New Initiatives in Building Energy Efficiency | 22 Jul 2021

Why in News

Recently, “Aiming for Sustainable Habitat: New Initiatives in Building Energy Efficiency 2021” was launched by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE).

These initiatives seek to enhance energy efficiency in the building sector and were launched as part of 'Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav'.

Bureau of Energy Efficiency

The BEE is a statutory body established through the Energy Conservation Act, 2001 under the Union Ministry of Power.
It assists in developing policies and strategies with the primary objective of reducing the energy intensity of the Indian economy.
BEE coordinates with designated consumers, designated agencies, and other organizations to identify and utilize the existing resources and infrastructure, in performing its functions.

Key Points

Initiatives Launched:
- Eco Niwas Samhita 2021:
  - It is an Energy Conservation Building Code for Residential Buildings (ECBC-R) to give a further fillip to India’s energy conservation efforts.
  - It specifies code compliance approaches and minimum energy performance requirements for building services, and verification framework with Eco Niwas Samhita 2021.
- Hand Book for Learning:
  - The web-based platform ‘The Handbook of Replicable Designs for Energy Efficient Residential Buildings’ as a learning tool, which can be used to create a pool of ready-to-use resources of replicable designs to construct energy-efficient homes in India.
- Online Directory of Building Materials:
  - Creating an Online Directory of Building Materials that would envisage the process of establishing standards for energy efficient building materials.
- NEERMAN Awards:
  - NEERMAN Awards, (National Energy Efficiency Roadmap for Movement towards Affordable & Natural Habitat) were announced, with the goal of encouraging exceptionally efficient building designs complying with BEE’s Energy Conservation Building Codes.
- Online Star Rating Tool:
  - It provides performance analysis to help professionals decide the best options to pick for energy-efficiency of their homes.
  - It was launched for Energy Efficient Homes, created to improve energy-efficiency and reduce energy consumption in individual homes.
- Training:
  - Training of over 15,000 Architects, Engineers and Government officials on Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) 2017 and Eco Niwas Samhita 2021.
Significance:
- The building sector is the second largest consumer of electricity after industry but it is expected to become the largest energy consuming sector by 2030.
- These initiatives will help enhance the energy-efficiency levels in residential buildings across the country, thereby leading to sustainable habitation.
  - The initiatives will go a long way to make India more energy-efficient.

Energy Efficiency in India

Energy Efficiency:
- Energy efficiency means using less energy to perform the same task – that is, eliminating energy waste.
- Energy efficiency brings a variety of benefits: reducing GreenHouse Gas (GHG) emissions, reducing demand for energy imports, and lowering our costs on a household and economy-wide level.
Transition:
- India’s energy sector is set for a transition with recent developmental ambitions of the government e.g. 175 GW of installed capacity of renewable energy by 2022, 24X7 Power for all, Housing for all by 2022, 100 smart cities mission, promotion of e- mobility, electrification of railway sector, 100% electrification of households, Solarization of agricultural pump sets, and promotion of clean cooking.
Potential of Energy Efficiency:
- Energy Efficiency has the maximum GHG abatement potential of around 51% followed by renewables (32%), biofuels (1%), nuclear (8%), carbon capture and storage (8%) as per the World Energy Outlook (WEO 2010).
  - World Energy Outlook (WEO) is the flagship publication of the International Energy Agency.
- India can avoid building 300 GW of new power generation up to 2040 with implementation of ambitious energy efficiency policies.
Positives:
- Successful implementation of Energy Efficiency Measures contributed to electricity savings of 7.14% of total electricity consumption of the country and emission reduction of 108.28 million tonnes of CO₂ during 2017-18.
Other initiatives to Promote Energy Conservation and Energy Efficiency:
- PAT Scheme:
  - Perform Achieve and Trade Scheme (PAT) is a market based mechanism to enhance the cost effectiveness in improving the Energy Efficiency in Energy Intensive industries through certification of energy saving which can be traded.
  - It is a part of the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE), which is one of the eight missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC).
- Standards and Labeling:
  - The scheme was launched in 2006 and is currently invoked for equipments/appliances Room Air Conditioner (Fixed/VariableSpeed), Ceiling Fan, Colour Television, Computer, Direct Cool Refrigerator, Distribution Transformer, Domestic Gas Stove, General Purpose Industrial Motor, LED Lamps, Agricultural Pumpset, etc.
- Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC):
  - It was developed for new commercial buildings in 2007.
  - It sets minimum energy standards for new commercial buildings having a connected load of 100kW (kilowatt) or contract demand of 120 KVA (kilovolt-ampere) and above.
- Demand Side Management:
  - DSM is the selection, planning, and implementation of measures intended to have an influence on the demand or customer-side of the electric meter.

Source: PIB