Based on a technology developed in USA, GreenShield membranes are designed to address the Indian climatic conditions with ease says Aschak Damani, Director, ZylogElastocomp.
Tell us how energy efficiency
proves to be the most viable solution in the Indian climatic condition?
India is classified as a
tropical country, where, historically, most of our weather is fairly hot except
for certain northern and eastern states. As such, our energy consumption within
residential, commercial and industrial buildings is high primarily for
lighting, heating and cooling. Today, however, the situation is very different.
Climate change is very real, and India is experiencing this over the last
several years. In 2019, we saw one of the hottest heat waves in recent history,
where some states and cities experienced high heat upto 49 degree C
continuously for over 30 days. Furthermore, we are also seeing large
proportions of population migrating from rural to urban areas – thus increasing
the UHIE (Urban Heat Island Effect). All of this sums up to very high energy
consumption across various buildings. Currently, residential and commercial
buildings consume almost 1/3rd of our total energy and this is expected to
increase by 800 per cent within next 20 years. Besides this, we will also
require more energy to charge our electric vehicles in the future, as we move
away from ICE to electric engines.
With limited resources, most of this electricity, today, comes from fossil fuel and at a very high cost. Higher and better energy efficient buildings is the only way to reduce energy consumption and promote low carbon footprint growth. India took an important step in 2017 by launching the revised Energy Conservation Building Code that has prescribed energy performance standards for new buildings with a goal towards achieving 50 per cent reduction in energy use by 2030.
What
are the different products and solutions you offer for energy efficient
roofing?
GreenShield
primarily works in the area of heat-shielding and waterproofing – addressing
the UHIE issue, which is a growing concern for all cities across India. TERI
2017 report estimated that implementing white roofs across Bangalore city it
can reduce the energy consumption by 1642MWh/mtr2/year which would result in
savings of `1034 crores/year. GreenShield is doing exactly that. GreenShield TPO roofing system insulates RCC & PEB buildings by reducing heat
absorption through concrete and metal roofs. The roofing membrane itself has an
initial Solar Direct Reflectance of 0.7961, Emissivity of 0.909, and SRI of 100
which provides a superior combination for increasing albedo effect of
reflecting heat off. Besides this, the membrane is solid and impermeable thus
waterproofing the roof. This allows to develop green roofs. More green roofs
would provide more green cover, which would reduce UHIE in our cities.
GreenShield TPO membranes, are based on 30+ years of technology developed in
USA and we are the only company making it locally in India. Besides, membranes,
we also manufacture a range of supported accessories, including TPE expansion
joints.
What
is the degree of thermal insulation in the offing once the product is utilised
correctly?
As
mentioned earlier, GreenShield membrane has initial Solar Direct Reflectance of
0.7961, Emissivity of 0.909, and SRI of 100; this coupled with the complete
insulation system significantly increases the heat and energy reflectance while
also reducing thermal conductivity to between 0.020 and 0.030W/m.K. The system
does not allow heat from outside to penetrate inside the building. At Udaipur,
Rajasthan, after installation of our system, 2mm thick membrane, we experienced
drop-in temperature of up to 6oC in peak summers which reduced cooling energy costs
by almost 50 per cent.
Does
energy efficient roofing limit the options for the material one can use for
roofing purposes?
Not
at all. GreenShield membrane system is designed keeping in mind Indian
conditions and is suitable for fitment onto new and old buildings, RCC or sheet
metal roofs, ACC panel and many other substrates as well as below grade, using
different installation methods. In fact, the membranes replace brickbat coba,
thus reducing the weight of the roof, while continuing to provide insulation
and waterproofing. The system can be either mechanically fastened,
fully/partially adhered using adhesives or even loosely laid with edge
terminations. Differences in planes are easily covered as the membrane is heat
weldable with very strong seam joints. Available in widths of 2 meters and roll
of 25 meters of more also provides fewer seam joints. The system is exposed to
sunlight, which allows it to work in reflecting heat off. It is suitably UV
stabilised for long term weatherability and we guarantee the installation
performance for 15 years and more.