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These Green Rating systems are conceived by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and developed jointly with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) in 2007. It is a green building design evaluation system customized to Indian idiosyncrasies and is suitable for all kinds of buildings in different climatic zones of the country. This rating system is now managed by ADaRSH (Association for Development and Research of Sustainable Habitats) and is subdivided into GRIHA & SVAGRIHA (Small Versatile Affordable GRIHA). The GRIHA consultant generally gets the building rated under either of the below mentioned rating systems:
1. GRIHA: In the GRIHA rating system, different levels of certifications are awarded (one star to five stars) based on the number of points earned on the basis of the number of criterion achieved by the building under four categories site selection and site planning, building planning and construction, building operation and maintenance and innovation. In GRIHA the minimum points required to get a certificate is 50 and the total number of points which can be awarded is 104.
2. SVAGRIHA: is a rating system developed for small stand alone buildings like residences, commercial offices, schools, etc with a build-up area of 2 500 sqm or less. A project can achieve a maximum of 50 points under 14 criteria which are further classified into 5 groups— energy, water & waste, materials, landscape & others.
Each rating system adopts a standard set of procedures to certify a building. The procedure for getting a building rated under the various rating systems in India is mainly divided into 4 phases, namely the Design Phase, Construction Phase, Post Construction Phase and Post Occupancy Phase according to the rating procedures involved.
1. Design Phase: The design phase involves getting the building registered under a specific rating system after which the documents concerning the design aspects would be submitted for getting the building pre-certified. Pre-certification adds value to the building and set the objectives required to be achieved. This process is not applicable for all rating systems.
2. Construction Phase: This is the second stage of the rating process in which the officials from the rating agency will visit the site for verification and would award pre-certification status in case the project fulfills the mandatory requirements as per the criteria.
3. Post Construction Phase: Once the construction gets completed, the owner or the consultant has to submit the remaining documents covering all the criterions under the rating system to the rating agency. The agency would review the documents; ask for clarity (if any) on the documentation submitted. The owner/consultants would clarify the points and re-submit the documents which would again be reviewed. The project gets awarded the provisional rating after successful review. This process of provisional rating is applicable only in GRIHA
4. Post Occupancy Phase : If the project meets all the requirements as per the different criteria, then after the building is occupied, it will be awarded the final certificate after a general audit from the rating agency personnel (measurement and verification). The owner can either accept the rating or can appeal for a higher level of rating in case they feel that they deserve to get the points under a criterion, which has been denied. The rating agency would review the documentation again and give the final rating. There is a system of renewing the rating, in which the rating agency audits the building after a certain period of time based on the re-submission of comprehensive documentation for each rating criteria.
This rating system which can be applied to all kind of buildings in all the climatic zones of India has made energy simulations mandatory thereby ensuring an energy efficient building. It not only recognizes the intentions but also gives adequate importance to the building performance. GRIHA system has four criteria focusing on the energy aspect. Criterion 13 encourages the building to be developed in a climate-responsive manner so as to reduce the conventional energy consumption of the building by choosing the appropriate building orientation and shape, optimized design of the fenestration and the shading devices to allow adequate day lighting without bringing in the glare in the living spaces. Also, it makes it mandatory for the building to plan the artificial lighting systems appropriately, avoiding over-designing and the LPD values should be lower than those prescribed by the ECBC. By fulfilling this criterion, 8 points can be achieved. Under criterion 14, there are two mandatory conditions that need to be satisfied. Firstly, the building should meet the mandatory compliance measures recommended by ECBC. Secondly, hourly calculations need to be performed to show that air-conditioned areas meet thermal comfort conditions as prescribed by the NBC. This criterion would help in attaining 16 points. Under criterion 18, by installing renewable energy systems on site, 5 points can be attained. This is mandatory and aims to promote the use of clean energy on site and reduce the exploitation of natural resources. Criterion 19 talks about installing solar water heating system in the building and at least 50% of the annual energy requirement for heating water should be met using this. Many a times, the buildings do not perform in the way they have been designed. Thus, regular monitoring and appropriate operation and maintenance practices need to be adopted so that the building performs in a sustainable manner. The building performance is validated by an audit that is conducted minimum one-year post occupancy of the building to see if the building is performing as suggested during the design and developmental stage. This audit is conducted by a BEE certified auditor. Also, GRIHA has a mandatory provision to monitor the energy and water consumption of the building and adopting appropriate operation and maintenance measures to ascertain efficient functioning of the building.
SVAGRIHA is a system which works for small developments and stresses on overall building design. The system has 6 criteria which focus on the energy aspect of the building. Under criterion 2, by adopting passive heating and cooling strategies to reduce the energy consumption of the building while maintaining the thermal comfort conditions for the occupant, 4 points can be achieved. Under criterion 3, by adopting good fenestration design for reducing direct heat gain and glare within the building while allowing maximum daylight penetration, 6 points can be achieved. Under criterion 4, by designing energy efficient lighting systems can help in reducing the LPD values below the ECBC standards and achieving 2 points. Under criterion 5, by designing the building envelope using appropriate material and orienting the building in the right direction can help in keeping the heat gain of the building in acceptable limits and reducing the energy consumption of the building. site and awards 4 additional points.
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