User Guide for Building Envelope and Design

Optimization
India Energy Security Scenarios, 2047

Table of Contents:

I. Introduction
I.a

Sector Overview . 3

I.b

Trends in the building sector . 4

I.c

Building envelope optimization.... 5

I.d

Building codes 6

II. The categories ... 6

III. Fixed assumptions for the sector
III.a

Floor space 7

III.b

Electricity consumption 8

III.c

Energy savings 8

IV. Assumptions and Drivers . 8

V. Methodology and interlinkages with other sectors .... 9
VI. Levels 10
VII. Results
VII.a

Energy demand 12

VII.b

Percentage savings . 13

VIII. Bibliography .15

I. Introduction
I.a Sector Overview
Construction is the second largest economic activity in India after Agriculture (NSDC)and has
been contributing around 8% to the nations GDP (at constant prices) for the last 5 years (200607 to 2010-11). (Planning Commission, 2012)
According to the twelfth five year plan, this sector is one of the highest consumers of natural
resources and energy. It is now being increasingly realised in the construction industry that
sustainable development concepts, applied to the design, construction and operation of
buildings, can enhance both the economic well-being and environmental health of communities.
The construction sector can be classified into two sub-segments:

Real estate (Residential, Commercial/Corporate, Industrial and Special Economic Zones)

Infrastructure (Transportation, Urban Development and Utilities)

The real estate sector contributes to around 24% to the construction GDP of India and its
market size is estimated to be around Rs. 2643 billion in 2007-2008. It has been growing at a
CAGR of 12%. (NSDC)
Incorporation of energy efficiency in the buildings sector would result in the development of a
market for energy efficient products (Building insulation, energy efficient windows, glass and
frames, high efficiency HVAC equipment), improved design practices for lighting, natural
ventilation/free cooling systems, lower energy use and electricity bills and a reduced connected
load and improved power factor.1 However, there exist certain barriers like lack of awareness
about the benefits of incorporation of energy efficiency measures, a higher initial cost of energy
efficient technologies, and lack of information about the payback periods for the same and an
asymmetry in the sharing of costs and benefits.
State and local governments, real estate developers, and financial institutions are critical to the
successful development and implementation of energy-efficient buildings. While existing
government policies, building-rating systems, and active stakeholders do provide a foundation
for accelerating progress in energy efficiency, as India's real estate market continues to grow,
the current policy framework needs to be further developed and implemented by coordinated
stakeholder action. It is therefore critical that these three leading stakeholder groups : state and
local governments, real estate developers, and financial institutions drive development and
adoption of energy efficiency measures in the buildings market for new construction and major
retrofits.

http://www.esmap.org/sites/esmap.org/files/1272009111005_BEEC_Shabnam_Bassi.pdf

I.b Trends in the building sector

It has been estimated that 70% of the building stock that will be there in the year 2030 is yet to
come up in the country. (Kumar, Ravi, Rajan, Seth, & Walia, 2010) Residential and Commercial
sectors account for 29% of the total electricity consumption. (Planning Commission, 2011)
These highlight the need for incorporating energy efficiency measures in the buildings sector.

Source: IEA (2009b)2

Composition of sectoral share of usage of electricity

The potential to reduce energy consumption through energy efficient design of new buildings
and retrofits in existing buildings is high, and could reduce the need for lighting, heating,
ventilation and air conditioning. According to NRDC (2011), if developers across India
implemented standard energy efficiency measures in new construction and major retrofits, the
country could avoid the need for 2988 MW of generation capacity.
Most commercial buildings in India have EPI of 200-400 kWh/sq/m per year as compared to
similar buildings in North America and Europe which have an EPI of less than 150 kWh/ sqm/
year. Energy conscious building design has shown to reduce EPI to 100-150 kWh/sqm/year.3
Till date, Indias policymakers have focused on reducing energy consumption in new
commercial buildings, but it is notable that achieving a high target, would depend on the
inclusion of the residential buildings sector in the target area. Residential buildings make up
75% of Indias construction market, and until now has not been a priority for energy efficiency
policy. The potential for expanding and adapting existing energy-efficiency policies to the
residential segment is tremendous. (The Economist Intelligence Unit, 2013)

IEA (2009b), Energy Balances of NonOECD Countries, 2009 Edition, IEA/OECD, Paris,
www.iea.org/Textbase/publications/free_new_Desc.asp?PUBS_ID=1078.
3

http://www.indiaworldenergy.org/brochure/ECBC.pdf

I.c Building Envelope Optimization

Building envelope refers to the external faade and is comprised of walls, windows, roof,
skylights, doors and other openings. The design features of the envelope affect the visual and
thermal comfort of the occupants as well as the energy consumption in the building. (USAID
ECO-III Project, 2011) An integrated building design considers the envelope, heating, ventilation
and cooling (HVAC) system and the lighting system as a whole. Altering the specifications of one
system can change the performance of the other two significantly.
ECBC compliant buildings have energy conservation measures like the use of flash blocks, wall
and roof insulation, high performance glass, high SRI paints, vegetated roofs, LPDs (<1 w/sq.ft),
high performance chillers, economizers, viable frequency drives and cooling towers,
fenestration, designs that increase daylight and reduce the need for daytime lighting, gains from
better insulation, plugging of leaks and use of natural ventilation.
Some of the basic measures for energy efficient envelope design are as follows:
Measures
Minimize conduction
losses
Minimize conduction
losses

Wall
Use insulation with
low U-factor
Reduce air leakage
using a continuous air
barrier system

Roof
Use insulation with
low U-factor
Reduce air leakage
using a continuous air
barrier system

Minimize moisture
penetration

Reduce water
infiltration: Use
continuous drainage
plane
Reduce air
transported moisture:
Use continuous air
barrier
Reduce moisture
diffusion into the
wall: use vapour
barrier/retarder
Use light coloured
coating with high
reflectance

Watertight airtight:
Continuous air
barrier, use vapour
barrier/retarder

Minimize radiation
losses

Use light coloured

coating with high
reflectance

Source: (USAID ECO-III Project, 2011)

Window
Use insulation with
low U-factor
Use prefabricated
windows and seal the
joints between
windows and walls
Use prefabricated
windows and seal the
joints between
windows and walls

Use glazing with low

solar heat gain
coefficient (SHGC)
and use shading
devices

I.d Building Codes

The National Building Code (NBC) developed by the Bureau of Indian Standards defines norms
and standards for health, safety and comforts of buildings and attempts to incorporate
sustainable parameters to a certain extent. The Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) was
launched by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Government of India in 2007 as a step towards
promoting energy efficiency in the buildings sector.
The Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) sets minimum energy performance standards of
various components of a commercial building having a connected load of 100 kW and above, or
a contract demand of 120 KVA and above, and takes into account the climatic zone where the
building is located. The purpose of this Code is to provide minimum requirements for the
energy efficient design and construction of the buildings.
Adoption of these norms and standards are a pre-requisite for obtaining green ratings such
as the Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) rating system of ADARSH or
Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) of the Indian Green Building Council
(IGBC). These ratings are tools that help to assess sustainable parameters in green buildings.
The ECBC provides design norms for:

Building envelope, including thermal performance requirements for walls, roofs, and
windows;

Lighting system, including day lighting, and lamps and luminaire performance
requirements;

HVAC system, including energy performance of chillers and air distribution systems;

Electrical system; and

Water heating and pumping systems, including requirements for solar hot-water
systems.

II. Categories
The exercise aims to capture the potential to reduce energy consumption in buildings through
the use of energy efficient construction material and innovation in design. The buildings sector
is defined to include residential and non industrial buildings. Non industrial buildings include
offices, hospitals, hotels, retail outlets, educational buildings and public services including
government offices.

The building blocks:

Increasing adherence to the ECBC design norms for building envelope is applicable in:
New
Commercial
Construction

Retrofitted
Commercial
Buildings

New
Residential
Construction

Retrofitted
Residential
Buildings

III. Fixed assumptions for the sector

III.a Floor space
The projected floor space representing the demand for buildings in the Indian real estate sector
is assumed to remain identical to the current scenario.
The projected area of commercial and residential buildings is shown in the table below:
Building Type

Commercial office space

Area
(Million sq.feet)
2005
2900

Hospitality
730
Retail
950
Total
4850
Residential
16300
Source: (Planning Commission, 2011)

Growth rate

8
10
8
5

Source: (Planning Commission, 2011)

The commercial area estimate applicable to ECBC is approximated to 50% of total

commercial floor space, as the analysis excludes those small businesses and shops whose
load is less than that required for ECBC.4

III.b Electricity consumption

The electricity consumption from the domestic and commercial sectors is assumed to follow
historical trends and increase at a CAGR of 9.44% and 8.16% for residential and commercial
respectively. (MOSPI, 2013) The CAGR thus calculated per square meter, using the above floor
area estimates, for residential and commercial sectors is 4.78% and 3% respectively. 5
The average energy consumption of a typical commercial building is taken to be 210
kWh/sqm/year in 2007 (BEE, 2013) and that of a residential building is taken to be 42
kWh/sqm/year. (Bhatt, Rajkumar, Jothibasu, Sudirkumar, & Pandian, 2005)
III.c Energy savings
A 10% energy saving in new construction6 and an 18% energy saving in retrofitted buildings
(Planning Commission, 2011) with adherence to ECBC codes is assumed.
With reference to the implementation schedule of the BEE consisting of development,
implementation, enforcement and revision phases, an additional increase in energy savings in
new construction to the tune of 5% with each revision is assumed.
IV. Drivers and Assumptions
The main drivers of the buildings sector considered for this analysis are as follows:

Increased scale and speed of urbanization and migration.7

An increasing share of the services sector in the Indian economy which increases the
demand for office space.

Sharp growth in organized retailing, which is expected to grow at over 25% in the next
few years. (NSDC)

Increasing household income.

Consultation with BEE.

Authors own calculations.
6
Average savings from building envelope optimization calculated from a set of case studies presented by BEE.
http://www.indiaworldenergy.org/brochure/ECBC.pdf
7
According to (NSDC) average annual rate of change (AARC) for urban areas by 2025 will increase to
2.25% whereas the AARC for rural population will decline to -0.4% showing a clear shift of population
from rural to urban areas.
5

Wise architectural design/Innovation in architecture and use of material with low

embodied energy.

Increased awareness and regulatory instruments leading to stricter implementation of

green building codes.

Increased incentive schemes by the government for transitioning to energy efficient

buildings like a reduced tax on investment for retrofitting existing building, reduction in
the registration fee.

Assumptions:

The India Energy Security Scenarios, 2047 includes the energy consumed in using these
buildings (lighting and appliances).

Energy embodied in construction of these buildings and structures is not considered

here.

The potential to reduce energy consumption through improvement in efficiency of

appliances and equipment, already accounted for in the commercial and residential
lighting and appliances sectors, is not taken into account.

Buildings can be made more efficient by designs and construction material that reduce
the need for heating, lighting, ventilation and air conditioning.

Energy intensity savings that are realized, over and above what is possible through
improvements in appliances and equipment is taken into account.

V. Methodology and interlinkages with other sectors

Energy usage from year 2007 to 2047 was computed for conventional and ECBC compliant
buildings in both the residential as well as commercial sectors. Thereafter, energy demand after
building envelope optimization and energy savings due to only building design and envelope
optimization, are calculated for each of the four levels by varying the penetration of energy
efficient buildings in both the residential and commercial sectors till year 2047. Finally,
percentage savings due to the same for each of the 4 levels was calculated.
The output of percentage energy savings from year 2007 to 2052, individually for the
residential and commercial sectors, arrived at after this analysis are then applied to the final
residential lighting and appliances demand and commercial lighting and appliances demand, to
arrive at the net residential and commercial demand offering building envelope efficiency as a
lever to the user.

VI. Levels
Level 1
Level 1 is the Least effort scenario assumes that compliance to the ECBC codes remains
voluntary since their inception at the beginning of the 11th five year plan. There is an absence of
rules and regulations for mandatory ECBC compliance and commercial buildings are not
declared as designated consumers. There also exist institutional, technological, informational
and financial barriers in terms of unavailability of certified ECBC design professionals, lack of
institutional capacity for development of guidelines, labels and tools for residential & public
buildings, lack of training / awareness programmes in each state for ECBC, an immature market
for energy efficient products, absence of norms & test standards for building components, lack
of awareness about the upfront cost of ECBC construction & lack of capital investment required
for covering the incremental cost of implementing ECBC and split incentives8. There are no
efficiently designed residential buildings.
This level assumes that by 2047, 10% of the new commercial construction will be ECBC
compliant and there are no retrofits or interventions in the residential sector. By 2047, Indias
resulting building energy demand would be 11945 TWh and percentage savings would be
0.03%.

According to the 12 five year plan, CIDC is now taking an initiative along with a few states to
facilitate development of technologies and building guidelines and promoting practice of green
construction. CIDC is also interacting with international agencies which have expertise in concepts
and technologies relating to green building materials and construction systems. CIDC is
collaborating with Building Construction Authority of Singapore to evolve a Green Mark for
Buildings. Concrete steps will be taken during the Twelfth Plan period to promote the concept of a
green building.

Level 2
Level 2 is the Determined effort scenario assumes, according to the Energy Conservation Act
2001, amended in 2010, an introduction of a bye law for ECBC compliance in new commercial
buildings having load of more than 100kw used for commercial purposes or contract demand of
120KVA and a stipulation of mandatory ECBC in government buildings/ building complexes
including building of municipalitys corporations, government aided institutions and other
autonomous bodies of GNCTD. It also assumes retrofits in the commercial sector by increased
empanelment of ESCOs for providing services for energy efficiency improvement in existing
buildings through energy audits and retrofit, especially in government buildings as per the
directives issued for a mandatory energy audit in government buildings in all Delhi Government

Developers do not get a direct benefit from investing in an ECBC compliant building.

10

buildings both owned and rented by Delhi Government (BEE, 2013) and an ECBC Notification
issued as per Cabinet decision no.1552 dated 27.07.2009. 9
This level assumes that by 2047, 50% of the new commercial construction is ECBC compliant,
35% of the existing commercial stock is retrofitted and there are still no interventions targeting
the residential sector. By 2047, Indias resulting building energy demand would be 11677 TWh
and percentage savings would be approximately 3%.
Level 3
Level 3 is the Aggressive effort scenario, which assumes that along with standard building bye
laws, there is development of ECBC compliance structure at state level with certain states in
India adopting ECBC as a mandatory code, empanelment of experts and development of
technical material, a scheme to provide technical assistance to government buildings for ECBC
design and the modification of the EPI bandwidth based scheme to multi variable EPI scheme
which would enable the code to encompass more commercial as well as residential buildings.
This level also assumes that there are more incentives for energy efficient residential
construction like tax cuts for builders, thereby promoting the adoption of the ECBC code in the
residential sector10. Further, this level assumes a revision in the code at the end of the 12th five
year plan increasing the percentage savings due to compliance.
This level assumes that by 2047 as per the target of BEE 11, 75% of the new commercial
construction is ECBC compliant,50% of the existing commercial stock is retrofitted and 25% of
the new residential sector is ECBC compliant. By 2047, Indias resulting building energy demand
would be 11541 TWh and percentage savings would be 4.7%.

Level 4
Level 4 is the Heroic effort scenario assumes the inclusion of other building categories into the
scheme, a continuation of the multi variable EPI scheme and increasing mandates in states for
implementation of the ECBC code.There is development of example buildings for demonstrative

As per Cabinet decision No.1552 dated 27-07-2009, the Cabinet of Govt. of Delhi has approved
the following proposals :
a. Stipulation of mandatory of Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) in government buildings/building
complexes (new construction) including buildings/building complexes of municipalities/local bodies, boards,
corporations, government aided Institutions and other autonomous bodies of the government of NCT of Delhi.
b. To upgrade energy efficiency of existing government buildings through retrofitting to be carried out by
energy service companies in a performance contracting mode. The objective of the exercise is to ensure that
all government buildings can achieve at least rating of one star from BEE under their office building labelling
programme.
http://www.environment.delhigovt.nic.in/eerem/Doc/ECBC_CABINETDECISION.pdf
10
Article in The Hindu speaking about the target of BEE to make 75% of the new construction ECBC compliant
and the introduction of applicability of ECBC codes to the residential sector.
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/ecbc-for-residential-buildingssoon/article3752921.ece
11

th

Target of 75% of all new starts to be ECBC compliant in the 12 plan.

http://www.pace-d.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/ECBC-Presentation-Session-1.pdf

11

impact, promotional activities, capacity building of govt construction and operating agencies
like CPWD, Railway, MES, state PWD etc. It also assumes the development of large retrofitting
programme for energy intensive commercial buildings and increased incentives like a reduced
tax on investment for retrofitting existing buildings, reduction in the registration fee,
dissemination of information on the success stories of energy efficiency achieved, inclusion of
provisions for up gradation of star label who improved and sustain EPI performance for two
years. Further, this scenario assumes revisions in the code every 10 years increasing the energy
savings due to envelope optimization.
This level assumes that by 2047, all of the new commercial construction is ECBC compliant, all
of the existing commercial stock is retrofitted and 50% of the new residential sector is ECBC
compliant. By 2047, Indias resulting building energy demand would be 11096 TWh and
percentage savings would be 10.1%.

VII. Results
VII.a Energy Demand (TWh)
Commercial sector after building envelope optimization:
10000
9000
8000
7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

Commercial (Twh)

2000
1000
0
2007

2012

2017

2022

2027

2032

2037

2042

Residential sector after building envelope optimization:

12

2047

3500
3000
2500

2000

1500

1000

4
Residential (Twh)

500
0
2007 2012 2017 2022 2027 2032 2037 2042 2047

Total buildings sector after building envelope optimization:

14000
12000
10000

8000

6000

4000

2000

Total (Twh)

0
2007

2012

2017

2022

2027

2032

2037

2042

VII.b Percentage Energy Savings (%)

Commercial sector after building envelope optimization:

13

2047

10
9
8
7
6

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Level 4

2
1
0
2007 2012 2017 2022 2027 2032 2037 2042 2047

Residential sector after building envelope optimization:

0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5

Level 1

0.4

Level 2
Level 3

0.3

Level 4
0.2
0.1
0
2007 2012 2017 2022 2027 2032 2037 2042 2047

Total buildings sector after building envelope optimization:

14

8
7
6
5

Level 1

Level 2
Level 3

Level 4
2
1
0
2007 2012 2017 2022 2027 2032 2037 2042 2047

IX. Bibliography
al, S. K. (2010). Energy Conservation and Commercialization (ECO-III), Developing an Energy
Conservation Code, Implementation Strategy in India.
BEE. (2013). Impact assessment study of ECBC scheme durin XIth five year plan.
Bhatt, S., Rajkumar, N., Jothibasu, S., Sudirkumar, R., & Pandian, G. (2005). Commercial and
residential building efficieny labelling. Journal of scientific and industrial research .
Commission, P. (2012). Chapter 19,Twelfth five year plan document ,Planning Commission,
Government of India.
http://www.indiaworldenergy.org/brochure/ECBC.pdf.
Kumar, S., Ravi, K., Rajan, R., Seth, S., & Walia, A. (2010). Developing an Energy Conservation Building
Code Implementation Strategy in India. Energy Conservation and Commercialization (ECO-III) .
MOSPI. (2013). Energy Statistics .
NSDC. National Skill Development Corporation: Human Resources and Skill Requirements in the
Building, Construction and Real Estate Services sector (2022).

15

Planning Commission. (2012). Chapter 19,Twelfth five year plan document ,Planning Commission,
Government of India.
Planning Commission. (2011). Interim report of the Expert Group on Low Carbon Strategies for
Inclusive Growth.
The Economist Intelligence Unit. (2013). Achieving scale in energy-efficient buildings in India: A view
from the construction and real estate sectors.
USAID ECO-III Project. (2011). Energy conservation building code tip sheet: Building Envelope.

16