Research carried out in the Building Energy Efficiency Group is directed towards ensuring comfortable environment through proper orientation, thermal insulation, window design, noise isolation as well as energy conservation in buildings. The energy conservation aspect includes maximum utilization of natural ventilation, daylight and solar energy for satisfying energy needs in buildings and providing comfortable environmental conditions indoors.
INFRASTRUCTURE
Special laboratory facilities have been developed for measurement of thermal and acoustical properties of materials as well as for experimental evaluation of parameters governing natural ventilation and daylight in buildings. These include:
- Low speed wind tunnel for ventilation and wind pressure distribution in buildings.
- Standard guarded hot plate apparatus for thermal conductivity (Temp. range 0-500C and 500-5000C
- Dome type of artificial sky for daylighting studies
- Photometric lab for characteristics of light sources and glazing materials
HIGHLIGHTS OF R& D
Research and developments in the field of efficiency of buildings have led to climatic zonation of the country for building design, formulation of standards for thermal and visual comfort, wind speed and lighting levels indoors and evolution of guidelines and methods for designing energy efficient buildings. Developments of devices for solar energy utilization have resulted in commercial exploitation of various types of solar water heaters. Autonomous Hybrid PV- thermal system has also been developed for electrical and thermal use in buildings.
Hand-book on climatic data for design of buildings for thermal comfort has been brought out. Guidelines and design data have been provided for thermal design of cold storages and for energy efficient design of residential, educational, office, commercial and industrial buildings. The results have been included in the BIS Handbook titled Functional Requirements of Buildings, the National Building Code and various standard codes of practice on lighting, ventilation, orientation, thermal insulation and air-conditioning.
Recommendations and simplified design aids have been brought out in CBRI publications titled Building Digests and Building Research Notes on:
- Assessment of solar radiation
- Tropical Summer Index for thermal comfort
- Thermal performance of building components
- Daylighting and natural ventilation of buildings
- Chimney design for domestic kitchens
- Solar space heating and water heating systems
- Roof surface evaporative cooling system
- Impact noise reduction in multistoried buildings
- Acoustical designing of auditoria etc.
- New Building Digest
- Prediction of air movements in buildings(BD-100)
- Guidelines for designing airy buildings (BD-121)
SOME IMPORTANT SPONSORED AND CONSULTANCY PROJECTS
- UNESCO sponsored projects on daylighting design for countries in south East Asia, sound diffraction across acoustical partitions, ventilation in wide span buildings, thermal stress in warm humid climate.
- Indo-German project on climate zonation for solar passive design of buildings
- Energy conservation in buildings
- Handbook on functional requirements of buildings
- Energy consumption index for buildings
- Evaluation of different design of DDA houses for comfort and energy conversation
- Design of Tassar Cocoon grain age buildings in Tropical tassar belt
- Performance evaluation of polycarbonate and plastic sheets and number of insulating materials
- Establishment of daylight measurement station and investigations on evaluations of daylight and solar irradiance parameters.
- Prospects and strategy for incorporating energy efficiency in new buildings
- Effects of floods lighting on monuments
- Energy efficiency in lighting of office buildings.
- Evaluation of EPS as roof thermal insulation
- Determination of temperature profile and energy load on computer model for three composite buildings and validation of thermal properties of BASF products.
- Study the effect of rising temperature on thermal transmission through resin bonded fiber glass product.
CURRENT R&D PROGRAMME
The current R & D programme includes development of functionally efficient building designs and development of facilities for evaluation of thermal and acoustical characteristics of building materials.