EcoCommercial Building in India shows positive energy balance after first year of use

One year after the inauguration of Bayer MaterialScience’s emissions-neutral office building in Greater Noida, 40 kilometers southeast of the Indian capital of New Delhi, the energy balance is positive, as expected. 72,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy were generated with the help of the photovoltaic system installed on the roof, whereas the building used nearly 64,000 kWh over the same period. The net result is a surplus of more than 8,000 kilowatt hours of energy.

"The building is designed to use 50 percent less electricity than comparable buildings in our region," says Ram Sai Yelamanchili, who heads Bayer MaterialScience’s EcoCommercial Building program in India. The objective of this global network of experts is to support the responsible parties in the construction industry with the planning and erection of particularly energy-efficient buildings and the rehabilitation of existing buildings for greater energy efficiency. It is part of the sustainability program of Bayer Group.

"The building meets 100 percent of its energy needs via the photovoltaic system on the roof, which is aligned with the path of the sun. This enabled us to avoid the emission of 67 metric tons of carbon dioxide last year, which corresponds to the CO2 emissions of around 20 vehicles," adds Yelamanchili.

The cubic, two-story building with roughly 900 square meters of floor space was designed and optimized for the region’s sub-tropical climate on the basis of comprehensive computer simulations. Polyisocyanurate thermal insulation shields the building envelope against the heat, reducing the amount of energy required for air conditioning. The products and systems used were sourced from the region.

Sustainable developments in the building sector were also the focus of a workshop for representatives from industry, academia, politics and NGOs held in the building in Greater Noida on February 8. Part of the Climate Related Energy Efficient Design of Building Product Solutions (CREED-PS) project, the event is one in a series being held during the Indo-German Year 2011-2012.

The objective of the meeting organized by Bayer MaterialScience, Professor Dr. Uta Pottgie?er of the University of Applied Sciences Ostwestfalen-Lippe and other academic partners is to establish a common platform for sharing information and drafting a roadmap for future activities. The primary focus will be on the pooling of know-how and concepts for energy- and cost-efficient building in India.