Tag Archives: GRIHA

Indian Green Building Ratings

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Magic Tricks & Green Ratings

Green Ratings and the Art of Illusion

I’ve been critical of Indian green building ratings, their basic limitations and the fact that they can and will be manipulated. Of course this is not restricted to India alone… the problem is worldwide.

Now, a study by the New Delhi-based research organisation, Centre for Science and Environment, CSE, shows that a number of buildings that had been awarded platinum status–the highest achievable rating of the Indian Green Building Council or IGBC–were in fact barely worthy of any rating at all based on the amount of energy and water they consumed. Interestingly, the study was based on building performance data on IGBC’s website itself. A defensive IGBC is now nit-picking about CSE’s method of analysis but whichever way you look at it, the fact remains that the ratings methodology looks severely flawed.

How is it possible for the difference between the theoretical consumption–on the basis of which the rating is given–and the actual consumption, to be so vast? To my mind, it strikes at the very root of the problem when the system rewards you for your stated intent (genuine or otherwise) instead of rewarding you for your actions. It is all very well to brag that your building has a fantastic green rating but this has to be borne out by actual performance.

The worrying aspect is, the gulf between ratings and reality has ramifications far beyond mere bragging rights.

Many state governments give tax-breaks and extra floor-space for green buildings so the incentive to obtain a certification can be huge.  It is, unfortunately, all too easy to claim one thing at the time of rating and then shift the goal-posts at a later date.

Now that this latest can of worms has been opened, let us hope for a positive change in the way ratings are given and retained. With so many big names and businesses involved, however, there is always a chance that they will collectively try to sweep it under the carpet; and use the old system of discrediting the whistle-blower.

Acknowledgement: image from Pixbay

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TERI and USGBC to join forces

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TERI & USGBC to join forcesNow that was unexpected!

New Delhi, June 7: The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) today announced a strategic collaboration to accelerate the development of high performance buildings in India and Southeast Asia.

Essentially, apart from lavishing praise on each other in their press-releases, they’re talking about making it easier for projects to have dual certification by “offering seamless pathways” to do so. However, what we still don’t know–and what they haven’t spelt out–is how they plan to reconcile their fundamentally different approaches to sustainable construction.

One wonders what compulsions made these two reach out to each other. Let’s not fool ourselves that it was an altruistic move for the betterment of all mankind. This was a hard business decision and there must be some powerful financial reasons behind it.

What will it mean for the future of GRIHA? Are they running scared because LEED certification has greater aspirational status and because India is already the third largest market for them outside of the USA? On the other hand, GRIHA is officially backed by the Indian government so, is LEED trying to stick a foot in that door now?

Time will tell of course but I can’t help feeling that TERI has made a blunder.

Press releases from TERI & USGBC

Edit: On request from TERI, the image in this post (which originally contained their logo) has been changed.

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SVAGRIHA – a simplified version of the GRIHA Green Rating System

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They’re calling it “Small, Versatile, Affordable” GRIHA – a less complicated green rating system for projects less than 2500 sqm. in area.   Quoting from the email they sent me:

ADaRSH (Association for Development & Research of Sustainable Habitats) is pleased to announce the launch of

SVAGRIHA
Small Versatile Affordable Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment

A Rating system for small homes, offices and commercial buildings with built-up area less than 2500sqm

SVAGRIHA is a significantly simplified, faster, easier and more affordable rating system and will eventually function as a design-cum-rating tool. It was required that attention be paid to smaller buildings in India which although have small individual environmental footprints but their cumulative effect is far bigger. SVAGRIHA has been designed as an extension of GRIHA and has been specifically developed for projects with built-up area less than 2500sqm. SVAGRIHA can help in design and evaluation of individual residences, small offices and commercial buildings. The rating comprises of only 14 criteria (instead of 34 of GRIHA) and the interface comprises of simplified calculators. These calculators can be filled using information from construction drawings like areas and quantities of materials. This can be done easily by the architect of the project. Once completed, the tool will tell the consultant the number of points that they are able to achieve in that particular criterion and provide recommendations for any improvements in order to improve the environmental performance of the building.

Process of SVAGRIHA Rating

  • Registration of project with ADaRSH
  • Submission of completed calculators, drawings and other documents as required (quantity estimates) to ADaRSH
  • Assessment/Review as per SVAGRIHA
  • Site Visit and due diligence check post construction (mandatory)
  • Evaluation by GRIHA certified Evaluator
  • Award of Rating.

Note: The site audit to check compliance will be done once the project is complete and all equipment to be verified are installed.

For more information please visit www.grihaindia.org

GRIHA is the national green rating system for India developed by TERI and the Indian Government. I’ve always felt that GRIHA is far more suitable for us than (the more popular & better known) LEED rating system.

SVAGRIHA has just 14 criteria compared to GRIHA’s 34 and can act as a good checklist at the design stage.

SVAGRIHA CriteriaSVAGRIHA point groupsLooking at the point groups, I’m happy to note the weight given to Energy and Water conservation. At the same time, to achieve a rating, the design must achieve minimum standards in all categories. So while they say that 25 our of 50 points will give you a one star rating, adding up all the minimums means you actually need at least 28 points.  And finally, the table below shows the star rating that can be achieved.

SVAGRIHA stars

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GRIHA v/s LEED – which is the better system

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This article from ConstructionWeek is sure to fuel a debate that could go on forever with proponents of both systems backing their favourite.  Any rating system can be manipulated and, in this regard, GRIHA scores higher because there is lot less scope to fudge it.  More importantly, LEED gives points for, say, high-tech systems to save air-conditioning costs whereas GRIHA rewards you for passive cooling that does away with the air-conditioning in the first place – a far more appropriate strategy in a country that is chronically short of power.

At the end of the day, I just use the GRIHA checklist to do a self-analysis and see if there is some way to improve the design.

See :: Government to Lead by Example for Green Buildings

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GRIHA

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After being a while in the pipeline, The Energy Research Institute – TERI – released GRIHA, (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment) which has been developed keeping the Indian scenario in mind. GRIHA evaluates a building’s environmental performance over its life cycle and rates it based on a number of criteria. Now, the Ministry for Renewable Energy has said that they are thinking of giving incentives to green buildings in the form of tax breaks.

The Green Building Council, meanwhile, already has their own version of LEED here: LEED-India which is, apparently, more restrictive than its US counterpart. LEED has got the backing of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), which is not surprising given that their centre in Hyderabad received a Platinum award from the GBC.

Whether both rating systems survive or one will become the standard is unknown at this point and I had, so far, thought that GRIHA would be pushed aside by LEED’s marketing muscle. However, with the government stepping in with the promise of tax-breaks for GRIHA, it might just emerge the winner. If, on the other hand, the government is seen as interfering and the awarding of points is thought to be biased, it will serve nobody.

In the meanwhile, there are many who feel that neither system is holistic enough. See the article in Down To Earth magazine

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