
can cost extra as well consume more energy.
• As suggested 40% glazed area of façade can be efficient, cost effective and sufficient to bring in
enough light as compared with 100% glass facades.
8.3 Further Suggestions & Conclusion
• The study suggests that using efficient material can benefit the building achieve efficient façade design
with lesser impact.
• At the city level if same strategy followed can benefit the environment and impacts at larger context.
• The study also suggest upon using materials which are certified or labeled for its environmental
performance.
• The methodology of research gives guideline for further study in the direction of environmental impact
study of various building materials to make informed choice on selecting appropriate materials.
• At larger perspective, introducing policies and guidelines on material usage pattern which can help
controlling various energy and environmental issues at country level, can benefit to achieve a
sustainable future.
• At present there are no initiatives taken by government body of India to promote green building
materials, green building rating systems promote them on the market point of view which also do not
succeed because of the limited awareness.
• Awareness and access to proper information are most important factors in the process, thus more
research and study are required in the same direction.
Thank You…

Environmental Impact of Building Materials: A Study of Energy Efficient Materials For Building Facade Systems in Mumbai City

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Environmental Impact of Building Materials: A Study of Energy Efficient Materials For Building Facade Systems in Mumbai City

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Research thesis

Environmental Impact Of Building Materials:

Executive Summery-importance of the study

4.1.1. Environmental Impacts

(iii) Various Pollution Impact

4. Status of large and medium

Ratio of facade material usage

2. Glazing based Fenestration

2. Glazing based Fenestration

2. Glazing based Fenestration

demonstrating modern materials

 Product/Materials to be studied for  Product/Materials to be studied

 Product/Materials to be studied for the

Stage-3 Stage-4 Stage-5

2. Water consumption Amount of water used Lt/m2 water Stage-2

Material 4. Climate condition based Thermal performance of U-value W/m2 K Stage-4

5. Reutilization how much of the material % can be reused Stage-5

6. Method of disposing At the demolition stage how 1. Biodegradable Stage-5

Product Co2 emission Product Water Con-

Stone(18mm Marble sheet) 4 Kg Co2/m2 Stone(18mm Marble sheet) 10 Lt/m2

Co2 emission ( Kg Co2/m2 ) Water Consumption (Lt/m2)

Product Embodied Product U-Value

Stone(18mm Marble sheet) 80 Mj/m2 Stone(18mm Marble sheet) 1.5W/m2 K

Embodied Energy (Mj/m2) U-Value (W/m2 K )

Product Reutilization Product Disposing method

Stone(18mm Marble sheet) 75% per m2 Stone(18mm Marble sheet) Biodegradable

(v) Applying Alternative Façade Strategies:

Façade Façade Sytem- Façade System-

Difference 21% 22% 18.9%

Suggested alternative materials:

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