'Prana', a Sanskrit work which means energy, breathe, and life force is India's first energy efficient home office exhibit that will now stand tall at BIEC (Bangalore International Exhibition Centre). Prana is a step towards increasing awareness about the use of sustainable resources and making a building energy efficient. It illustrates how a common man can contribute in reducing the carbon footprint without compromising on the comforts and aesthetics one aspires in a home. It illustrates how office and home spaces can be made self-sustainable. It has installations of air-conditioning systems that use geo thermal energy (earth air tunnel system), radiant flooring, efficient water and lighting fixtures and it uses local & recyclable material. These illustrations will give the visitors a preview about their ideal future sustainable lifestyles without compromising on modern day comforts.

Prana is spread over an area of 3000 sq.ft at BIEC. It comprises of an entrance deck and a Lobby, Living and Dining room, Conference Room, Bed Room and Toilet. It aims at minimizing the consumption of water and electricity for comfort requirements as well as for lighting, etc. It optimises natural resources to a large extent and minimises the burden on infrastructure and utility systems keeping the emissions less and energy efficiency high.

Adding more information on Prana, Chairman, ACREX India 2012, Mr D Nirmal Ram said," In Prana, energy is tapped and the pattern is monitored with the help of energy efficient, passive air-conditioning systems, environmental friendly & renewable materials. In the renewable energy part, power is generated by solar PV panel including solar power refrigerator added to low water fittings, rain water harvesting & greener landscaping. The cost varies from Rs 200 to Rs 500 per sq.ft approx for the construction of conventional buildings."

Important features of Prana include optimisation of water, electricity and lighting systems; solar water heating systems; technology that simultaneously generates chilled water for cooling and hot water for heating; solar refrigerator is installed for refrigeration requirements; sewage treatment, sewage water treated and recycled for various useful purposes such as - landscaping, flushing in toilets, and make up water for the cooling tower, etc; environment friendly construction material; and energy efficient heating and cooling.

Rain water that runs off from the roof of Prana will be collected in a recharge tank which is buried inside the earth that will enable the rain water to recharge the water table beneath. Building automation system is provided that will monitor the energy usage and other parameters like temperature, CO2, relative humidity, lax levels, power consumption of the chillers and fans.