Bangalore is the IT capital of India without the shadow of a doubt, home to numerous industrial complexes, technological parks and corporate hubs. But what goes on behind the scenes of constructing an IT complex that conforms to ECBC rules of energy efficiency without compromising cost effectiveness or building quality?
As the leading glass manufacturing companies in India, AIS was approached by a leading developer of state-of-the-art Technology Parks for global IT, software and technology enterprises to help build the above-mentioned complex. At the end of the day, AIS helped the client build a world class, energy-efficient building with cutting edge glass solutions.
Here’s the story at a glance.
Problem
As a commercial building, the complex was curvilinear with the longer facades are facing East and West, while the other directions were blocked by service areas and toilets. A solar control glass was proposed to be used in the building with a VLT of 17%, SF of 23% and a good U-Value of 3.7.
However, light transmission was poor. So was the colour of the glass proposed initially.
Solution
In order to figure out the right glass for the complex, AIS carried out a Climactic Analysis for the city of Bangalore (which is located in the Moderate Zone), along with a whole building simulation using 4 different glass variants for a year involving Shadow Analysis.
The studies revealed that since Bangalore rarely had weather extremes, U value of glass could be modified. Similarly, due to the unique geometry of the building, there were barely any differences in energy consumption due to artificial means in the case of the proposed glass and the glass variants used in simulation.
Consequently, AIS proposed the installation of the Blue shade of AIS Ecosense Enhance high performance glass with a better SF of 37, thus reducing capital costs, and a U-value of 5.7 which was an insignificant change.
Results
- Cost savings: AIS Ecosense Enhance matched the initially proposed glass in terms of energy efficiency but at a significantly lesser cost.
- Operational cost savings: Since AIS Ecosense Enhance’s VLT was better than the proposed glass’s VLT, the need for artificial lighting in the complex was reduced, thus resulting in decreased use of electricity.
- Better aesthetics: The Blue shade of AIS Ecosense Enhance brought a refreshing sense of décor to the complex and was widely appreciated by the client.
- ECBC compliance: AIS Ecosense Enhance met all the strict energy efficiency norms without any hassle.
This was a significant victory for AIS and also the world of glass – thus reconfirming the critical role glass can play in building green buildings of the future.