The tour was excellent. I never know such excellent work was happening right in my backyard! The tour has given me insights for designing future HVAC systems
President & CEO, HVACR Solutions
EDS facilitated a NZEB study visit to the Centre for Advanced Research in Building Science and Efficiency (CARBSE)- an operational NZEB with a built-up area of 800 sq.m- to see and learn about its design, technologies and operations. 35 participantsĀ including professionals, faculty and students from across 6 cities joined the tour. It was led by CARBSE Executive Director Rajan Rawal and Technical Director Yash Shukla.
CARBSE is globally recognized as a cutting-edge research lab for building simulation and building material characterization. At the same time, itās a living laboratory and the teamās best source of learning about building performance comes from the facility itself!
CARBSE facility was designed to use approximately 86% lesser energy than other institutional buildings in the city and meet its annual demand through a highly efficient rooftop PV system. Participants observed architectural details like the building orientation, fenestration, tilted roof for optimizing rooftop PV performance and other active passive strategies for achieving net-zero. They learnt to identify different components of the hybrid cooling system, consisting of radiant cooling and VRF system.
Rajan Rawal presented interesting insights into the innovation behind the CARBSE facility. While most of the technologies used in CARBSE are market-ready, the installation was carried out by the team to meet their unique requirements. For example, the sensors and the wiring have been left exposed to allow for easy future changes. The otudoor condensor units of VRF systems were painted to meet the design aesthetics. Some features- like globe temperature sensors- had to be manufactured by the team in-house.
Looking at the custom-designed Building Management System (BMS) dashboard, participants could read real-time data for all the thermal zones and systems within the building. They could identify which systems were in operation at that time, their respective energy consumption as well as the building’s overall energy consumption and generation. The BMS, which has over 2 lakh wires running in it, gave a perspective of the extensive monitoring carried out in the building. Participants also got to see some of the cutting edge research and equipment that CARBSE houses- like guarded hot box, phase change materials and the occupant thermal comfort lab.
