DRI Pioneering Green Technology

April 14, 2010 11:58 am

DRI Pioneering Green Technology
 
The construction industry in India is the largest sector after agriculture, contributing around 7 per cent of India’s GDP. The sector is predicted to grow at a rate of over 11 per cent per annum for the next five years, against the world average of 5.5 per cent. In an interview with OEM Update; Varun Pahwa, VP of Desiccant Rotors International (DRI) highlights the concept of green buildings and his company’s achievement.
 
Today construction is the second largest sector after agriculture in India. Builders and real estate giants making huge investments in this. How do you find the potential of Green Buildings in India?
The world is already moving towards sustainable technologies which not only minimize the negative impact of buildings on the environment but also provide healthy inhabitant to the occupants.  The “green” buildings/ homes are a step in that direction.
Green building brings together a vast array of practices and techniques to reduce and ultimately eliminate the impacts of buildings on the environment and human health. The new technologies are being used in the construction of sustainable buildings to provide a reliable, affordable, renewable and environment friendly atmosphere.
These buildings use energy saving equipments to reduce the air-conditioning load by reduction in installed tonnage, reduction in utility bills for entire life cycle, enhanced IAQ and productivity and reduced health risks.
The overall potential for green building materials and equipment would be at least 10-fold and estimated to touch 4000 Millions US$ by 2010.
India has established itself as one of the prominent leader in constructing green buildings with more than 300 buildings and it is predicted that by 2010 this number can even rose upto 1000.  Today India is the 2nd largest carbon credit seller in the world.
 
Can you tell us about the recent trend in Indian real estate sector in terms of their using energy efficiency devices?
The construction industry in India is the largest sector after agriculture, contributing around seven per cent of India’s GDP. The sector is predicted to grow at a rate of over 11 per cent per annum for the next five years, against the world average of 5.5 per cent.
The HVAC&R (Heating, Ventilation, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration) industry in India is booming, fueled by construction growth as well as big-ticket investments. Along with the growth the energy requirement is also spiraling as most of the newly constructed spaces are conditioned spaces.
Space conditioning equipments (HVAC&R) can account for about 30~45% of the total energy consumption of a building, as all buildings need outside air for ventilation which increases the air-conditioning load and thus energy costs. Thus, energy conservation is of paramount importance to check further depletion of environment cover. The role of government is very important into promoting the use of energy efficiency devices in the buildings. The Government of India has set up Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE). BEE has developed specific Energy Conservation Building Codes (ECBC). ECBC set minimum energy efficiency standards for design and construction and encourage energy efficient design or retrofit of buildings.
 
What are the sectors DRI is catering for?
DRI is a world leader in fluted media technologies specializing in desiccant and enthalpy rotors and cassettes and evaporative cooling pads. DRI has established a reputation around the world for technology innovations and industry leadership in Fresh Air Treatment Products and Solutions which help maintain healthy Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and also meet today’s environmental challenges. DRI has played a pioneer role in innovating various new Fresh Air HVAC Systems. Our products are well suited to a wide array of applications in commercial spaces like hotels, hospitals, supermarkets, auditoriums and all other conditioned spaces as well as conditioned manufacturing and processing areas like pharmaceutical, food, electronics etc.
 
What is stopping your company from tapping the untapped markets?
The biggest challenge, we have been facing to tap the market is the lack or awareness of people about IAQ. At DRI, we are trying to disseminate education and awareness about the importance of IAQ and ways to achieve it. We are receiving a good response from the stakeholders namely Architects, Developers, Owners, Engineers  etc.
 
Please highlight some of your recent achievements and key projects accomplished by DRI.
DRI has recently launched India’s first revolutionary technology DOAS (Dedicated Outdoor Air System), the ULTIMA series. The Ultima is a highly energy efficient ventilation system and provides solutions to The “Moisture Centric” tropical countries. The USP of the Ultima is that it achieves both RH control and energy recovery. For green buildings, this system can assist in scoring substantial LEED points. It is well suited to a wide array of applications in large commercial spaces like hotels, hospitals, supermarkets, auditoriums and corporate offices.
 
DRI’s Key Projects:
·         Patni Knowledge Centre- Second largest platinum rated green building in the world
·         Avani- first rated green home in India
·         Technopolis in Kolkata- Second largest carbon credit seller in India
·         Various venues at Beijing Olympics

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