Open access · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Version 1.0
The knowledge exists.
The translation doesn't — until now.
Twenty years of green building knowledge was written for people with budgets, consultants, and certifications in mind. Building Green, Made Simple is a 70-page illustrated guide for everyone else: homeowners, renters, community educators, and small businesses — across six climate zones, ranked by what you can actually afford.
Read the guide (free PDF on Zenodo) Find your climate zone →
Permanent identifier: DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20365825 · Pradeep Angiras with Ghazaleh Sodeiri Jalili
Three filters, in this order
① Economy
Under $50 first. $50–500 second. Over $500 third — with financing noted. Affordability is the binding constraint, so it leads.
② Ease of adoption
No trade skill first, one-afternoon effort second, professional install third. If it needs a consultant, the guide says so.
③ Climate fit
Every measure is flagged for the zones where it actually works — and flagged against where the physics turns on you.
Six zones, six different answers
The same chapter gives different advice in Mumbai, Jaipur, London, Winnipeg, Cusco, and Delhi — because the physics is different. The guide treats vernacular building intelligence (Rajasthani jaalis, Himalayan Kath-Kuni walls, North African courtyards) as substantive knowledge, not historical decoration.
| Zone | Where | Primary indoor-air concern |
|---|---|---|
| HH Hot-Humid | e.g. Mumbai, Lagos, Singapore | Mould & dampness — cross-ventilation first |
| HD Hot-Dry | e.g. Jaipur, Riyadh, Phoenix | Dust-storm PM10 up to 20× WHO limit — filter and seal |
| TM Temperate | e.g. London, Vancouver, Melbourne | Condensation on cold surfaces — the hidden mould risk |
| CO Cold / Subarctic | e.g. Helsinki, Winnipeg, Ulaanbaatar | Airtightness vs. ventilation — you need both |
| HA High Altitude | e.g. Lhasa, Cusco, Addis Ababa | Cookstove smoke — PM2.5 up to 100× WHO guideline |
| MX Mixed / Composite | e.g. Delhi, Beijing, Madrid | Outdoor air can invert ventilation logic entirely |
Two free tools built from the guide
Climate Zone Finder
Type your city. Get your zone, its primary risks, and the strategies that fit it — by budget band. Works offline; no tracking, no account.
Climate-Zone Measure Picker
Filter every measure in the guide by zone, budget, and skill level — with honest payback bands, decision horizons, and the climate caveats built in.
Where the answer is no, the guide says so
Most accessible guides over-promise. This one was filtered: every measure had to clear affordability, ease, and climate fit — and where it didn't, it was cut or flagged honestly. All numeric claims trace to Tier 1 or verified Tier 2 sources (IEA, UNEP, WHO, peer-reviewed journals, government statistics) logged in a public research log.