Optimization of Embodied Energy and Construction Cost of Low-Income Housing in Urban India

Abstract

India is the most populous country in the world, having a population of 1.42 billion in 2022. It is urbanizing rapidly, with the present urbanization level at about 35%, which is expected to reach about 40% by 2030. There was an estimated demand of 11.22 million homes in urban India in 2017, of which 95% was in the affordable housing sector. This demand is expected to increase with the current urbanization trends. The Indian government is promoting the construction of millions of affordable houses under its ambitious Prime Minister’s Housing Program. These houses are planned, designed, and constructed using local materials and techniques, considering local climatic, geological, hazard, and socio-economic conditions. We examined the 30 most commonly applied housing typologies to determine which typologies and materials have minimum embodied energy and construction costs. The results indicate that load-bearing housing construction of up to three stories, with a plinth–carpet area ratio of 1.31, constructed with any of the blocks-based masonry techniques, has the lowest embodied energy and construction cost, and houses with a plinth–carpet area ratio of 1.51 have the highest. Further, houses constructed with Hollow CC block masonry have the lowest embodied energy, and HF Fly Ash block-based masonry has the lowest construction cost.