Workshop for Architects on Passive Cooling Technologies (DAY 1)

August 21, 2015

Workshop for Architects on Passive Cooling Technologies (DAY 1)

Today, I attended the FairConditioning Building Energy Modeling and Advisory Programme Workshop DAY 1 for empowering practicing architects to learn passive cooling technologies.

Vivek Gilani, India programme manger of FairConditioning and Ashoka fellow:

'Welcome everyone to Day 1 of the FairConditioning Building Energy Modeling and Advisory Workshop at Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture and Environmental Studies. The goal of the FairConditioning program is to cool India efficiently and sustainability.'

'During this workshop, we're working to bridge this gap between knowledge and action. Lots of knowledge stays unused. The cooling space in India is ruled HVAC consultants. But it's best that architects know HVAC as well to give consultants a 'chill down their spine'. (Pun intended I think). 3 important things for any person: In Hindi - roti (food), kapda (clothing), makhan (house).'

The Head - Economy
Buildings consume 40% of all energy produced. 70% of buildings that will be built by 2030 haven't been built yet! This means that currently only 1/3 of the buildings that will exist in 15 years have been built. That's a lot of buildings and a lot cooling required, specially for India - a country that primarily needs cooling!

AC use in India will increase 7 times by 2035!

There is often a 'Split incentive' cited by builders as they don't directly gain from energy efficiency - it is passed on in cost savings to residents. However, there is a strong economic argument to save energy - see the increased fossil fuels import graph below.

For the first time in the history of our planet, we have passed 400 parts per million (ppm) of Carbon Dioxide in 2014. Confirm this fact here: http://climate.nasa.gov/. There is no question that climate change is man-made.

We also learned that Air Conditioners (ACs) contribute to global warming/climate change in two ways. First, an indirect effect because of energy use that primarily comes from coal (fossil fuel) which when burned emits Carbon Dioxide. Second, a direct effect through refrigerants.

Refrigerants like HFCs, CFCs and HFCs greatly contribute to global warming. In the photo below, there is a score for GWP (Global Warming Potential) - in other words, how seriously this gas effects the environment. There is good news though! We can switch to natural refrigerants like R290 Propane or R217 Amonia - which cool just as well and are safe. We had a discussion about this and realized that driving a car filled with flammable fuels like petrol and diesel is FAR more dangerous than using a refrigerant like propane or ammonia.

However, most major air-conditioning manufacturers like Daikin and others, patent a proprietary refrigerant and base their business model on selling customers refrigerant when it runs out! This is why, when the world decided to ban CFCs and HCFCs due to their detrimental effect on the ozone layer, the AC manufacturers took up another GHG that they could create a synthetic refrigerant with commercialize. They switched to HFCs - see the graph below. If we continue at current trends, HFCs growth will grow exponentially. And, The Global Warming Potential of HFC is 1430!

The slide below refers ONLY to India. By 2030, we will need to plant 1.35 billion trees to offset India's GHG emissions at current rates. Let's reduce emissions now!

This was a very, very sobering reality. This is a view of ice in the Arctic. Vivek shared that by 2030, according to current estimates, there will be no ice left in the Arctic during summer months! Visit this site again to verify this fact, and click on Land Ice: http://climate.nasa.gov/. This site shows that Antarctica and Greenland combined are losing 421 billion metric tons of ice per year!

The Heart

Now, we come to the responsibility. As the current generation of humans, we have a responsibility to future generations to leave our planet better, or just the same, as we found it. Like the saying goes, "With great power, comes great responsibility." We exhibit great power when we turn the key of our car or flip a switch at home, there is responsibility attached to this power - to deny it is irresponsible. For architects, we need to think about environmental safety the same we think about structural and fire safety.

A point was raised that living sustainably is not just to preserve our planet, it is to preserve the lives of fellow humans. By 2100, in West Bengal alone, 10 million people will be homeless and will be forced to migrate because of climate change. This makes the case that sustainability is a humanitarian issue.

From 2004-06, 325 million people were affected by climate change worldwide, compared to 24 million who were involved in traffic accidents that required medical attention. Mainstream media needs to focus more on climate change, and some are. Check out this CNN journalist who has decided to only report on climate change throughout the whole year: http://edition.cnn.com/specials/opinions/two-degrees.

India has committed to a GHG reduction as well by 2020: 20-25% reduction in GHG intensity of GDP over 2005 levels. Now, we need to follow through with it.

Here is the Hands on solution to address the 40% of energy that goes into buildings in India. Developing 'Thoughtful Architecture' that addresses structure, space and sustainability is one of the answers.

Here is a conversation that might be head in an Indian city. Have you ever heard a conversation like this?

Next, Deepa Parekh began her talk on Sustainable cooling. The goal is "to design a building that is passively cooled". In other words, one that can help occupants attain 'thermal comfort', or live at a comfortable temperature, while using low or zero energy.

Green building may not look different, but it's meant to reduce the environmental impact.

We discussed types of heat - sensible, latent and radiant, and ways heat is transferred - conduction, convection and radiation. Then, we learned about Dry Bulb, Wet Bulb, Relative Humidity, Specific Volume, and Psychometric charts! We also created sun path diagrams to understand how to optimally shade a structure. We also discussed different materials/methods to reduce heat transfer or heat ingress. Finally, we were exposed to several passive cooling technologies that we adopted for specific cities. If all these concepts sound alien to you, as they did for me, take the free MOOC: https://www.udemy.com/cooling-buildings-thoughtfully/. See slides below for a quick insight.