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.
Incorporation of energy-efficiency provisions at the design stage of new buildings is crucial. Developers feel that timely planning can help in reducing the construction costs and also diminish the shortcomings. ?A total embodied energy of load bearing masonry buildings can be reduced by 50% when energy efficient/alternative building materials are used,? says Ajay Batra, Associate Vice President, Architecture ? The Uppal Group.
The new constructions coming up are seeing some positive changes. Suncity is coming up with an IT SEZ in Manesar where all buildings comply with energy efficiency norms. Ashok Bansal, Director, Suncity Projects Limited says that upcoming buildings will be quite different from present constructions. ?They will have walls made mostly from concrete than bricks and thicker insulated glasses are used instead of normal glasses which check the penetration of heat,? says Bansal.
Amidst all this energy saving initiatives, one is bound to imagine whether these upcoming new constructions will have a look of an alien world? Industry experts assure the worries are unnecessary. Anil Nanda, Chairman and MD, Akme Projects says that buildings will be normal in appearance with more solid portions. ?The construction of energy efficient building is same as present ones and all one needs to keep in mind is insulation, solar energy, rain harvesting and optimum use of electricity,? adds Nanda. Initial hiccups may arise as developers too believe that moving away from the existing methods may cost more. The cost up front may be high, but developers save through lower operating costs over the life of the building.
Brotin Banerjee, Managing Director, TATA Housing Development Company Limited explains that energy consumption represents 30% of a typical commercial office building?s operating costs, making it the single largest controllable cost of operations. ?So improved energy efficiency has a direct and substantial payback for investors,? says Banerjee.
It is reported that 25 million sq ft of green buildings are being constructed all over India and more than 100 buildings have registered for LEED certification programme. The market for green buildings and material and products is expected to reach Rs 15,000 crore by 2010. It is just a matter of time before inflated electricity bills become a thing of the past making energy efficient construction the ?in? thing.