earth air ventilation system

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15 July 2010 TERI University – Green and Sustainable Setu Goyal, Sandeep Goel Students, M.Tech. (Renewable Energy) TERI University is a premier University in India, focussing largely on post-graduation education and covering a multitude of inter-disciplinary courses based on energy and environment. We feel highly honoured to be a part of such an institution that provides its students and faculty with world-class facilities ushering in innovativeness and multi- disciplinary research. True to its mission, the University houses a variety of sustainable measures at its New Delhi campus, which not only make it a ‘green’ building, but also bring in a sense of responsibility and concern for the environment, within each and every individual who call themselves to be a part of this wonderful institution of knowledge and learning. Introduction: One of the many successful sustainable measures employed at our campus is the Earth Air Tunnel Ventilation System. It is utilized to meet the thermal requirements of the building, by making use of the heat sink property of earth. The air that passes onto the buried pipes gets cooled in summers and heated in winters, maintaining a comfortable ambience inside the premise thorough out the year. Complimentary conventional measures of heating and cooling are only considered based on the severity of the climate, resulting in a saving of almost 50% of electrical power consumption in the building. The system takes in air from the inlet above ground at the end of a long tunnel system reaching almost 4 meters beneath the ground, with the help of an Air Handling Unit. The air is then de-humidified and passed into the load area, thorough the conventional system of ducts and diffusers, while the exhausts with the help of a wind operated exhaust turbine are sent out through a chimney. Concept: The technology is based on the premise that earth acts as a great agent of heat sink, to the extent that annual heat losses from earth are only 10 % of the total annual collected energy. Also, it is an established fact, that for any given place, the diurnal variations in surface temperature are ineffective at depths more than 0.5 meter beneath the ground and similarly the seasonal variations fail to play a role at depths of about 4 meters beneath the ground levels.

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Air Conditions are very energy intensive to run, so the buildings at TERI University, India are cooled through a new air ventilation system.

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Page 1: Earth Air Ventilation System

15 July 2010

TERI University – Green and

Sustainable

Setu Goyal, Sandeep Goel

Students, M.Tech. (Renewable Energy)

TERI University is a premier University in India, focussing largely on post-graduation

education and covering a multitude of inter-disciplinary courses based on energy and

environment. We feel highly honoured to be a part of such an institution that provides its

students and faculty with world-class facilities ushering in innovativeness and multi-

disciplinary research. True to its mission, the University houses a variety of sustainable

measures at its New Delhi campus, which not only make it a ‘green’ building, but also bring

in a sense of responsibility and concern for the environment, within each and every individual

who call themselves to be a part of this wonderful institution of knowledge and learning.

Introduction:

One of the many successful sustainable measures employed at our campus is the Earth Air

Tunnel Ventilation System. It is utilized to meet the thermal requirements of the building, by

making use of the heat sink property of earth. The air that passes onto the buried pipes gets

cooled in summers and heated in winters, maintaining a comfortable ambience inside the

premise thorough out the year. Complimentary conventional measures of heating and cooling

are only considered based on the severity of the climate, resulting in a saving of almost 50%

of electrical power consumption in the building.

The system takes in air from the inlet above ground at the end of a long tunnel system

reaching almost 4 meters beneath the ground, with the help of an Air Handling Unit. The air is

then de-humidified and passed into the load area, thorough the conventional system of ducts

and diffusers, while the exhausts with the help of a wind operated exhaust turbine are sent out

through a chimney.

Concept:

The technology is based on the premise that earth acts as a great agent of heat sink, to the

extent that annual heat losses from earth are only 10 % of the total annual collected energy.

Also, it is an established fact, that for any given place, the diurnal variations in surface

temperature are ineffective at depths more than 0.5 meter beneath the ground and similarly the

seasonal variations fail to play a role at depths of about 4 meters beneath the ground levels.

Page 2: Earth Air Ventilation System

As a consequence of the above, the air temperature at depths of 4 meters remains almost

equivalent to the annual average surface temperature of that particular place. This air if blown

to cater to the Heating Ventilation and Cooling (HVAC) requirements of a building, can

greatly minimize its energy consumptions, resulting in savings and a more sustainable and

environment friendly solution.

Although this technology has to be essentially incorporated within the building structure,

during its construction phase, another approach could be to couple the building with ground

using underground and partially underground structures. The latter approach is however less

efficient, however it is still more efficient than the conventional setup.

Advantages:

Most significant benefits are in terms of the saved energy requirements and emissions. With

the conventional centralized coal generated electric power, having minimal efficiencies (just

about 33%) and huge transmission and distribution losses and carbon emissions, the actual

energy demand and carbon footprint of buildings can sky-rocket if such energy efficient and

clean measures are not implied. At the same time, it also results in an improved indoor air

quality, by reduction in both fungal and bacterial load of the air and also by utilizing 100%

fresh air, instead of partly re-circulated as in the case of conventional HVAC systems.

Other Sustainable measures in place:

Earth and Space conditioning

Apart from the above mentioned feature, two more measures are in place, to minimize the

energy requirements towards building’s heating and cooling needs. One is the Variable

Refrigerant Volume System, in place to cater to areas with partial load conditions and varying

occupancies. Other is the Thermal Mass Storage which involves the storing of thermal energy

when it is available and utilization when required.

Water

Various measures have been taken by the University to contribute its bit towards saving this

precious natural resource, right from the selection of toilet fixtures in terms of dual flush

toilets and sensor taps, to extensive rain-water harvesting to recharge and improve the quality

of ground water. An effluent treatment plant too has been setup to treat the waste generated

from students’ hostel and canteen area. The waste water is utilized to water the gardens and

for landscaping purposes.

Sun

The building has been predominantly given a North-South orientation to avoid the glaring day

light. It has been provided with minimum windows on its East-West and South facades while

the South-West openings have been provided with shading devices. The university also

Page 3: Earth Air Ventilation System

utilizes the solar energy to cater to its warm water requirements, by the use of solar water

heaters.

Sky

Various energy saving measures are in place, which have resulted in the reduction of lighting

load from 2 W/sqft to 1W/sqft. These include fixtures with continuous dimming electronic

ballast where daylight is available and occupancy sensors in areas of non-uniform

illumination. Use of double glazing windows, insulation in roof slabs and insulated stone-clad

walls have further resulted in great energy savings.

Student Initiatives

Aahvaan’10

The University also encourages the students to actively involve in extra-curricular activities.

Aahvan’10 is our annual inter-college, national level cultural event, which houses numerous

events and competitions promoting the spirit of participation and cultural unanimity among

the students. This year’s event is being promoted as a ‘green’ and carbon neutral event, an

initiative, taken care of entirely by the students of the university.

Cups

In their bid to contribute to the environment, the students and teachers at the university have

vowed not to use plastic bags/paper cups within the building premise. Most of the individuals

carry ceramic mugs and jute bags to serve their purposes.

Various workshops/seminars/movie projections

Students are persistently involved in organizing environment-oriented workshops, seminars

and movie screenings in order to inculcate and foster among the fellow mates, a sense of

responsibility towards the planet.

Student initiatives in progress

Campus sustainability

The university has its own Campus Sustainability Club (CSC) formed by a bunch of

enthusiastic individuals, persistently seeking way to reduce the University carbon footprint.

One of the ongoing projects of CSC is to formulate a solar PV based power generation system

for the University. In this regard, the University footprint has already been measured, the past

years electricity bills reviewed and the block-wise load requirements assessed. It is in the final

stages for the technical and economic feasibility assessment for the implementation of such an

idea.

Page 4: Earth Air Ventilation System

Reva car charging station

Yet another feather in CSC’s cap. The university owns a 4-seater electric car, for which a

solar charging station has been proposed. A proposal is being prepared for a demonstration

level model to be approved by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in India. If

implemented, the station would be first of its kind in the country.

Paper recycling

The university generates nearly 200 kg of paper waste each month. This is currently being

sold to a local vendor. A proposal is in the offing from the CSC volunteers, to research on the

economic viability of buying a self-reliant paper recycling machine for the University. This

plan on implementation would save another hundred tonnes of CO2 emissions per annum.

`

REVA Electric

Cars

Automatic Louvers for

shading

Rain water

harvesting Ground water reclamation

Inlets to Earth Air Tunnel

Earth Air

tunnel

Solar Hot water

Effluent treatment plant

Building layout