Newly constructed commercial buildings in the city will soon have to adopt designs to conserve energy.
Officials from the Chennai Corporation and municipalities in the State participated in a stakeholders meet this week to shape the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) for new commercial buildings across the State.
“About 6,000 commercial buildings in the State are likely to be covered by the code,” said an official of Tamil Nadu Electrical Inspectorate. The code, being drafted under the Energy Conservation Act, 2003, seeks to reduce energy consumption of commercial buildings by 40 per cent through the adoption of various designs.
In the city, about 2,500 commercial buildings will fall under the code. The structures to be covered include buildings that have a connected load of 100 kilowatt (kW), or use or intend to use a contract demand of 120 Kilo-volt Ampere (kVA) and above for commercial purposes.
After the code receives a nod from the State government, the newly constructed commercial buildings are likely to save considerable amount of energy. The design changes include the envelope of the building and systems pertaining to heating, lighting, air-conditioning and water supply, said officials of the Tamil Nadu Electrical Inspectorate.
The impact of the code is likely to be significant in Chennai that has the largest number of such buildings in the State.
The Tamil Nadu Energy Conservation Building Code is likely to be notified shortly, officials said. The Tamil Nadu Electrical Inspectorate will coordinate the energy conservation measures of various agencies.
