Energy Conservation Building Code

 Commercial building sector in India is expanding rapidly at over 9% per year spurred largely by the strong growth in the services sector. It has been estimated that more than 50% of building stock that will exist in the year 2030 is yet to come up in the country a situation that is fundamentally different from developed countries. 

Having regard to the fact that the rate of growth in commercial building sector is amongst the highest, and that, this sector needs to be moderated in its energy consumption BEE introduced the Star Rating for existing buildings as a voluntary policy measure to reduce the adverse impact of buildings on the environment.

Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) was established by the Government of India in March, 2002 under the provisions of the EC Act. Ministry of Power launched the Star rating of commercial buildings scheme in India in 2009.

Star Rating Program for buildings which is based on the energy usage in the building over its area expressed in kWh/sqm/year. This program rates buildings on 1-5 scale, with 5 star labelled buildings being most efficient. Star Labels for day use office buildings, BPOs, Hospitals and Shopping Malls have been developed. Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between BEE and CPWD on 10th January,2019  for “Energy Efficiency in CPWD managed Buildings.

Star Rating Scheme for Office Buildings

Star Rating Scheme for BPOs

Star Rating Scheme for Hospitals

Star Rating Scheme for Shopping Malls

**Courtesy: https://www.beeindia.gov.in

Eco-Niwas Samhita 2018 (Part-I)

Eco Niwas Samhita, Part – I Building Envelope (Energy Conservation Building Code for Residential Sector) is developed and launched on 14th December, 2018 on the occasion of National Energy Conservation Day by the Ministry of Power, New & Renewable Energy. It been developed to set minimum building envelope performance standards to limit heat gains (for cooling dominated climates) and to limit heat loss (for heating dominated climate) as well as for ensuring adequate natural ventilation and day lighting. The code is applicable to all residential use building projects built on plot area ≥ 500 m The code has been developed with special consideration for its adoption by the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) into building byelaws. Last year, the government launched Eco-Niwas Samhita 2018, which is the ECBC for residential buildings, to push for energy efficiency in the residential sector. The code aims for promoting design and construction of homes including apartments and townships to give the benefits of energy efficiency to the occupants.

In the subsequent years, new components will be added to the Eco-Niwas Samhita in the Part-II, which will address other aspects such as, Energy Efficiency in Electro-Mechanical Equipment for Building Operation, Renewable Energy Generation, Embodied Energy of Walling Materials and Structural Systems.

Energy Efficiency Label for Residential Buildings

“Energy Efficiency Label for Residential Buildings” launched by Ministry of Power and Renewable during the conference of Ministers for Power, New & Renewable Energy of States & Union Territories held at Gurugram, Haryana on 26th February, 2019. The key objective of the programme is to make a transparent instrument over the energy performance of a home which will gradually lead to an effective model taken into consideration while deciding over the home prices in future. The objective of the labeling program is to make an energy performance of a home an instrument of comparison while deciding over the home prices in the future. It also aims to provide a benchmark to compare one house over the other on the energy efficiency standards to create a consumer-driven market transformation solution for energy efficiency in the housing sector.

**Courtesy: https://www.beeindia.gov.in