Review of energy efficiency initiatives and regulations for residential buildings in India

Considering the importance of reducing energy consumption in building sector, objective of present study is to review codes, standards, regulations and energy efficiency initiatives in different countries to identify effective strategy for implementable energy efficiency measures for building regulations in India. A review of energy regulations of 17 countries including India is carried out covering regulation type, code structure, regulatory assessment, energy efficiency measures along with role of regulations in changing energy consumption trend in these countries. Also the initiatives taken in India on energy efficiency in building sector, National Building Code (NBC), Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC), Indian Standard SP:41 modified Leadership in Energy and Environmental design (LEED) homes, Small Versatile Affordable Green Rating Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) for residential buildings to identify implementable energy measures for building regulations. A case study of building regulations of Hamirpur town with composite climate, located in north western Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh, India is carried out to identify implementation problems for energy regulations at local level. It is found that energy efficiency measures are not followed strictly at local level although National codes or state regulations exist because of inappropriate regulation structure, ineffective enforcement and non-availability of detailed technical methodology. Building envelope, climatic and site conditions, building materials, water conservation, waste water recycling, heating, natural day lighting, cooling, ventilation are found to be important parameters for improving energy efficiency in buildings. The identified energy efficiency measures along with passive solar heating and cooling concepts are proposed to be included in SP: 7-2005 NBC and in building regulations for designing energy efficient residential buildings. The recommendations from this study will be useful for similar climate locations in India and worldwide. The outcome of study can also be used for global locations where the energy regulations do not exist or are not effective.