Building homes the green way

A CHANCE VISIT to an environment conference in 2000 changed P Surya Prakash’s vision. As managing partner of Hyderabad-based SatyaVani Homes, Praksh, an IITian with a civil engineering background, has been a part of SatyaVani's consulting wing dealing with power transmission and architectural designs. The environmental meet in Hyderabad made such an impact on him that he decided to devise a way by which he could enter the construction and realty development, incorporating the lessons he learnt in preserving the environment.
"I realised that being green is no more a luxury, it's a necessity,"says Surya Prakash. He decided to develop only "green projects". "To start off with, we are going in for equal built-up area to greenery ratio. For example, if we are building 4 million square feet, we are converting 4 million square feet to be green, " he adds. But this was no cake walk as greening projects are cost-intensive. Surya Prakash had to devise a business model which would benefit him as well as adhere to the green norms.
Even basic solar power installations cost five times more than conventional power sources.
He conducted R& D on business models for over a year to make his dream a reality.
"Around 600 tonnes of carbon are emitted per unit built; a green building can bring it down to 300 tonnes," says Surya Prakash.
SatyaVani Homes’ greening efforts start off with using recyclable material used during the construction of buildings. Surya Prakash says greening buildings is not just environmentally friendly, but also helps cuts costs.
This includes maintenance costs for the building and the cost of power for the customer.
To involve his clients totally in his green initiatives, SatyaVani Homes has decided to incentivise the customer by subsidising power for 25 years by Rs 18,000 per annum.
" We are planning to bring down connected power load, normal buildings need 12 MW of connected power. We are making this a zero carbon power. We call this green power," says Surya Prakash.
Clients will also be made to sign a green affidavit, ensuring them of 100 per cent environmental friendly habitation.
"By proper building orientation, strategic placing and choosing the right materials we can reduce heat," says Surya Prakash.
Other initiatives include having common laundry areas, using solar power to heat water, designing energy efficient water supply systems.
"Waste management is also a key area, " says Surya Prakash. Biodegradable waste is converted into manure, toxic waste is used as land fills, and the rest is recyclable.
SatyaVani homes has four projects at hand and seven in the pipeline. Surya Prakash also plans to set up 2000 green homes in Hyderabad by 2011, and another 3000 by 2013. Surya Prakash is bullish on the sector's outlook. "More than 50 per cent of Indian population is under 25, so the sector is demand driven, There is a five fold increase in middle class income. There is a correction happening, there is no cause for ?? concern," he says.
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