ENERGY CONSERVATION BUILDING CODE (ECBC) & ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN

EXISTING BUILDINGS

Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC)

The Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) was developed by the Govt. of India for new
commercial buildings on 27th May 2007. ECBC sets minimum energy standards for new commercial
buildings having a connected load of 100kW or contract demand of 120 KVA and above. While the
Central Government has powers under the EC Act 2001, the state governments have the flexibility to
modify the code to suit local or regional needs and notify them. Presently, the code is in voluntary phase
of implementation.
The ECBC defines norms of energy performance and takes into consideration the climatic regions of the
country where the building is located. The major components of the building which are being addressed
through the code are:
 Envelope (walls, roofs, windows)
 Lighting systems
 HVAC System
 Water heating and pumping
system
 Electrical Power System

While the ECBC has been developed by BEE, its enforcement lies with the State governments and urban
local bodies through notification within their states. States of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha,
Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana and UT of Puducherry have notified the code while
many other states are in the process of amending the ECBC to suit their local requirements.

Updated status on ECBC

To promote adoption of ECBC in the built environment, several enabling measures were taken up
during 11th Plan period. These included (1) Empanelment of ECBC expert architects, (2) Development
of technical reference material such as ECBC User Guide, Tip Sheets for lighting, envelope, HVAC,
simulation, (3) Development of conformance/compliance check tool (ECOnirman) to help architects/
design professionals and code compliance officials to assess conformance with code requirements, (4)
Standard ECBC Training Modules covering various aspects of the code, (5) Developed model building
bye-laws to mandate minimum energy standards for residential and commercial buildings/ complexes
for formulation of draft National Sustainable Habitat parameters on energy efficiency.

The focus during the 12th plan is more on the wide scale implementation of ECBC in built environment
and energy efficiency improvement in existing commercial building through activities and those have
been taken up during the year 2014-15 are given below:
 The process of ECBC Update in view of technological advancement, market change in
regard to energy demand, supply scenario has been initiated. Technical Committee and
Working Groups constituted for this purpose.
 Technical support has been provided for various demonstration projects for different
categories of buildings in different climatic zones.
 ECBC Intensive training and Awareness workshops organized in different locations of the
country for capacity building in the state.
 59 Master Trainers new have been identified by conducting 3 Training of Trainers
programme at MNIT, Jaipur, CEPT, Ahmedabad and IIIT, Hyderabad under the scheme for
training and capacity building of ECBC professionals. These Master Trainers will be
responsible for providing training to Architects/design professionals, code compliance
officials of the state government/ULBs based on the requirement of the states.

Updated Status on Residential Buildings

Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) developed the “Design Guidelines for Energy-efficient Multi-storey
Residential Buildings for Composite and Hot-dry Climates” in order to include passive design features.
Previously, energy efficiency residential was addressed through labeling of appliances and equipment
used in households and passive design features were not being considered.

The Design Guideline was launched on 2nd of September, 2014 by Shri. Dharmender Pradhan, Hon’ble
Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri. P K Sinha - Secretary Power and Director
General- BEE.

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Updated Status on Existing buildings

The scope for energy efficiency improvements in buildings is immense. However, a lack of
awareness amongst building owners and managers about the specific interventions that could
lead to greater energy efficiency, and the non-availability of an appropriate delivery mechanism
to capture future energy savings as a result of these interventions, discourages the large-scale
enhancement of energy efficiency in buildings. Energy savings are determined by comparing
energy baseline with energy consumed after implementation of EE measures. Energy Audit
Studies have revealed a savings potential to the extent of 40% in end use such as lighting,
cooling, ventilation, refrigeration etc. Energy cost savings resulting from EE measures directly
benefit building owners and occupants over the life cycle of the building.

It has been seen, time and again, that energy conservation in such buildings can be achieved
through well-known interventions, which are cost effective as well. However, the
implementation of these interventions is hampered by institutional, procedural and process
barriers, particularly the inability of building managers to assess and guarantee the energy
savings due to these interventions. In order to address this institutional barrier, the Bureau of
Energy Efficiency has taken up the task of institutionalizing energy efficiency services, and of
promoting energy efficiency delivery mechanisms, such as the development of a market for
Energy Service Companies (ESCOs), which address the risks perceived by building owners.
ESCOs provide a business model through which the energy-savings potential in existing
buildings can be captured, and the risks faced by building owners can be addressed as well. The
performance-contract based payments for energy savings achieved through the interventions
carried out by the ESCO ensures that savings are achieved, and that the payments by the building
owners to the ESCO are related to the achievement of these savings. In order to create a sense of
credibility amongst the prospective agencies that are likely to secure the services of an ESCO as
well as the financial institutions, BEE does an accreditation exercise for ESCOs through a
process of rating these applicants in terms of success in implementation of energy efficiency
projects based on performance contracting, availability of technical manpower, financial
strength, etc. The rating exercise is done through SEBI accredited agencies such as CRISIL,
CARE and ICRA. The results of this exercise are made available in public domain and to the
various State Governments/SDAs, so as to facilitate them in implementing Energy Efficiency
programmes in their respective states. 129 ESCOs are empanelled with BEE. With an aim to
overcome the barriers for achieving energy efficiency in existing facilities on the performance
contracting mode, BEE has introduced a scheme for implementing energy efficiency in existing
central government buildings through the ESCO mode. The approved scheme provides for
funding of Investment Grade Energy Audits (IGEA) being arranged by the Central Government
Agencies/ State Designated Agencies.

In order to promote a market pull for energy efficient buildings, Bureau of Energy Efficiency
developed a voluntary Star Rating Programme for buildings which is based on the actual
performance of a building, in terms of energy usage in the building over its area expressed in
kWh/sq m/year. This Programme rates buildings on a 1-5 star scale, with 5-Star labelled
buildings being the most energy efficient. Star Labels for day use office buildings, BPOs and
Shopping complexes have been developed. More than 150 commercial buildings have been star
rated under different categories.