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Realty firms on hiring spree againDLF profit crumbles 77%Realty demand up 15% in Q2‘Property rates to fall 25% in 12-15 months’

: Picture this: The building and construction industry is expanding rapidly at over 49% per year, with more than 40 million sq m of commercial and residential space being added annually. This puts an additional burden of nearly 5.5 billion units of electricity. With power shortages becoming the order of the day, it may become mandatory for developers to design and construct buildings that consume not more than 500 kw of electricity, according to the energy conservation building code laid out by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency. The statutory body, under the Ministry of power, may make it mandatory for developers to adhere to energy-efficiency norms by the end of the year.

“This will help in saving around 1.7 billion units annually in the first year itself, according to industry estimates,” says Bhim Yadav, CEO, Falcon Realty Services. The industry is sceptical. Prem C Jain, Chairman, Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) explains that before the code is made mandatory, adequate information needs to be imparted. “Stake holders need to be educated and trained as some of these concepts are new to the real estate fraternity,” adds Jain. The buildings being designed and used today are consuming excessive energy for heating/ cooling/ lighting and even for the material being used for construction. This may cause serious environmental problems. There is about 30 to 40% energy-saving potential in the building industry, which will not only ease the load on the power sector to meet its demands but also help the citizens in reducing their electricity bills.

Industry experts find that some of the buildings that one sees today are clearly not energy efficient. K Subramanya, CEO, Tata BP Solar suggests that in a hot place like Delhi which has a constant shortage of power it is not wise to build glass towers which become extremely hot and require huge amounts of power for their air conditioning. “Would it not be better to have canopies and facades facing the sun with PV panels mounted on them so that they generate electricity free of cost every sunny day of the year?” asks Subramanya.