Title - Rail Nirman Nilayam goes green

Next time, when you pass by the Rail Nilayam stretch in Secunderabad, observe the Rail Nirman Nilayam Building, which is claimed to be the first Green Building of the Indian Railways.It also bagged three-star certification from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy recently for energy conservation measures. Constructed at a cost of about Rs. 20 crore, the building has ground plus four floors with total plinth area of 4,405.90 squaremetres.

Many features:The building was constructed with many features that help in reduced energy consumption and efficient water management, efficient use of resources during construction, besides reducing destruction of the ecology.It is designed with 40 per cent glazing area and with two cutouts to give more lighting, thus reducing the energy demand. Lighting is designed optimally and help in saving the power to an extent of 20 per cent when compared to similar buildings.The daily water consumption in the building has been reduced by about 50 per cent following the use of low flow sensor-based urinals, taps and dual flushing tanks, claimed South Central Railway authorities in a press release.

Rainwater harvesting is provided for full quantity of rain water coming from the roof top and circulation areas which is about 48 lakh litres a year against consumption of about 25 lakh litres per year. The waste water is treated to tertiary standards in the Sewage Treatment Plant which works on FAB technology. The treated waste water is used for lawn and plant watering.

Apart from the use of energy-efficient equipment, the building boasts of several measures which aid in use of renewable source of energy.

A 37.5 KW grid connected solar generating system was provided in the shadow free area of 7,500 sq.ft. on the roof of Rail Nirman Nilayam. It has been arranged in 168 arrays in 8 strings. (Each string is of 4.8 KW consists of 21 arrays).

The daily average energy consumption of whole building is around 900 units, out of which, on an average 150 units is being generated from Solar Energy. Solar modules arranged on rooftop are giving double benefits. On one side, it is attaining solar energy approximately 15 per cent of total consumption to the building and on another side giving shade to terrace thereby reducing the requirement of energy for cooling the top fourth floor. There are several other measures which help in saving the energy in the building, they explained.

S. Sandeep Kumar