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Neeti Garg1, Ashwani Kumar1, Satish Pipralia1 and

Praveen Garg2

Abstract
In view of the climate change threat, India has recently committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
to 35% by 2030 relative to 2005 levels. Energy efficiency in buildings offers the greatest potential for
saving energy at the lowest cost. This paper reviews current energy consumption trends in the residen-
tial building sector of India and traces various initiatives by the government to reduce dependence on
fossil fuels in terms of regulatory framework, green building rating systems, fiscal incentives and insti-
tutional mechanisms affecting energy demand management. Further, the paper provides an overview of
various barriers and challenges in implementing energy efficiency programmes in housing along with
suggestions to strengthen the institutional framework and create awareness to accelerate energy effi-
ciency programmes for reducing CO2 emissions.

Keywords
Building codes, Green building rating systems, Fiscal instruments, Barriers and challenges
Accepted: 8 August 2018

Introduction
In light of the global threat of global warming, various
countries have committed to reduce carbon dioxide
emission to limit global warming to less than 2 C com-
pared to pre-industrial levels.1 The goal calls for zero
net anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to
be reached during the second half of the 21st century.
British economist Nicholas Stern has warned that fail-
ure to deal with climate change would lead to a loss of
15–20% of Gross Domestic Product.2 India ranks
fourth in GHG emissions at 6% of total global emis-
sions of 1293 million metric tonnes.3 India has commit-
ted to reduce carbon emissions to 35% by 2030 relative
to 2005 levels at the United Nations Climate Change
Conference Summit 2015, Paris. This has posed a
large challenge to the subcontinent in terms of deciding
an economic and sustainable management approach to
built environment development. India has adopted a
three-fold strategy to curb GHG emission rate: firstly
by focussing on the generation of clean renewable
energy; secondly, by creating an additional carbon
sink for 2.5–3 billion tonnes of CO2 by increasing
tree and forest cover; and finally, by investing in
energy efficiency programmes.4
India has undertaken diverse initiatives to address the
threat of climate change. The eight National Missions set
under India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change5
are: National Solar Mission, National Mission for
Enhanced Energy Efficiency, National Mission on
Sustainable Habitat, National Water Mission, National
Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystems,
National Mission for a Green India, National Mission
for Sustainable Agriculture and National Mission on
1
Department of Architecture and Planning, Malaviya National
Institute of Technology, Jaipur, India
2
Department of Architecture, DCRUST, Murthal, India
Corresponding author:
Ashwani Kumar, Department of Architecture and Planning,
Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, India.
Email: ashwani.patiyal@gmail.com
2 Indoor and Built Environment 0(0)
Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change. These mis-
sions address a wide range of issues such as forestry,
ecological sustainability of agriculture, knowledge crea-
tion and demand-side management of energy for sustain-
ability by regulatory and voluntary mechanisms.
This paper reviews the various initiatives undertaken
by the Government of India in terms of policies, codes
and incentives to create energy efficiency in residential
buildings to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and to
harness potential renewable energy in India. Further,
the paper considers various barriers and challenges to
implementing energy efficiency programmes in residen-
tial buildings in order to suggest measures to overcome
such barriers and to accelerate energy efficiency pro-
grammes and reduce CO2 emissions.
The energy consumption scenario
in residential buildings
Many factors have affected the rise in energy use:
urbanization, population growth, the widening gap
between high demand and limited supply of energy,
indoor living style, high expectation of thermal comfort
and affordability.6 The ultimate size of India’s popula-
tion is projected to be about 1.72 billion by 2060.7
Urbanization and urban expansion are happening rap-
idly. By 2050, two-thirds of the population is likely to
live in urban areas.8 The share of population living in
urban area in India is expected to rise from the current
33% of the total population to 50% by 2050.6 Over
70 million new urban housing units will be added in
India over the next 20 years.9 It is estimated that two-
thirds of the built-up area will be constructed in next
two decades.10
It is alarming to note that buildings account for 48%
of total global energy use, 19% of energy-related GHG
emissions (including electricity-related), approximately
one-third of black carbon emissions and 50% of total
Figure 1. Annual growth in electricity consumption by residential sector.15
waste generation.11 Electricity consumption in the
building sector in India is 7% of the country’s total
electricity consumption as compared to 22% in devel-
oped nations. For the building sector, commercial
building space accounts for 33% and residential build-
ings account for 67% of total energy consumption.12,13
The main reason for the large share of energy con-
sumption in residential buildings in India is due to its
large footprint and the change in life style of the weal-
thy. Under a business-as-usual scenario, the growth of
residential building is projected at 8–10% annually,
which will lead to a quantum jump in energy consump-
tion. As in a Central Electricity Authority Report,14
energy use in residential buildings has increased from
80 TWh in 2000 to 186 TWh in 2012. As in a Global
Building Performance Report,15 electricity consump-
tion is predicted to rise by more than eight times by
2050 under the business-as-usual scenario, as shown
in Figure 1. Also, in the absence of electricity grid
supply in India, the use of diesel generators is causing
serious environmental pollution. It is considered that
there is a dire need to reduce electricity demand and its
carbon footprint.
Energy consumption in residential buildings differs
significantly from commercial buildings due to several
factors. The occupants tend to use residential buildings
in a mixed mode operation, i.e. they may use natural
ventilation and have flexibility in controlling window
operations, air conditioners and clothing to achieve
thermal comfort.16,17 However, there is a greater uncer-
tainty in energy consumption in residential buildings
due to greater diversity in use patterns of space, occu-
pancy, family structure, time of use of buildings, appli-
ance installation, personal preferences of cooling set
point and indoor lifestyle.18 Even similar residential
buildings at similar sites may show variations in
energy consumption of the order of 150–200%.19
Garg et al.
Energy usage in residential buildings in India is dif-
ferent to that in developed countries, due to the use of
mixed mode operation and the lack of extremely air
tight houses such as Passivhaus homes in Europe.20
Most residences use single air conditioner systems
such as window air conditioners or split systems, as
opposed to central heating or cooling systems used in
developing nations. The lack of thermal insulation in
walls and an increasingly large use of glass without
double or triple glazing in residential apartments or
villas increase building envelope heat gain and conse-
quently the cooling load and energy consumption.
In commercial buildings, heating, ventilation and air-
conditioning (HVAC) systems are designed to meet
internal loads such as people, lights and equipment.
However, a large percentage of energy used in residen-
tial buildings is for space conditioning to meet building
envelope loads.21 Over a life span of 50 years, nearly
25% of the total energy used by buildings is in construc-
tion and 75% in end-uses such as HVAC, lighting,
equipment and appliances.22 In addition, there is much
diversity in how residential buildings are designed and
constructed and thus modelling for energy consumption
poses challenges due to uncertainty in input values.23,24
The energy use per capita in India has increased from
734 kWh in 2008–2009 to 1075 kWh in 2015–2016, an
increase of 46%.6 Using a very aggressive policy strate-
gy, the increase in household electricity consumption
could be limited to 1170 kWh per capita in 2050.15
It is considered that there is a need to revamp the
current structure of energy use to frame market-driven
scenarios, energy codes for building and cities, due
to future energy projections and availability of clean
electricity, and to clean environment and climate
change initiatives. India’s national mission on sustain-
able habitat has stressed improving energy efficiency in
buildings by the Energy Conservation Act 2001 and the
setting up of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE).
There are vast opportunities to reduce electricity con-
sumption and to increase energy efficiency in new as
well as existing buildings. It is estimated that new
buildings can reduce energy (fossil fuel use as well as
electricity) consumption by 20–50% by appropriate
design changes to the building envelope, lighting and
HVAC systems. Significant savings in energy consump-
tion are possible by incorporating energy efficiency
measures which will lead to reduction in energy
demand.25 The strategies adopted by the government
to reduce energy consumption entail the setting of var-
ious goals, which can be broadly classified as:
1. Technological framework
2. Regulatory and voluntary mechanisms
3. Fiscal instruments
4. Training and capacity building.
3
Technological framework
The Government of India has advocated promoting
sustainable development of habitats in an 11th five-
year plan, as outlined in its National Urban Housing
and Habitat Policy.26 This calls for inclusive, faster and
sustainable housing for all by 2022, incorporating uti-
lization of solar technologies, energy conserving gadg-
ets and green technologies. The government has framed
regulations to facilitate a net metering policy under its
National Solar Mission to allow buildings to act as
active participants in the energy production cycle.
Thus, various national and state policies play pivotal
roles in keeping cities clean and green by adopting
energy efficiency measures. Smart City Mission guide-
lines27 have underscored the significance of retrofitting
city infrastructure at different levels to meet energy
demands in a smart way and to improve quality of
life. India has identified 100 smart cities to implement
smart city objectives. The smart city is intended to deal
with or mitigate the highest efficiency and resource
optimization.28 The concept of providing assured elec-
tric supply is included in core infrastructure elements in
a smart city and delineates three smart solutions, such
as smart meters and management, renewable sources of
energy, and energy efficient and green buildings.27
However, it is paradoxical to note that not much atten-
tion is paid to energy efficiency codes specifically for
new as well as existing residential buildings in India,
unlike developed nations where this has been recog-
nized as a key factor for implementing and continuous-
ly reviewing progress.
Energy Conservation Building Code
The BEE assigns star ratings to appliances and build-
ings as benchmarks for energy conservation efficiency
in building codes. The Energy Conservation Building
Code (ECBC) (2007) was launched by the Bureau29
under the Energy Conservation Act, 2001. It is appli-
cable to all building types fulfilling either of these con-
ditions: a connected load of 100 kW or more, a
contract demand of 120 kVA or more, conditioned
area of 1000 m2 and above. The code also applies to
new additions to existing buildings. It provides signif-
icant parameters by setting benchmark performance
indicators for various climate zones of the country to
reduce energy consumption for the building envelope,
for electrical and mechanical equipment, for lighting
and for hot water service heating. Two approaches
are defined in ECBC for meeting benchmarking stand-
ards: a Prescriptive Approach setting benchmarks for
individual components with the option of trade-off
between sub-components and a Whole Building
Simulation Approach considering an energy
4 Indoor and Built Environment 0(0)
performance index (EPI) and unmet hours showing
total performance of systems by end use. Based on an
EPI Whole Building Simulation approach, BEE
awards star ratings to energy-efficient buildings and
also recognizes exemplary buildings.30
The BEE reviewed the ECBC code in 2017 to
encourage green building practices in urban develop-
ment from local state and town planning organizations
for inclusion in local by-laws. The Ministry of Urban
Development is now advising all urban local body
departments of the state governments to include revi-
sions in the National Building Code for Sustainability
Part 11 in their building by-laws.31 To encourage
increasing use of energy-efficient materials, various
state and central government construction agencies,
such as Public Works Department (PWD), have also
published ratings for various energy-efficient materials,
such as autoclaved aerated concrete blocks, thermal
insulation, etc., and listed suppliers of energy-
efficient materials.
Implementation of the ECBC code in some States
will lead to more energy-efficient buildings, primarily in
the commercial sector. But there is a need to develop
codes and standards for new and existing residential
buildings since these constitute a major share of build-
ings and consume high energy.
National Solar Mission
National Solar Mission was launched in 2010 to accel-
erate the application of solar energy, and research and
development in the field. Various initiatives have arisen
such as solar harvesting, integrated building photovol-
taic (PV) systems, solar street lighting and new policies
for net metering or smart grids. As a result of these, the
role of buildings is gradually changing from energy
consumer to producer of electricity. There is a huge
untapped potential for solar applications as this per-
mits decentralized distribution of energy and empowers
people at the grassroots level. It has added the new
dimension of supply of bi-directional energy from
the current system of a one-directional supply. With
the decline in cost of solar PVs, more solar farms are
being set up as cost-effective means of generating elec-
tricity. Use of solar water heating systems is already
mandatory in institutional, commercial and large resi-
dential complexes.
It is also mandatory in some States to meet a min-
imum of 3–5% of total electric energy demand by roof-
top solar PV panels.32 Various institutional buildings
have already installed 80–100 kW solar panels.
Net Zero buildings or Nearly Net Zero Energy
Buildings have been a target for new buildings and
retrofitting existing buildings by 2047 all over the
world. Building facades can be used to integrate PV
panels in fenestrations. There is an array of systems,
such as stand-alone (off-grid) solar PV systems with
dedicated loads or grid-connected solar PV system
with net metering, or Hybrid systems33 (systems with
grid back-up power).
The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
has reported that India crossed the threshold of
5000 Mega Watt in 2016 and has revised the target of
solar power generation capacity by five-fold, from
20,000 MW to 100 GW by 2022. Through rooftop
solar plants and generation in parks, 20,000 MW is
anticipated to be generated by 2020.34 The Ministry is
implementing a programme on Development of Solar
Cities wherein about 100 small townships/campuses
(new and existing) are proposed to be developed as
green campuses during the 12th five-year plan. The
National Solar Mission has been successfully driving
the target of solar power generation.
Research and development in the field
Various government agencies such as the Building
Material Technology Promotion Council, the
Housing and Urban Development Corporation and
research organizations such as Central Building
Research Institute are engaged in research and promo-
tion of innovative eco-friendly high-performance build-
ing materials and construction systems. With the
increased supply of these technologies leading to a
decline in prices, their payback period has decreased
from seven years to three years. The incremental cost
of retrofitting existing structures has dropped to 7–8%
in 2015 compared to 16–17% of total project cost in
2000.35 The other initiatives by the government include
setting up partnerships to promote new energy-efficient
materials as in ECBC 2017. These partnerships include
industry associations such as the Confederation of
Indian Industry, the Indian Green Building Council
(IGBC), the Indian Renewable Energy Development
Agency, and research institutes such as The Energy
and Resources Institute (TERI), climate change centres
in various States, State designated agencies such as the
Punjab Energy Development Agency or Haryana
Renewable Energy Department.
Despite the availability of energy-efficient materials
and technologies, their use in projects is sporadic or is
limited to few projects. There is a need to conduct
research on materials such as glass types, thermal insu-
lation materials for wall and roof, double skin facades,
green architecture for residential buildings and to con-
duct a sensitivity analysis to determine the best combi-
nation of solar techniques to reduce energy
use intensity and to increase passive resilience.36 The
potential of natural ventilation to improve climate
resilience by reducing hours of operation of air-
Garg et al.
conditioning system remains largely unexplored.37
Measures should be taken up to incentivise the use of
alternative materials and technologies, such as prepar-
ing a material directory, training and awareness pro-
grammes to disseminate technology from research labs
to the field and construction of energy-efficient model
projects in different climatic zones or States.
Regulatory and
voluntary mechanisms
Regulatory and voluntary mechanisms play important
roles in benchmarking standards of energy use and other
sustainability parameters. The National Building Code
(NBC) was amended in 201631 to include sustainability
and energy as ‘Part 11: Approach to Sustainability’.
Various State building codes have been amended to
include parts of NBC and the provisions of ECBC as
integral parts of codes. There are voluntary green build-
ing rating systems such as Green Rating for Integrated
Habitat Assessment (GRIHA), IGBC, BEE and eco-
housing consistent with overseas rating systems.
GRIHA has been designed as a national rating
system by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
and TERI. This is integrated with several state by-laws
to offer incentives of additional ‘floor area ratio’ (FAR),
the total usable floor area of a building, on designing
and constructing green-rated buildings. IGBC is a pop-
ular rating system with private sector developers for
achieving a green rating and establishing a brand value
for their projects. IGBC is exclusively a rating system for
operation and maintenance of existing multifamily
dwelling units. There have been major revisions and
new categories introduced both within IGBC and
GRIHA in 2015, pushing the sustainability boundaries
and thresholds to higher levels and to encourage better
practices in sustainability.
NBC 2016 Part 11: Approach to
Sustainability
This recent revision deals with sustainability in a com-
prehensive manner intended to reduce the negative
impacts of buildings on the natural environment.
It highlights design parameters to be implemented for
achieving benchmark standards given in the code,
develops a deeper understanding of performance of
building as per climate zone, integrates function and
context, and utilises traditional wisdom in concepts of
sustainability. It further focuses on the long-term sce-
nario by identifying optimum levels and by quantifying
gains of alternatives/choices over the life cycle of a
project.31 It focuses on balancing factors such as build-
ing envelopes with eco-friendly materials and high-
technology solutions, disaster preparedness, reduced
5
embodied and operational energy, integrated water
management and tracking operation and maintenance
with the aid of occupant surveys. It also provides
guidelines for an integrated design approach for the
building envelope, such as building orientation, shad-
ing, thermal mass, reduced footprint and volume,
building form, natural ventilation, optimum daylight-
ing and building service. Section 13.4 of the NBC –
Building Performance Tracking (Measurement and
Verification) – provides techniques for building perfor-
mance assessment after commissioning and handover.
Regular monitoring is carried out to determine whether
environmental performance and targets are met.
However, in the case of renovation or addition/alter-
ation to an existing building, the NBC Part 11
Approach to Sustainability Addendum applies.
Building owners are provided with flexibility to have
an entire existing building or part addition evaluated
under this Addendum.
GRIHA
The GRIHA was developed as National Rating System
in 2007 by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
and TERI. It was revised in 2015 to better meet current
sustainability goals. It integrates all relevant Indian
codes and standards such as NBC 2005, the ECBC
2007, environmental policies of India and local by-
laws. It also encourages the integration of traditional
knowledge on architecture with present day technology.
The GRIHA Version 201538 has listed 31 criteria in nine
categories, as illustrated in Figure 2, with the addition of
two new sub-categories, Socio-Economic Strategies and
Performance Monitoring and Validation.
Parameters such as ‘Criteria 12 Indoor Air Quality’
have been added to ensure healthy living conditions,
with monitoring of CO2, temperature and relative
humidity in occupied spaces as per National stand-
ards.31 Figure 3 illustrates various criteria for energy
efficiency in GRIHA Version 2015.38 GRIHA has also
defined EPI benchmarks for residential buildings as
70 kWh/m2/year for composite, warm and humid, hot
and dry climatic zones and 50 kWh/m2/year for mod-
erate climates. In order to promote higher energy effi-
ciency in buildings, a new concept of non-linear point
distribution has been introduced as shown in Table 1.
For example, for an additional increment of 10%
energy saving in slab floors from 40 to 50%, three addi-
tional points are granted in GRIHA Version 2015
instead of two points in GRIHA Version 3.
GRIHA-LD39 has been recently launched for large
developments (LD) by private builders or public sector
agencies, having total site areas greater than or equal to
50 hectares in housing townships or complexes.
The GRIHA-LD emphasizes qualitative aspects of
6 Indoor and Built Environment 0(0)

Figure 2. Various parameters and their weightings in GRIHA Version 2015.38

Figure 3. Various criteria for energy efficiency in GRIHA Version 2015.38

Table 1. Non-linear point distribution for rewarding sus- IGBC

tainability measures.38
The IGBC is a voluntary rating system for
Reduction from GRIHA GRIHA existing and new building, developed from the
EPI benchmark (%) Ver. 2015 Ver. 3 international rating system Leadership in Energy
10 2 2 and Environmental Design (LEED).40 IGBC pro-
20 3 2 motes a whole building approach to sustainability
30 5 4 by addressing performance in five areas: (1) sustain-
40 7 6 able site development, (2) water savings, (3) energy
50 10 8 efficiency, (4) materials selection and (5) indoor envi-
ronmental quality. IGBC has rating levels ‘Platinum’,
‘Gold’, ‘Silver’ or ‘Certified’ to indicate the extent to
development and concepts of self-sufficiency in energy, which a building excels the requirements of National
water and solid waste management. It also dovetails codes. LEED-India-rated buildings would meet the
the concept of carbon footprint analysis with ecological specifications of ECBC, NBC 2015, the Ministry of
carrying capacity and emphasis on low-carbon lifestyle. Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF)
Garg et al. 7

guidelines and the Central Pollution Control
Board norms.
There are specific IGBC rating systems for different
classes of buildings: New Construction, Core and Shell,
Green Residential Societies for existing multi-dwelling
communities.40 In 2013, IGBC developed a special
rating system for existing buildings ‘Green Existing
Building Operation and Maintenance Rating System’,
addressing sustainability parameters and benchmarks.
For reducing carbon footprint, it defined performance-
based benchmarks for EPI, use of onsite and offsite
renewable energy, and energy metering. For health
and comfort, it mandates occupant surveys to be con-
ducted every six months after commissioning and
handover of buildings and monitoring of fresh air ven-
tilation, CO2 levels, and thermal comfort at 262 C
and 30–70% Relative Humidity (RH).
The sustainability issues addressed in existing green
residential societies are presented with achievable goals
under various measures, as listed in Table 2.
Eco-housing
Eco-housing has been developed by Pune Municipal
Corporation as a special rating system for its new hous-
ing designs, addressing sustainability parameters and
benchmarking for existing buildings.41 It is a voluntary
rating system for reducing carbon footprints and is
based on a 1000-point system. Energy conservation
and management has been defined in detail and given
the highest subscore of 240 points and will lead to envi-
ronmental performance based benchmarks. A power
factor, an indicator of power wasted by lighting fix-
tures, of 0.9 and more is specified, and integration of
passive solar design techniques for thermal comfort is
mandatory. Non-mandatory provisions which are
awarded points include use of renewable energy for
common area and street lighting, renewable energy
for meeting electricity demand, daylight harvesting
and use of solar water heaters.
Overview of different rating systems
There is a major thrust on energy in all rating systems,
but with a great variation between baseline and topline
values in systems. Buildings with five-star ratings in
GRIHA, platinum ratings in IGBC and five-star rat-
ings in BEE vary significantly in their EPI. The rating
system of BEE focuses on energy consumption and
relies on ECBC as a tool to assess the performance of
air-conditioned buildings, primarily for commercial
and institutional buildings. The other rating systems
such as IGBC and GRIHA focus on holistic measure-
ment of different sustainability parameters, with energy
as only one component.
Another major difference lies in the modelling of
EPI for baselines. GRIHA prescribes absolute bench-
marks for comparison to a proposed case and is easily
understood, as compared to ECBC and IGBC. For
example, the base case EPI is kept at 70 kW/m2/year
for residential buildings for three climate zones (com-
posite, warm and humid, and hot and dry climates).
But GRIHA has a greater focus on passive building
design by promoting low-carbon architecture, in con-
trast to building design to save air-conditioning energy
in IGBC. GRIHA-LD focuses on qualitative aspects as
well as on self-sufficiency in energy, water and waste.42
Renewable energy is given more attention in GRIHA
and NBC 2016 Part 11 for sustainability as compared
to IGBC practices. There is a greater thrust on occu-
pant surveys by explicit credits for health and well-
being in IGBC ‘Operation and Maintenance for
Existing Buildings’, endorsed by a proposed framework
outlined in NBC 2016. An overview of the different
rating systems and their focus areas is presented in
Table 3.
Fiscal instruments
In addition to various codes and green building rating
systems, the Government of India is launching policies
and national missions to conserve energy and provide
incentives to design and construct green buildings. These
take the form of subsidies in electricity tariffs, tax breaks

Table 2. Measures and ratings for energy conservation in existing multi-dwelling societies.38
Energy conservation – 22 points
EC Credit 1 CFC free appliances 3
EE Credit 2 Efficient lighting fixtures 4
EE Credit 3 EC Credit 3 solar power for 7
street and common area lighting
EE Credit 4 Energy metering 2
EC Credit 5 Solar water heating systems 6
Innovative practices – 14 points
IP Credit 1.6 Day-light/motion sensors in common areas 1
8 Indoor and Built Environment 0(0)

Table 3. Overview of different green building rating systems in India.

Rating
S. no. system Area of application Type of buildings Focus area

1 BEE New construction and Commercial Reduction in EPI (operational energy)

existing buildings Energy efficiency 100% weighting
Base case modelled as per ECBC 2017
Popular for govt. projects and institutional
buildings. Referred to as Model
Rating System
2 GRIHA New construction and Residential/commercial Energy efficiency 20% weighting
existing buildings Absolute benchmark for EPI base-case
Focus on passive design strategies and low-
carbon architecture and lower embod-
ied energy
Popular for govt. projects and private devel-
opers for all type of buildings
3 IGBC New construction and Residential/commercial Energy efficiency 30% weighting
existing buildings Focus on building design to save energy in
conditioned buildings. Base case modelled as
per ECBC 2017
Thrust on occupant surveys, operation and
maintenance in energy savings
Popular with private developers for residential
and commercial buildings
4 Eco-housing New construction and Residences in Pune Energy efficiency 20% weighting. Absolute
existing buildings benchmarks for EPI
Passive solar techniques mandatory
Focus on use of renewable energy
Popular with private developers for residences
in Pune Municipal Corporation
BEE: Bureau of Energy Efficiency; GRIHA: Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment; IGBC: Indian Green Building Council; EPI:
energy performance index; ECBC: Energy Conservation Building Code.

and incentives as additional FAR to developers and as
awards to architects.43 Various States in the country
have voluntarily followed such national policies.
Electricity authorities have offered subsidies in elec-
tricity tariffs for using solar water heating systems or
solar PV systems.15 Property tax rebates are possible
for adopting green building practices for all building
types. The Government of Haryana has recently revised
all its building by-laws, titled Haryana Building Code
2017,32 and applied them uniformly across all develop-
ment agencies to implant green building practices, such
as Haryana Urban Development Authority, Haryana
State Industrial and Infrastructure Development
Corporation Housing board, town and country plan-
ning departments. Use of solar water heating systems
is mandatory in all building types having plot areas
greater than 300 m2. Additional FAR for all building
types except residential buildings on individual plots
have been offered as shown in the Table 4.
Similarly, New Okhla Industrial Development
Authority (NOIDA) has announced an additional 5%
FAR free-of-cost in 2015 to developers promoting green
buildings or constructing green buildings certified by
IGBC, GRIHA or LEED. Consequently, NOIDA has
seen a spurt in the construction of green-rated real-estate
projects and townships. Various State governments
have committed to construct all government buildings
to be green and to retrofit their existing buildings. Thus,
provision of additional FAR has bolstered the develop-
ment of green cities, without requiring any financial out-
flow from government coffers. The Uttar Pradesh
Housing and Urban Planning Department provides
free-of-cost a 5% additional FAR for projects which
comply with four- or five-star GRIHA rating.
The revised Haryana building by-laws 2017 award
benefits of additional FAR (up to 25%) by getting a
building/site/project certified from the GRIHA Council
as shown in Table 5. The Government of West Bengal
has promoted green buildings by providing incentives
to developers (up to 10% additional FAR) on the basis
of pre-certification by green building rating agencies.
Pune Municipal Corporation has also offered incen-
tives by discounting development charges to developers
on the basis of the star rating awarded by the GRIHA
Garg et al.
Table 4. Additional FAR for installing solar photovoltaic power plant.32
Generating power from solar photovoltaic
power plant relative to total load
of building
Additional FAR for all buildings (except
residential buildings on individual plots)
FAR: floor area ratio.
Table 5. Additional FAR for GRIHA-rated buildings.32
GRIHA rating
Additional FAR for all buildings (except
residential buildings on individual plots)
FAR: floor area ratio; GRIHA: Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment.
Council. The Sikkim Government has mandated a min-
imum three-star GRIHA rating for all government and
semi-government buildings. The Jaipur Development
Authority has notified that buildings constructed on
plot areas greater than 5000 m2 will be eligible for an
additional 5% FAR for a four- or five-star rating
from GRIHA.
The Department of Housing and Urban
Development, Government of Punjab, permits an addi-
tional 5% FAR to buildings that provide relevant cer-
tificates from the BEE or from GRIHA. The Ministry of
Urban Development, Delhi, issued a notification for
local authorities to provide 1–5% extra ground coverage
and FAR for projects of more than 3000 m2 plot size on
the basis of GRIHA certification. The Ministry of
Environment, Forests and Climate Change44 has
issued a memorandum to fast-track environmental
clearance permission for GRIHA pre-certified projects.
Financial assistance of up to INR 500,000 is provided to
consulting organizations for the preparation of a Master
Plan and Detailed Project Report, including an action
plan for renewable energy installation, green campus
development, awareness programmes and training.44
Thus, various market instruments for green building
incentives include fast environmental clearance of proj-
ects,44 reduction in premiums on development charges,
rebates in property tax, reduced rate of interest on
loans or provision of additional FAR, allowing devel-
opers to construct in a built-up area outside permissible
zoning regulations, and reimbursement of the addition-
al cost incurred in increasing energy efficiency and sus-
tainability features.
Training and capacity building
In order to translate energy saving opportunities in
buildings to tangible benefits, there is a continuous
9
15–25% 26–50% 51–75% 765–100%
5% 10% 15% 20%
1 star 2 star 3 star 4 star 5 star
5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
need for encouraging public policies, for enhancing
awareness, and for adopting new trends and technolo-
gies. Government policies, and research and develop-
ment should be taken to grassroots level by training of
different stakeholders such as architects, engineers, plan-
ners, contractors, government officials, urban local
bodies. At the same time, exemplar buildings should
be created to serve as models for energy efficiency.
Realistic EPI benchmarks must evolve for star-rating
schemes for diverse climatic zones and occupancy sched-
ules. The Government of India has undertaken the fol-
lowing initiatives on training and capacity building.
Creation of ECBC cells
ECBC cells have been created in several States to imple-
ment and understand draft guidelines, to identify gaps in
ECBC implementation and to strengthen local institu-
tion capacities.25 ECBC cells are generally established
with state designated agencies to strengthen objectives
of BEE, to implement ECBC at state levels, to incorpo-
rate them into local building by-laws and to prepare
schedules of rates for energy-efficient materials.
Capacity building programmes
BEE has launched an ECBC Master Trainer Program
for architects and engineers to train various stakehold-
ers, professional architects, engineers, contractors and
developers and officials from different governing
bodies, and teachers and students in institutes. BEE
conducts examinations every year to certify energy
managers and energy auditors. Also, energy audits
can promote ECBC compliant buildings, net metering
policies and testing to improve product ratings. Master
trainers and energy audits are critical to the implemen-
tation of ECBC and energy saving opportunities. Even
the State authorities that oversee implementation of
10
ECBC are not trained fully to monitor implementation
of ECBC provisions. Building owners, contractors and
developers are unaware of the various building materi-
als used to reduce energy consumption. Similarly,
GRIHA and IGBC are conducting training sessions
for certifying professionals, trainers and evaluators.
Market awareness of building materials
Data for many new materials have been uploaded on the
websites of BEE and GRIHA, stating their different
attributes such as GRIHA certification. Information
such as technical specifications/test standards, packing
order, material sizes and cost-benefit analysis are
uploaded. NBC Part 11 provides an extensive list and
description of various sustainable materials with infor-
mation on recycled content, carbon footprint and
embodied energy.31,43
Energy-efficient model buildings
Six different projects have been chosen as energy-
efficient model buildings in different climatic zones,
from which energy consumption data will be monitored
for three years. These model buildings will act as real-life
exemplars to promote best practices to reduce energy
consumption. Financial assistance of INR 62 per m2 of
area is offered as an incentive in addition to technical
assistance by the United Nations Development
Programme and BEE.45 For example, Bangalore’s
Zero Energy Development Housing scheme was the
first residential project to be awarded a platinum
rating by IGBC, India. This project used low-energy
materials and passive solar design to reduce energy con-
sumption. Also, sky gardens or green roofs have been
constructed, contributing to the thermal comfort in the
dwellings. While there is increased awareness among
stakeholders, examples of green residential buildings
are sporadic.
Challenges and barriers to energy
efficiency in residential buildings
Despite the various activities described above, the
progress in reducing energy consumption or increasing
energy efficiency has been very slow. The challenges
and barriers to energy efficiency in residential buildings
are analysed according to four subheadings: Technical,
Regulatory, Fiscal, and Training and capacity building.
Technological barriers
There is a need to develop an integrated approach to
the use of energy-efficient materials and technology to
reduce energy consumption. Several factors, such as
building fabric heat gain using a concept of overall
Indoor and Built Environment 0(0)
thermal transmittance value (OTTV), are more appro-
priate for India’s predominantly warm climate. The
trend of increasing the use of glass, even in residential
buildings, needs to be arrested to reduce heat gain and
hence cooling demand, rather than technology inten-
sive solutions. For a significant impact, there needs
to be a major demand from consumers to adopt tech-
nologies, energy-efficient materials and services.
Availability of materials and technical inputs at afford-
able costs can make their use more feasible. Most of the
materials which aid energy efficiency are often
imported with a very high net landing cost to users.
In addition to cost, performance standards for testing
materials and equipment are not established in India.46
Although most new buildings are being designed as
green buildings, existing buildings before 2010 (not
affected by energy-efficient codes) continue high con-
sumption of energy. As reported by the United
Nations, the largest energy and carbon savings poten-
tial by 2030 can be achieved by retrofitting and reno-
vating existing buildings.47,48 There is a need to
examine existing built environments at various scales
(building, neighbourhood and city-region) in view of
climate change and resource constraints. The retrofit-
ting of existing buildings can lead to significant
improvement of the indoor environment as well as eco-
nomic savings due to enhanced productivity.49 Retrofit
of residential buildings usually involves multiple bene-
fits such as reduction in consumption of energy and
hence energy and maintenance bills, and improving
safety, quality, indoor comfort and aesthetic proper-
ties. There is a need to provide guidelines for retrofit-
ting existing buildings for achieving energy savings.
Regulatory policies barriers
ECBC is still voluntary in several States. There are no
minimum energy performance codes for most building
types. ECBC is primarily applicable to commercial
buildings. There are no energy codes for residential
buildings.50 The States which have accepted ECBC or
amended State requirements are not able to capitalize
on the policy due to a lack of training and capacity
building programmes. Several countries in Europe
have mandated energy performance certification when
leasing out or selling a property. Similarly, in the
United States, a Home Energy Rating System index
is used for showcasing energy consumption patterns
and is mandatory for selling and purchasing. There
are funding sources available or exemption in property
tax for energy-efficient buildings in several developed
nations. For India, there is a lack of real-time data to
prove the validity of energy-efficient buildings.
Garg et al.
Financial barriers
Financial constraints pose a significant barrier due to
the high upfront investment of energy efficiency fea-
tures and the uncertainty of stakeholders and investors
about achieving net savings or low payback periods.
Owners are also reluctant to invest in energy efficiency
programmes where they are not occupants, especially
in most flats, which are occupied on a rental basis.
Despite several policies and financial incentives to
boost green buildings, there is not much progress as
the incentives are not commensurate with the high cap-
ital investment. There is a need to draw upon best
practices followed in other countries for breaking
financial barriers. For example, energy performance
certification is required in the United Kingdom when-
ever a residential property is being sold, acquired or
rented out.51 In India, the BEE and several State gov-
ernments promote various Energy Service Companies
(ESCOs) using business models from Western coun-
tries. These ESCOs provide technical expertise as well
as financial investment in projects. The client and the
ESCO enter into an energy performance contract
and the investment is recovered by the ESCO from
the project’s savings. Central cooperative group hous-
ings in Dwarka, New Delhi, have benefitted under
Indo-German partnership, and the German Society
for International Cooperation (Deutsche GIZ) India
has installed a roof-top solar power plant without
any capital investment.
Training and awareness barriers
Although it is a decade since ECBC was launched,
there remains a great deal of ignorance by stakeholders
of energy efficiency concepts or ECBC. Architects,
developers, engineers and officials from local bodies
are not confident about how to incorporate energy effi-
ciency features.
Academic curriculums should be restructured with a
clear focus on energy reduction at the design stage, use
of simulation software for whole building performance,
and training programmes and software support for
teachers and students.
A milestone would be the use of free online portals
for training, software support and launching digital
software to analyse designs. Online real-time data dis-
play and information on current energy consumption
of new buildings can also help reduction in energy and
foster competitiveness in users.
Conclusions
The paper has outlined various initiatives undertaken
by the Government of India. National policies, smart
city initiatives, various building codes and ratings
11
benchmarks have been recently revised to incorporate
energy efficiency and to set new key performance indi-
cators for building performance. Of all the building
types in which green buildings are being designed,
little attention has been paid to the design and retrofit
of residential buildings. This merits serious research
and effort as residences have the largest share of land
use in any city. There is a need to develop real-time
baseline data for both existing buildings as well as
pre-certified green buildings. There is a need for con-
certed and synergistic efforts to undertake energy map-
ping and profiling and to develop a sustainable energy
plan for all cities that addresses barriers and challenges
to the implementation of ECBC. Models at different
scales are required to act as pilot demonstration build-
ings, to bring a systematic change in awareness and an
approach to carbon neutrality by 2030. A roadmap is
needed to overcome barriers by collaborating on tech-
nological fronts, developing market-based instruments,
undertaking national training and capacity building
programmes, and consolidating efforts to enforce reg-
ulatory policies.
Authors’ contribution
All authors contributed equally in the preparation of
this manuscript.
Declaration of conflicting interests
The author(s) declare no potential conflicts of interest with
respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of
this paper.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research,
authorship, and/or publication of this paper.
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