After commercial buildings, the government is now including large residential areas within the scope of the proposed amendment to the Energy Conservation Act of 2001 to incorporate energy efficiency measures into such buildings and reduce energy consumption in response to the threat of climate change.
In 2017, the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) for newly-built commercial buildings was revised to set a minimum energy standard for commercial buildings with a connected load of 100kW or a contractual demand of 120KVA and above.
"Large residential areas are now obliged to adopt energy-saving technologies, architecture and interior design. Why residential buildings?
"Buildings consume about 31% of the country's electricity. As the main source of energy consumption, we must see that all new buildings, especially large residential complexes, are energy-efficient," said Alock Kumar, Minister of Electricity. .
He recently delivered a speech at the "National Symposium on Energy Efficiency in the Residential Sector in India" organized by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) under the Ministry of Electric Power and the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) in a mixed model of the Swiss Confederation.
Kumar also discussed the performance of India’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) commitments made at COP26, and emphasized that India had achieved some of these goals even long ago.
"The use of energy-efficient technologies and materials in the design and construction phases of buildings is very important. This is especially important because India is preparing to achieve rapid urbanization within a year or two. More urbanization, more new buildings, we will Seeing that all old and new cities will have huge residential areas. Since 75% of the energy demand comes from residential buildings, their eco-friendliness is very important," he reasoned.
The official also praised BEE for ensuring that sufficient technical materials and knowledge products are provided to the public.
During this period, four knowledge products were supported by the India-Swiss Building Energy Efficiency Project (BEEP), which is a bilateral cooperation project between the Ministry of Electricity and the Swiss government. It is being implemented by BEE.
These knowledge products are designed to promote energy efficiency measures in the construction sector, including a book on "Understanding heart shifts in buildings through numerical examples", "Eco-Niwas Samhita 2018's architectural envelope solution collection", "Vayu Pravah-One A booklet of open foam software tools "Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)" and "External Movable Shading System" manuals.
In order to promote green buildings, the government has provided a number of measures, such as the Green Rating of the Comprehensive Habitat Assessment (GRIHA). The system limits resource usage to 30% as the ultimate goal. The government also requires all central government and PSU buildings to obtain at least a 3-star rating under GRIHA, said Deputy Director General (BEE) Ashok Kumar.
“A sharp increase in energy consumption in buildings is being observed, especially in countries with rapid economic growth such as India.” As the average global temperature rises, energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions will inevitably increase, and buildings may not be able to provide enough heat. Comfort. Therefore, it is imperative to integrate energy efficiency measures into buildings," said Jonathan Demenge, head of cooperation and consulting at the Swiss Development and Cooperation Agency (SDC).
He pointed out that by adopting ambitious energy efficiency measures, Switzerland was able to reduce the energy consumption of new buildings by 75%. "SDC and partners in Switzerland and India are working hard to introduce this experience, jointly develop knowledge and expertise, and transform these into India's energy-efficient building design, technology and policies through the BEEP project," Demenge said.
In this event, the architect Ashok B Lall, who has participated in the design of many green buildings, suggested setting the "adaptive comfort" range of 19-32 degrees Celsius in the house, so that it hardly depends on air conditioners or heaters. Although new buildings are easier to save energy from the beginning, old buildings can also be adapted quickly.
For example, he said: “Window facing the sun is the main source of heat trapped in a house. Any shade or the use of blinds can prevent this from happening. Similarly, if the outdoor temperature is high, it can also prevent warm air from passing through closed windows. Enter the room. Cracks or crevices will cause the cooler air inside to escape, which will put an additional burden on the air conditioner."
He emphasized the need to make stakeholders aware of the need for green buildings to improve health, which has become even more important in the Covid era. Dr. Sameer Maithel, director of Greentech Knowledge Solutions, debunked the myth of the high cost of energy-efficient building design.
Making adjustments to old buildings is as basic as applying reflective paint on the roof, saving thousands of rupees in electricity bills every month. “It’s important to use external shades and roofs outside the windows to prevent direct sunlight from entering the room. Although roof insulation is preferred, cheaper options include the use of reflective paint, which greatly reduces heat absorption. Hollow clay tiles can be combined with a Layers of concrete are laid together on the roof to prevent sunlight from being absorbed," Meisel said.