TOWARDS NET ZERO ENERGY BUILDINGS - mgbc.org.my€¦ · presentation outline i. ecopolis –introduction to auroville ii. creating a regenerative environment iii. sustainable architecture

TOWARDS NET ZERO ENERGY BUILDINGS

OCTOBER 18, 2018

KLCC, KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA

PRESENTATION OUTLINE

I. ECOPOLIS – INTRODUCTION TO AUROVILLE

II. CREATING A REGENERATIVE ENVIRONMENT

III. SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE

IV. SWITCH TO SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SOURCES

V. WATER – EFFLUENTS – TREATED WATER

VI. NON-POLLUTING TRANSPORTATION

VII. OTHER FEATURES IN BRIEF

I. ECOPOLIS – INTRODUCTION TO AUROVILLE

3 TRANSITION FROM AGROPOLIS TO PETROPOLIS

4 LIMITS TO GROWTH AND CARRYING CAPACITY

5 PRINCIPLES OF REGENERATIVE DEVELOPMENT

§ Consider human development, social structures and cultural concerns are an inherent part of the ecosystem

§ Ask ‘How can humans participate in the ecosystem using development to create optimum health for all.’

§ Restore and create eco-system capacities

§ Respect diversity and uniqueness of each place as crucial to the design

§ Consider the design process as ongoing and participatory

§ Promote closed loop systems

6 ENSURING REGENERATIVE CHARACTER OF THE CITY

City surrounded by the green belt

7 BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO AUROVILLE

What is Auroville?

§ Auroville is a universal township in the making for a population of up to 50,000 people from around the world.

Where is Auroville?

§ Located in South India, a few km inland from the Coromandel Coast, 160 km south of Chennai and 10 km north of the town of Pondicherry

Genesis of Auroville

§ The concept of Auroville, an ideal township devoted to an experiment in human unity, was shared with the Govt. of India, which supported it and presented to the General Assembly of UNESCO. In 1966 UNESCO passed a unanimous resolution commending it as a project of importance to the future of humanity.

8 THEN, AND THE FUTURENOW

INAUGURATION: FEBRUARY 28, 19689

AUROVILLE CHARTER10

11 EARLY YEARS

II. CREATING A REGENERATIVE ENVIRONMENT

Source: http://www.green.aurovilleportal.org/

13 INHERITING A DEVASTATED LAND

14 HEALING PROCESS THROUGH REFORESTATION

15 REGENERATION OF ECOSYSTEM OF SERVICES

16 WATER CHALLENGES

17 DRAINAGE CHANNELS AND SILTING PONDS

18 WATER CATCHMENT

19 SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION

§ The entire water supply both for drinking and irrigation is dependent on underground sources (deep wells)

§ Extensive water management research and application.

§ Extensive networks of raised earthbanks and ditches called ‘bunds’ were placed along the contours of the land, along with a series of earth check dams and catchment ponds.

§ Work units ‘Palmyra’ and ‘Water Harvest’ are working on the rehabilitation of an ancient network of community catchment tanks that once covered the land, in an attempt to§ Recharge the aquifers§ Prevent saltwater intrusion, and§ Conserve water for irrigation

20 WATER RESERVOIRS

III. SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE

22 AUROVILLE ARCHITECTURE

Congregation of architects from all over the world

§ The dream of building a new city has attracted architects from all over the world since Auroville’s inception.

Various aspects of Auroville architecture§ Building materials and technologies§ Eco-friendly architecture§ Climate-responsive design§ Integration with the natural surrounding

Co-developments§ Design and management of building infrastructure§ Integrated rainwater harvesting systems§ Domestic waste water treatment plants§ Integration of renewable energy systems

23 APPROPRIATE BUILDING TECHNOLOGIES

Definition

§ Building processes and tools that are appropriate to the climate, socio-economic conditions and natural resources of the area, and which contribute to sustainable development

Examples of appropriate building technologies§ Earth construction§ Ferrocement

Earth construction§ Compressed Earth Blocks (CEBs) are made in a manual press using a

mixture of earth with 3-5% cement§ CEBs use between 3-5 times less energy to make than fired bricks§ CEBs can be made on site, saving transportation fuel and cost; their

production does not contribute to environmental pollution

24 LOW EMBODIED ENERGY: SWEAT EQUITY

25 RAMMED EARTH CONSTRUCTION

26 BAMBOO: CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL AND BIOMASS

27 EXPERIMENTING WITH MODERN MATERIALS

28 INNOVATIVE BUILDING CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS

29 INNOVATIVE BUILDING CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS

30 ARCHITECTURE: SEARCH FOR BEAUTY IN MATTER

31 ARCHITECTURE: SEARCH FOR BEAUTY IN MATTER

Kala Bhumi

32 ARCHITECTURE: SEARCH FOR BEAUTY IN MATTER

33 ARCHITECTURE: SEARCH FOR BEAUTY IN MATTER

34 HOUSING COMPLEX (17 APARTMENTS)

Rammed earth and CSEB from foundation to roof:- 4 times less embodied energy- 3 times less operating energy- Low emission during construction and use

Other features:- Rainwater harvesting- Biological wastewater treatment system- Earth tunnel for natural air conditioning

35 HOUSING COMPLEX

36 EXAMPLES OF HOUSING PROJECTS

37 EXAMPLES OF PUBLIC BUILDINGS

38 EXAMPLE OF A SCHOOL

IV. SWITCH TO SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SOURCES

40 SOLAR BOWL FOR STEAM GENERATION

41 WINDMILLS AND SOLAR PV FOR WATER PUMPING

42 WIND TURBINES OFFSETTING ENERGY USE

43 FIRST SOLAR POWER PLANT IN THE COUNTRY

44 MANUFACTURING OF BIOGAS PLANTS

Present Future

45 MICRO-GRID WITH VIRTUAL NET METERING

46 DISTRIBUTED RENEWABLE ENERGY

47 DISTRIBUTED RENEWABLE ENERGY

48 NET ENERGY POSITIVE CITY

6% 3%

91%

Stand-alone solar PV Grid-connected solar PV Wind turbines

7.84

4.83

- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Renewable Energy Energy consumption

Mill

ions

Production vs. consumption (kWh/year)

Renewable energy generation around 60% more than the city’s consumption

V. WATER – EFFLUENTS – TREATED WATER

§ Water scarcity will create awareness of unsustainable water practices, thereby augmenting the need for water reduction measures and proper treating of waste water

§ Treating waste water with minimal dependency on external energy and maintenance procedures

§ To achieve discharge standards

§ To be able to reuse wastewater and its contents

50 WATER – EFFLUENTS – TREATED WATER

51 WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

Challenges and solutions

§ Ground water is inadequate to develop and sustain activities

Achieve water

security

Rainwater harvesting

Wastewater recycling

Groundwater use

Desalination of brackish

water

Water conservation

52 ELEVATION CONTOURS

53 HIGH PERCOLATION AREAS

54 EXTRACTED WATER FLOW STREAMS

55 RAINWATER HARVESTING

Delineating Watersheds and micro-watersheds

Identification of surface drainage patterns

Quantitative modelling of surface run-off

Quantification of surface water catchment areas

Rainwater harvesting

study

56 TOPOGRAPHIC SURVEYS

57 MONITORING OF WATER WELLS

58 RAIN WATER HARVESTING

59 DECENTRALIZED WASTEWATER TREATMENT SITES

§ Suitable for treatment of wastewater flows from 1-1000 m³/d

§ Tolerant to inflow fluctuations

§ Uses as much as possible gravity instead of pumps, avoiding valves

§ Aims towards reliable and long-lasting devices

§ Anaerobic technology in warm climates, aerobic technology in colder climates

§ The treatment is achieved by channeling the waste water through different devices, using natural anaerobic and aerobic processes

60 DECENTRALIZED WASTE WATER TREATMENT SYSTEM

•Settler

Pre-treatment

•Baffled tank

1st treatment•Anaerobic

filter

2nd treatment

•Planted gravel filter

3rd treatment•Polishing

pond

Post-treatment

61 WASTE WATER TREATMENT: OPERATING PRINCIPLE

0200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

Raw SewageSettler Outlet

Baffle ReactorOutlet Gravel Filter

Outlet Pond Outlet

571

457

2520

18

1086

880

7060

56BOD

and

CO

D, m

g/l

Stages of BOD and COD reduction

BOD5 (mg/l ) COD (mg/l)

62 WASTE WATER TREATMENT: SYSTEM PERFORMANCE

63 WASTE WATER TREATMENT: EXAMPLES

64 WASTE WATER TREATMENT: EXAMPLES

65 WASTE WATER TREATMENT: EXAMPLES

•Settler

Pre-treatment

•Baffled tank

1st treatment•Anaerobic

filter

2nd treatment

•Vortex system

3rd treatment•Polishing

pond

Post-treatment

66 IMPROVE WASTE WATER TREATMENT SYSTEM

67

Space requirement reduced from 5 to 1.2 m2/m3 of wastewater treated

IMPROVE WASTE WATER TREATMENT SYSTEM

68 THE ”VORTEX” CONCEPT

69 PRELIMINARY EXPERIMENT WITH VORTEX SYSTEM

70 VORTEX SYSTEM AT AN APARTMENT BLOCK

71 WASTEWATER SYSTEMS INTEGRATED INTO LANDSCAPE

VI. NON-POLLUTING TRANSPORTATION

73 TRANSPORTATION IN AUROVILLE

Car-free galaxy plan

§ All areas of the city are within 5 - 6 minutes walking distance from the Crown Road.

§ The outer ring road could take motorized traffic and connect with centralized parking areas

§ Onward travel would be by bicycle

Pedal power within the city

§ Inside the outer ring road area, transport of people and goods would be by pedal-power (network of pleasant cycle and pedestrian paths) and electric-powered vehicles

Parking at outer ring road

§ The outer ring road will have large storage yards for accommodating supplies while awaiting their dispatch into the city.

74 BICYCLE PATHWAYS

75 BICYCLE PARKING OPTIONS

76 NON-POLLUTING TRANSPORTATION INITIATIVES

77 NON-POLLUTING TRANSPORTATION INITIATIVES

78 NON-POLLUTING TRANSPORTATION

VII. OTHER FEATURES IN BRIEF

80 ORGANIC FARMING

81 ROOFTOP GARDENING

82 WASTE MANAGEMENT AND UPCYCLING

83

Auroville: A regenerative city with a soul

Acknowledgements: All photos used for this presentation are from friends in Auroville.