Energy inefficient buildings impose a heavy burden on power supply. They inflate and skew urban energy requirements and contribute to the electricity crisis. Two recent reports published by UN-Habitat send a clear message to complacent Indian policymakers: energy saving solutions are imperative to sustain urban growth and the best place to begin is the building sector since it offers maximum potential for reduction and accounts for 40 per cent of worldwide energy use. In India, of the 7,02,144 GWh electricity annually consumed (IEA 2009), residences use about 20 per cent. Much of this could be easily reduced. Unintelligent design, poor choice of building materials and inefficient appliances have increased power consumption and thus demand. Large swathes of glass and aluminium, which have respectively 3.5 and 30 times more embodied energy than bricks, increase solar gain and consequently the cooling load of the buildings. Excessive concrete pavement combined with poor landscaping of cities has contributed to the creation of heat islands. This not only causes more climatic discomfort, but also adds to cooling-related electrical consumption. Poor fenestration designs have failed to take advantage of daylight and most of the artificial lighting solutions remain energy intensive.
By adopting green practices, buildings can reduce 29 per cent of their total energy consumption in a decade. For instance, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) has shown that a shaded roof and sensitively designed windows have the potential of annually saving 10 to 15 per cent of energy in air-conditioned buildings. Every unit of electricity saved, when factored by transmission loss, would amount to substantial monetary gain, and would cumulatively reduce energy supply investment. What has the Indian government done to take advantage of green building practices? In 2007, the Energy Conservation Building Code, meant to reduce energy consumption by about 1.7 billion units of electricity a year, was launched. Even after five years, this code remains a recommendatory provision and does not bind many buildings. Neither is it integrated with the National Building Code. State governments fare no better. City level regulations have ignored the energy performance of buildings. They are more concerned about the economics of real estate. It is time to make energy audits for large buildings mandatory and dovetail energy codes into local regulations. This is not difficult to achieve. TERI has demonstrated how to integrate green codes with the building byelaws of Bangalore city. What is required is will and wisdom.
Keywords: energy consumption, energy saving, electricity crisis, green practices, Energy Conservation Building Code, energy efficient buildings
This editorial is throws light on "chalta hai" attitude we Indians have towards everything including energy conservation. I particularly liked the remark, "City level regulations have ignored the energy performance of buildings. They are more concerned about the economics of real estate". Not just regulations it is the people and their behaviour as well...
I would appreciate if Hindu comes up with a booklet or something as to how to build a green home with accreditation from TERI.. I would handover a copy to my builder/ architecht and say this is the way I need my home to be built.. Today, as a layman I don't know one bit about green home. Articles like these are philosophical and provide inspiration.. but do we have a step by step guide on how to proceed, considering that environment around is is unfriendly???
In India the main problem with architects is that they like copy whatever
they find it good in the west, without realizing the differences in
climatic features and living conditions. In the cooler countries it
doesn't matter much if you use aluminium or glass in building materials,
but in here it does make a difference, contributing to the energy crisis.
glad that HINDU has come out with an editorial,on this subject!
there is no point in aping western architecture especialy outside clading , and external wall designs!since our climtic conditions
in india especialy south is totaly different from west, where winter temperatures go in minus!hopefully architects keep in mind the energ availability situation in the country and give importance to this aspect!
natarajan.g.k
At last, the cat is out of the bag. The editorial "Let's start at home" has thrown light on a major lapse on the part of almost all the builders, which has all along been instrumental for the inflation of urban energy requirements that has lead to power shortage to a considerable extent.Viewed in the context of the long duration daily power-cuts caused by acute shortage in states like Tamil Nadu, it assumes great significance. Construction of energy-efficient buildings having become the need of the hour, it has become imperative to integrate green codes with building byelaws and making energy audits mandatory, especially in the case of large buildings.
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