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Innovative Façades for Energy Efficiency

By: Ar. Tripat Girdhar, Arete Design Studio

The buildings are no longer considered as just a static barrier which separates the interior built environment from the external one. Now creative and innovative designers are designing beautiful structure of architecture that contributes towards the environment through façades, as the research says, buildings are exposed to a lot of sunlight which can harvest a lot of solar energy. Energy harvesting is a process in which energy derived from renewable resources is gathered, captured at a place and then can be re-used either to generate electricity or for other purposes.

The best-planned way taken out by the architects and the designers is by placing solar panels in glass elements in the perpendicular direction of the sun, which can harvest the highest amount of energy derived from the sunlight and can produce a large amount of electricity from the solar energy. The main motto of designing the energy harvesting building is to combine sustainable energy and habitability to create a sustainable way of living. From an architect’s point of view, buildings – either residential or commercial – should be designed in such a manner to conserve renewable energy which can be later used in justifiably producing electricity.

All the directions of the buildings now being constructed are useful for energy conservation, but major of the solar energy is consumed from the south and west side direction of the buildings as they contribute more to heating of the building and energy conservation, as per the experts, it is advisable to install dual-glass solar panel and sunshades on the buildings as it helps in absorbing the solar energy.

A double glass solar panel is an innovative product that uses solar cells layer laminated between two 2.5mm heat-strengthened glasses instead of the traditional polymer back-sheet, it helps in maintaining the temperature between the inside environment and the outside environment of the house. Energy harvesting is considered as one of the most important catalysts in wealth generation, economic growth, and social development in any country. According to a report, it has been studied that buildings are responsible for the annual consumption of 40% of the annual energy.

Solar Energy is a plentiful, reliable and renewable energy source that contributes to the reduction of a country’s carbon emissions. Commercial buildings like offices and other business organisation depend on electricity for most of their energy consumption needs and the consumption of power in an office building are high during the daytime. Installing solar panels and a rooftop solar power system will help in generating solar energy for commercialFacade buildings.

In a developing country like India, a rooftop solar power system is a clear choice for commercial buildings as they can meet up to 20% of an office building electricity requirement, whereas when it comes to residential complexes it has been observed that an estimated amount of Rs 6.10 lack of the electricity bill can get saved by installing rooftop solar power system. In the present scenario, the world is adopting energy harvesting building concepts and renewable re-generating power at a rapid rate. India is also emerging in the global arena as a leading generator of renewable energy; the government is offering 30% of the capital subsidiary for residential and commercial rooftop solar customers to encourage higher green energy adoption.

The government has set-up a target to achieve 175GW capacity of renewable energy by the end of 2022. Taking this immense growth into consideration, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy through its National Solar Mission of India has set a target of 40 GW power through rooftop solar by 2022. Though this target may seem ambitious, it is still achievable. There are ample sources of renewable energies available in the environment if utilised rationally can be used to convert into electrical energy for powering a variety of circuits. Energy harvesting is useful as it offers a means of powering electronics where there are no conventional power sources. Apart from solar energy, there are various other ways in which electricity can be generated like wind energy & thermal energy.

Now the architects are designing the buildings by keeping the focus on combining sustainable energy and habitability. The innovation lies in the fact that in contrast to the bulky windmills that are used universally to harvest wind energy, the special façade elements, mounted perpendicular to the surface of the façade are made of sustainable/recyclable plastic which is highly flexible. More movement allows more compression that in-turn creates more pressure or force which is converted to electric charge through the principle of Piezoelectricity.

Dynamic Sun-Shaded Facade – The Atlantis

Our latest project, The Atlantis is going to be constructed in Mohali, Chandigarh- Sector 82, surrounded by 100 feet wide road on the front side and 164 feet road on the other side, situated near Manav Rachana School. The Atlantis has been conceptualised on green buildings; the project is two-sided open suitable for all seasons and is close to nature. Atlantis is going to be the tallest building in the heart of Mohali city that itself is iconically shaped.

The new innovative feature being used in this project is the elevation changes. We have installed sunshades on the front elevation of the building, which rotates with the sun horizontally over a window or vertically in front of a window to prevent the infiltration of solar heat or glare; while allowing daylight views.

Sunshades deliver more energy savings in daylight. Installing sunshades in façade is bringing a new phase in architectural trade. Aluminium shuttering with shear wall technology and the better coordination of uPVC windows has been placed on the premises to achieve a good design which is very cost-effective and it also reduces the burden on the developer and gets the end-user a great apartment to live.

QUICK FACTS:
Project: The Atlanits
Location: Chandigarh, Mohali- Sector82
Client: VRS Builders
Architect: Ar. Tripat Girdhar
Materials used for façade & fenestration: uPVC windows, sunshade bands, dual glass, Mivan Technology
Commencement Date: January 2020
Completion Date: Not yet disclosed.