GRIHA: Renewable Energy Utilization- A step towards sustainability

GRIHA is an acronym for Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment. GRIHA Council, is an independent platform (registered as a society) for the interaction on scientific and administrative issues related to sustainable habitats in the Indian context. GRIHA Council, is mandated to promote development of buildings and habitats in India through GRIHA. It was founded by TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute, New Delhi) with support from MNRE (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India) along with a handful of experts in the sustainability of built environment from across the country. 

In this blog we will be discussing on Energy section of GRIHA out of may other section which will include points and ways to sffirm them."Renewable Energy Utilization" criterion is a part of Energy section. The purpose of of this criterion is to ensure that building incorporate renewable energy as a source in the project and partially or completely get independent from the conventional source of energy such as coal petroleum etc. By fulfilling the criterion, a project can claim maximum of 7 points.  This criterion contributes 7% of total points.

In order to claim points in this criteria, a project has to meet below mentioned conditions:

• On-site/Off-site renewable energy system installation to offset a part of the annual energy consumption of internal artificial lighting and HVAC systems as mentioned in the table below: 

Daytime Commercial/ Institutional Buildings	Residential Buildings	24 X 7 occupied buildings	Points
2.5% (only On-site)	-	0.5% (only On-site)	Mandatory
5%	5%	1%	1
10%	10%	3%	2
15%	15%	5%	4
20%	20%	7%	5
25%	25%	10%	7

                                                                             OR

• Off-site renewable energy system to offset 100% building energy demand (this appraisal is available for only non-residential buildings) – Mandatory +7 points 

If the project is meeting the above mentioned conditions, following documents has to be submitted. The nature of documents can change but the purpose needs to be fulfilled in order to claim points

• Calculations/simulations for renewable energy system sizing & on-site annual energy generation potential. 

• Specification sheets and purchase orders (reflecting full quantities) of the renewable energy system, highlighting the panel performance (as tested under standard test conditions). 

• Drawings in CAD format to show location of renewable energy systems. 

• Documents supporting off-site generation of energy through renewable energy systems. These may be either: Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) for at least 2 years along with a declaration that the RECs are not being used for any other obligatory requirements and will be purchased every year OR Power Purchase Agreement from the utility for purchase of green power. In the agreement, the address of the particular site must be mentioned. 

• Photographs, with description, of the measures implemented.

For more details on green building and its other criterion visit GRIHA website. To download copy of GRIHA manual V 2015, click here