Published on December 15, 2023
Ahmedabad: The year 2023 is poised to be the hottest in context of post-industrial
average temperatures. Estimates put the rise at about 1.5 degrees Celsius from
January to November, surpassing 2016 figures. By 2060, this number is expected to
touch 2 degrees if carbon emissions continue at current levels.
In this context, speakers at Comfort at the Extremes (CATE) conference hosted by
CEPT University discussed the way forward to address the challenge of cooling
buildings with minimal carbon emissions.
On the second day of conference on Thursday, Adrian Chong, assistant professor
at National University of Singapore, discussed the potential of mixed-mode
ventilation for energy savings. Chong gave different scenarios of temperature and
comfort and modes including ventilation, ceiling fan, and desk-based cooling
systems vis-à-vis air-conditioning.
“Alternative usage of mixed-mode ventilation (MMV) and air-conditioning can
reduce energy consumption by up to 67%. We have huge data from buildings in
the context of material, occupancy and thermal comfort. In several buildings in
Singapore, we often see chilled workspaces. We can reduce this through several
efforts, including the use of MMV,” he said, adding that an experiment is currently
going on to understand the impact of MMV on a large scale.
Ashok B Lall, an architect, pointed at rapid growth of urban development in India
and the need for better building and development codes to ensure energy efficient design.
He advocated low-rise (four to five-storied) buildings and better density to
address issues of urban heat islands. Earlier, Susan Roaf, emeritus professor at
Heriot Watt University in Edinburg, gave the idea of quantum comfort leap where
she asked designers to think about a different future and create buildings that can
keep people comfortable in face of steady rise in average temperatures.
Some of the themes at the CATE conference are nature-based solutions, climate
resilient buildings, circular economy building materials, low-energy cooling
technologies, human physiology and adaptation, and design interventions among
others.
Parth Shastri Archive 