AUROVILLE LANGUAGE LABORATORY

Construction to Combat Climate Change: Electrical Consumption in a Public Building in Auroville, South India

1. A Unique Language-Learning Facility.

The Auroville Language Laboratory and Tomatis Research Centre building is located in the

International Zone of the city of Auroville, a city dedicated to Human Unity, recognized by

UNESCO. (www.auroville.org).

It provides services related to language learning, including classes in up to 8 - 10 different

languages in any given season, a mediatheque or network of computers giving access to

audio, video, and software in over 120 languages, as well as the Alfred Tomatis method of

listening training for language learning and various other applications. These include helping

children and adults with learning disorders, autism, developmental delays, as well as

improving voice control, speech and fluency, communication, removing psychological

blockages to release of potential, and sparking creativity. Public Talks on different subjects

related to languages, as well as ecology, health, etc., also take place occasionally.

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The ALL-Tomatis building has an area of 10,742 square feet (998 square meters) and

serves 50 people on average per day at present.

It is built on ecological principles and is the first public building in the Auroville-Pondicherry

region in recent times to be constructed with lime mortar and lime plaster. It is conceived

with a special system of cooling without air-conditioning.

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2. Unique Aspects of Building Design.

• A cooling and dehumidification system without air-conditioning

• Use of lime instead of cement for mortar and plaster

• Passive design techniques including maximizing natural daylight while reducing heat

ingress

• Electromagnetic compliance and reduction of electrosmog

• Use of probiotics for the purest antioxidant energy

• Use of old second-hand or fallen wood for carpentry

• Rainwater harvesting and re-use of grey water through a vortex system

• Full wheelchair accessibility

• Vaastu Shaastra (ancient Indian traditional knowledge of building construction)

• Integration of telluric energy lines

• A solar and wind energy-based renewable energy system.

The building has a passive indoor-climate control system which is designed around a natural

passive vertical air flow. When fully complete, there will be a constant flow of pre-cooled and

dehumidified air throughout the building. The pre-cooled air will come from 3 wide air inlet

towers located outside the main building. It will be distributed throughout the building to

every room through a network of wide underground air channels and vertical air shafts. On

the external facade, there will be mechanical ventilator-topped exhaust shafts with glass

infill, which will facilitate the air movement within the rooms. Heated by the sun, hot air will

rise, and, in this way, negative pressure will be created inside the building so that new air

flows into the building from the main air inlet towers. The central courtyard dome roof is

designed to create a similar vacuum effect, which draws out the hot air while creating an

under-pressure which will suck the cool and dehumidified air in from the towers.

In the towers, the air will pass through a sieve of activated alumina to absorb the excess

moisture. The underground tunnels and the inlet shaft structures on the first floor are already

built and one can already feel their effect in the building even without the towers being

completed. The lime further cools down the building and helps the process of making the

building breathe and release humidity.

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This system is as yet incomplete but the building is functional and was opened to the public

in February 2017.

Energy use by buildings is a very large contributing factor to climate change. In tropical

climates, air-conditioning is the largest culprit, causing greenhouse gas emissions and

making even the so-called 'green buildings' into energy hogs. This building will be an

example for all of South Asia and the tropical coastal regions of a climate-protective

construction design which ensures human comfort WITHOUT energy-guzzling Air-

Conditioning.

This special building has been designed by architects Parul Zaveri and Nimish Patel of

Panika, Ahmedabad (Gujarat), with Abhikram providing the Sustainability Consultancy. They

are pioneers in sustainable building in India. They are going beyond the commercial Green

Building movement to revive traditional Indian knowledge and practices for sustainability.

(www.abhikram.com).

Already more than 1000 students of architecture have visited the building.

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3. Electrical Consumption Data. A 4 KVA solar system was installed in April 2017.

The solar electrical consumption load is as follows :

Sno. Equipment No. In watts Total watts

1 Fans 10 45 450

2 Desktop Computers 12 130 1560

3 Mac Mini computer 1 120 120

4 Laptops 5 60 300

5 Small online UPSs 3 400 1200

Total Watts 3630

Total KW 3.63

A 0.5 HP pump was just installed in July 2018 for the waste water recycling system.

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The following are not connected to the solar system:

S.no. Equipment Total

Number Load in Watts

Total in

Watts

1. Water Booster Pump 2HP 1 1500 1500

2. Air Conditioner 1-ton For Server Room 1 1500 1500

3. Fans 6 45 270

4. Refrigerator 1 200 with peak

power 200

5. 0.5 HP Waste Water Recycling pump 2 350 700

6. Washing Machine 1 3440 with peak

power 3440

7. Dynamized Drinking Water Machine 1 60 60

8. Vacuum Cleaner 1 500 500

9. Coffee Machine 2 800 1600

10. Laser Printer 2 490 980

11. Iron 1 1100 1100

12. 1 KVA Online UPS with 3no. 75AH Batteries

(For the lights) 1 1000 1000

13.

4 KVA Solar UPS

(in absence of sunlight, the UPS will charge the

batteries from the Grid)

1 4000 4000

Total load in

Watts 16850 Watts

To be fully on solar, an additional 30 solar panels (315 watts per panel) are needed.

The Auroville Electrical Service recently installed a bi-directional meter, which has just been

activated on 06.10.18, so now the building can export any excess electricity directly to the

grid.

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The Lab has a set of 48-volt batteries which store excess power from the solar panels not

consumed by the Lab's daytime use. When the batteries reach the capacity of 54 volts, the

solar inverter starts to export power to the grid. In the event of a power cut, or during the off-

hours of sunlight, the batteries act as a reserve source of power.

The actual consumption data from the electrical grid, as per record maintained by the

Auroville Electrical Service, is as follows:

The higher loads correspond to machine usage for building construction work which occurs

as and when funds are available.

860 880 900950

600

510

820

415

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

Mar & Apr 2017

May & June 2017

Jul & Aug 2017

Sep & Oct 2017

Nov & Dec 2017

Jan & Feb 2018

Mar & Apr 2017

May, Jun, Jul & Aug 2018

Units (Kwh)

Units

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This means that the ALL-Tomatis Building consumes on average less than a household of

four and even of three.

Users of the building (staff, students, teachers and families coming for the Listening Training

programs) have often remarked upon the noticeable drop in temperature when one enters

the building from the outside.

In spite of temperatures up to 42 °C [107.6 °F] in the summer of 2018, our staff, clients and students managed with (low-power consumption) fans only. This is remarkable for a tropical coastal building. One can only surmise what it will be when the cooling system is completed and becomes fully functional.

The ALL-Tomatis Building is proof that it is possible to reduce electrical consumption in

large, public, institutional buildings drastically, through careful consciousness in architectural

design, construction materials (lime), and appliances used.

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

AV Foundation Office

Savitri Bhavan Unity Pavilion 4 - Person Household

3 - Person Household

Language Lab

Language Lab vs. Other Auroville Buildings

KWH Monthly

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4. Conclusions: Construction to Combat Climate Change

Energy demand by public buildings is a decisive factor in climate change. Data from

Architecture 2030 - architecture2030.org - reveals that energy demand by public

buildings, in the USA, for example, is more than industry and transportation

combined. Increasingly hotter summers are leading to an increased consumption of

air-conditioning the world over and especially in the tropics. Schools and universities

in India, for instance, are installing air-conditioning on a large scale, which is

increasing the energy demand in a seemingly never-ending cycle.

In this context, the model of the Auroville Language Lab-Tomatis Centre building

needs to be seriously considered as a major and scalable intervention against

climate change.

Funds are needed to complete the cooling system in the building, to finish the three

cooling and dehumidifying towers (right now about half-way built), the rooftop level

glass windows, as well as 19 inlet shafts and 24 outlet shafts. Additional monitoring

equipment and 30 additional solar panels will make the building fully self-sufficient in

terms of power.

Auroville Language Laboratory. 30 November, 2018. Contact : mita@aurovillelanguagelab.org and tapas@aurovillelanguagelab.org

+91-9443631861 (Mobile/Whatsapp). MitaALL (Skype)

Note : This is the first of a series of six articles we plan to bring out on the unique features of this

building. The topics include: Electromagnetic Compliance, Use of Lime, Aspects of Healthy Building, Sustainable Building Design, and Sustainable Building Techniques.

Mita Radhakrishnan, Tapas Desrousseaux : Coordinators, ALL, International Zone, Auroville, Tamil Nadu-605101. INDIA.

Tel : +91-413-2623661/+91-413-2000013/14. http://www.aurovillelanguagelab.org and http://www.auroville.org/contents/337

E-mail : mita@aurovillelanguagelab.org , tapas@aurovillelanguagelab.org and all@auroville.org.in 10 Donations : http://www.aurovillelanguagelab.org/donations.php and https://donations.auroville.com/