1.1 Introduction
Regions that lie in the cold climate zone are situated at high altitudes. The temperatures
range between 2030 C in summers; while in winters, it can range from -3 C to 8 C,
making it quite chilly.
This type of climate is experienced in Leh (Ladakh).
The region is mountainous and has little vegetation, considered as a cold desert
The solar radiation is generally intense with very low percentage of diffused radiation
The building is an innovative articulation of material like stone, mud, clay.
In Ladakh houses are
For plinth and floor: stone masonry with mud mortar or cement mortar finish
For walls: unburnt bricks masonry with mud mortar and cow dung finish
For ceiling and roof: wooden planks and twigs with a layer of dry grass, covered with
mud.
The houses are located on slopes of the mountains rather than the plains or valley in
order to increase the time duration of sun
Also they are close to water bodies and fertile land.
Quartzite stone is used in making lower storey palaces or forts where protection from
water is required.
with ornamentation
Doors and windows are
made of timber brought from Kashmir
1.12.1
Materials
Panels of
woven yak
hair sewn
together to
form the
covered
portion of a
Rebos
Wooden poles
With five to six members of a family weaving daily, it will take approximately two
months to weave a tent.
The rebo tent lasts for 10 years.
1.12.2 Planning
The yak hair portion of the Rebos covers a fairly large area
Four feet deep and lined with boulders.
Stone walls are draped with blankets.
The Rebos are snow and rain proof.
A large opening is located at the top which allows sunlight inside the Rebos during most
of the day and allows smoke from the interior fires to exit easily
Can withstand adverse climatic conditions
No wear and tear
1.13 Druk
White Lotus
School,
Ladakh
Ladakh is hot in summer and very cold in winter. But even in winter , there is often
intense sunlight and the teaching spaces heat quickly thanks to their optimal 30 degree
south east orientation , combined with fully glazed solar facades that gather the suns
energy and store heat in high thermal mass walls
The residences are oriented due south, and use trombe walls, which are coated externally
with dark heat absorbing material and are faced with a double layer of glass.
Heat is stored in the wall and conducted inwards o the dormitories at night time.
A Trombe wall is a sun facing wall separated from the outdoors by glass and an air
space , which absorbs solar energy and releases it selectively towards the interior at
night
The simplest form of Trombe wall consists of a glass pane held against a wall with an
air space behind it. Connecting this air space with the inner room are two vents, one at
the top and one at the bottom of the air space
During the day the Sun heats first the air in this space, then the solid wall behind. Once
the air is heated it rises and enters into the room, giving it additional heat. Also the rising
air pulls in cooler air from the room below to then be heated. But for some time after the
sun goes down the now hot wall will still keep heating air and exchanging that heat into
the room.
To avoid heating up the room in summer, the roof overhang is used. If it is deep, the
higher summer sun will be able to heat the glass.
Guidelines
o Space between the thermal mass wall and the glass should be a minimum of 4
inches
o Vents l must be closed at night.
o Thermal wall thickness should be about 10-14 for brick, 12-18 for concrete, 8-
12" for
adobe or
other earth
material
and at least
6 inches for
water.
Traditional dry latrines have been enhanced to 'VIP latrines'. These eliminate fly and
odor problems and most importantly in a desert environment - do not require water. A
double chamber system with an
1.13.4 Energy
The school aims to manage the electricity demand within the constraints of solar energy
As the school expands and electricity demand increases, they will need to increase
installed capacity of both photovoltaic panels and inverters.
Around half of the initial investment in solar energy was co-financed by carbon offset
funds.
Due to frequent electric failures the school was previously forced to use a diesel
generator to produce power
However, the generator was polluting a fragile environment and the school therefore
determined to become energy self-efficient through the use of solar energy.
Hence the installation of photovoltaic panels and inverters, but it is necessary to increase
the capacity to meet the demands of the expanding school.
The solar scheme was independently audited and approved by TICOS, the Travel
Industry Carbon Offset Service, and travelers may offset their carbon travel footprint via
their travel agent end TICOS.
1.13.6 Water
Water supply in the Leh Valley comes from snow-melt. The volume of water potentially
available at any time depends on the amount of accumulated ice stored in glaciers and
permafrost, and on snowfall each winter.
Through spring and summer, the snow and ice gradually melt, and the water runs down
numerous channels and eventually joins the Indus River that runs through Ladakh and
into Pakistan.
Weather patterns seems to be shifting and glaciers are tending to recede. Therefore water
supply could be at risk in some areas in the medium-term.
The solar pumps raise water from a depth of about 30 meters into above-ground
reservoirs at
the top of the
campus, from
where water is
distributed
under gravity
through separate
potable and irrigation
systems.
Grey water is used
for irrigation,
including for
willow saplings.
Timber frames are used to resist seismic loads and ensure life safety in the event of an
earthquake
The timber frames are independent of the walls, and steel connections and cross bracing
provide earthquake stability.
sustainable school located in a village called Phey, 20 kms away from the main city of
Leh. Sonam Wangchuk and a group of Ladakhis founded it in the year 1988 with the
aim of achieving educational reform in Ladakh. It is a residential school that can
accommodate approximately 30 students and as many volunteers.
The school building is constructed largely using a combination of mud and clay.
Its traditional Ladakhi thick rammed-mud walls have high thermal capacity, while the
rear end of the buildings push into the hillside so that the temperature inside does not
fall below the soil temperature
The campus is oriented to face southwards, allowing it to make optimum use of the
sunlight it receives. This helps in temperature regulation within the rooms/spaces.
Thick earthen walls and floors to store collected heat (thermal mass).
Insulation in the roof, outer walls, and in some places under the floor.
Natural lighting so electricity is not needed for light in the daytime.
sunlight on a smaller area on the ground. This is then reflected upwards to the bottom of
any cooking vessel and is thus able to use sunlight directly without the need of any
semiconductor material.
The excess food goes to the cows; the dry Ladakhi toilets ensure that the human waste is
used as compost; the excess water from the bathrooms goes to the trees and the rest of
the waste is segregated into five different sections depending on how reusable or
recyclable they are.
The only time a discreet amount of plastic is seen is an old 500 ml soft drink bottle full
of sand being used on a pulley, instead of the spring-loaded hinge, to shut doors.
SECMOL produces and uses 15 KWh of solar electricity for the entire school without
sacrificing convenience.