Glass consumption in the green buildings and solar photovoltaic installations is set to rapidly grow as modern offices and homes come up, according to All India Glass Manufacturers’ Federation.
The use of glass has increased lately as new buildings seek to bring energy savings. It has become integral part of new buildings as opposed to conventional construction where brick and cement was mainly used and glass usage was relatively low.
Mr Sanjay Ganjoo, Chief Operating Officer of Asahi India Glass Ltd and Vice-President of the Federation, said the usage of glass complements the Government of India’s strategy and the Prime Minister’s Mission to encourage energy conservation. Glass is one of the important inputs for building construction and is seen as an energy efficient product.
Apart from being integral part of life, it is 100 per cent recyclable. The usage of glass in green buildings is growing by about 30 to 35 per cent per annum.
At a seminar on application of “Glass in green Buildings” hosted here, speakers outlined various possible applications of glass in homes and offices, glass landscaping and in solar energy.
According to the CII-Green Business Centre thus far more than one billion sq.ft of green building area has been registered and under construction in the country where use of materials such as glass is going up. Earlier, glass usage in buildings was optional. But some States have mandated its usage through guidelines.