56
V. Shree et al.
world that Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions produced by these human activities
are the main cause of climate change. High amount of GHG emissions are being
released into the atmosphere, which promotes the climate change issues in the form
of several environmental impediments like global warming, ozone layer depletion,
acidification etc. Apart from these environmental problems, these GHG emissions
are also responsible for deteriorating fresh air quality and health of human beings.
In order to control these environmental issues, new measures must be incorporated
to reduce the production of GHG emissions into the atmosphere. Control of GHG
emissions is also important to achieve emissions reduction targets under Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) introduced in Kyoto Protocol [13, 16]. Carbon dioxide
(CO 2 ), methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, fluorinated gasses etc. are the GHG gases
present in earth’s atmosphere. CO 2 is the main constituent of GHG and released
through various human activities involving combustion of fossil fuels. In addition to
these, human activities are also responsible for the reduction in carbon sequestration
capacity of earth. As the proportion of CO 2 in the earth’s atmosphere should be stable
but it is continuously increasing speedily. The amount of CO 2 emissions in earth’s
atmosphere is increased with the augmentation of population, urbanization and their
energy needs [11]. The extensive use of conventional fossil fuels throughout the world
releases high amount of GHG emissions into the atmosphere. Although almost all
nations of the world are trying to increase renewable energy-based power generation to minimize the dependency on conventional energy sources and to promote
sustainable energy sources. Consequently, it becomes quite essential to minimize
carbon emissions in all these important sectors. Building sector is one of the main
sectors, which are having contribution in release of high amount of GHG emissions
in the atmosphere. Large-scale building construction and other relative activities,
transportation etc. are having a significant role in high discharge of GHG emissions.
Figure 1 shows global emissions associated with building sector in past years (Fig. 2).
Building is one of the vital amenities of human beings. Buildings are constructed
with the objectives to provide shelter and appropriate indoor environment. Along with
the progress of human civilization, a huge advancement has been seen in building
construction. In the present era, various types of building structures with different
shapes and sizes are being constructed throughout the world using advance sophisticated techniques of construction, variety of building materials and human skills.
Buildings can be assorted as residential and commercial depending upon their use and
operation. Residential buildings include small and big houses whereas offices, shops,
schools, colleges etc. are associated with the commercial buildings [15]. The initial
phase of a building begins with the construction processes, which include significant
planning, design, investment and other legal considerations [26]. After construction
and commissioning of the building, a lot of energy is utilized in operational phase in
electrical and electronic systems and appliances, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), lightings etc. Finally, the demolition of building is carried out to tear
down the building after completing its life. Maintenance and repair is another important aspect and must be included in operational phase of a building life cycle [29].
A lot of energy is consumed by buildings throughout their entire life cycle [4] and
generate high amount of GHG emissions. In order to analyze energy consumption in
V. Shree et al.
world that Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions produced by these human activities
are the main cause of climate change. High amount of GHG emissions are being
released into the atmosphere, which promotes the climate change issues in the form
of several environmental impediments like global warming, ozone layer depletion,
acidification etc. Apart from these environmental problems, these GHG emissions
are also responsible for deteriorating fresh air quality and health of human beings.
In order to control these environmental issues, new measures must be incorporated
to reduce the production of GHG emissions into the atmosphere. Control of GHG
emissions is also important to achieve emissions reduction targets under Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) introduced in Kyoto Protocol [13, 16]. Carbon dioxide
(CO 2 ), methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, fluorinated gasses etc. are the GHG gases
present in earth’s atmosphere. CO 2 is the main constituent of GHG and released
through various human activities involving combustion of fossil fuels. In addition to
these, human activities are also responsible for the reduction in carbon sequestration
capacity of earth. As the proportion of CO 2 in the earth’s atmosphere should be stable
but it is continuously increasing speedily. The amount of CO 2 emissions in earth’s
atmosphere is increased with the augmentation of population, urbanization and their
energy needs [11]. The extensive use of conventional fossil fuels throughout the world
releases high amount of GHG emissions into the atmosphere. Although almost all
nations of the world are trying to increase renewable energy-based power generation to minimize the dependency on conventional energy sources and to promote
sustainable energy sources. Consequently, it becomes quite essential to minimize
carbon emissions in all these important sectors. Building sector is one of the main
sectors, which are having contribution in release of high amount of GHG emissions
in the atmosphere. Large-scale building construction and other relative activities,
transportation etc. are having a significant role in high discharge of GHG emissions.
Figure 1 shows global emissions associated with building sector in past years (Fig. 2).
Building is one of the vital amenities of human beings. Buildings are constructed
with the objectives to provide shelter and appropriate indoor environment. Along with
the progress of human civilization, a huge advancement has been seen in building
construction. In the present era, various types of building structures with different
shapes and sizes are being constructed throughout the world using advance sophisticated techniques of construction, variety of building materials and human skills.
Buildings can be assorted as residential and commercial depending upon their use and
operation. Residential buildings include small and big houses whereas offices, shops,
schools, colleges etc. are associated with the commercial buildings [15]. The initial
phase of a building begins with the construction processes, which include significant
planning, design, investment and other legal considerations [26]. After construction
and commissioning of the building, a lot of energy is utilized in operational phase in
electrical and electronic systems and appliances, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), lightings etc. Finally, the demolition of building is carried out to tear
down the building after completing its life. Maintenance and repair is another important aspect and must be included in operational phase of a building life cycle [29].
A lot of energy is consumed by buildings throughout their entire life cycle [4] and
generate high amount of GHG emissions. In order to analyze energy consumption in