Construction and infrastructure development are growth engines for all economies, including India’s. It is estimated that India will spend $432bn by 2030 on infrastructure development as its seeks to improve the quality of lives for its citizens and leverage its abundant resources. Further, it is estimated that 70 percent of the buildings that will make up India’s infrastructure development by 2030, are yet to be built. This presents a huge opportunity to address sustainability challenges through the inclusion of practices that enable particularly energy savings and resource management on the whole.
The need to adapt our construction techniques is further substantiated by the increase in temperatures. India is witnessing significant annual gains in temperature since the year 2000. According to recent data from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the decadal mean surface temperatures across the country now registers in at the 40?to 42 degrees centigrade mark. As a result, a new challenge is emerging – one that will demand immediate attention!
As it stands, less than 10 percent of Indian households have access to air conditioning units, while more than 60% of urban roofs are made with conventional building materials that trap heat. As urbanisation and the demand for higher living increases, the need for air-conditioning will increase – leading to further energy demands. Fortunately, there are several technologies now available in the market to aid in resource, particularly, energy management. One such technology is cool roofs.
Cool Roofing Through Perlcon GIB
One of the building’s fore-most lines of defence against energy wastage is the roof. With proper planning – a roof can be designed to drop energy costs of a building by up to 20 to 35 percent – just through the application of technologies that prevent the transfer of heat from the roof surface through to the interior of a building. The GLAZED ISOBALL (GIB) from Perlcon Premix is one such technology that deters convectional transfer of heat into a building – leading to energy savings.
GIB is a light weight material produced through a special process. The material is in the form of glass like bubbles. These are closed cell particles with high mechanical strength, very low water absorption & very high fire resistance characteristic. GIB gets its mechanical and chemical properties from Perlite and as such, GIB is chemically inert giving it long lasting excellent heat & acoustic insulation characteristics.
GIB can be mixed with cement, minerals gypsum, fly ash etc., to make variety of finished products. Due to its low water absorption property, if GIB is used where water is used to mix the different materials, it will help in reducing water consumption, drying cost and increase productivity. More over because of the its low water absorption property the volume of mass remains same after addition of water in the concrete/ mix.
Costs & Energy Savings:
GIB Cool roofs save energy and costs by upto 35 % by reducing cooling load requirements in a building. This is achieved by keeping the temperatures inside the top floor of a building lower, as seen from the field performance. As a result, the need for air conditioning is reduced leading to a reduction of the energy loads in the building. This leads to lowered energy bills as well as lowered load on power grids – leading to enhanced distribution of electricity.
Climate & Environment Benefits:
The urban island effect is important to consider especially in urban clusters of warm countries. The accumulation of structures and infrastructure leads to the increase in temperature of the surrounding areas. GIB cool roofs can aid in addressing this as it reduces the amount of heat trapped within a structure. This improves air quality of the surrounding areas, leading to a more comfortable experience within urban clusters.
ROI
By utilizing GIB cool roofs, structures are prevented from excessive heating thereby preventing excessive expansion and contraction of the materials and reduce cracking incidences, prolonging the roof’s life. As a result, there is a reduction in maintenance costs for the structure.
Sustainability
“Perlite is a versatile and sustainable mineral that is mined and processed with a negligible impact on the environment. The global green community recognizes perlite-enhanced products-like lightweight insulating concrete roof decks-as a high-performance solutions drawn from a natural material of nearly unlimited supply throughout the world.” – Perlite Institute
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