Strategy Roadmap for

Net Zero Energy Buildings in India

Submitted by Guided by
NISANTH C Dr.SUDHI MARY KURIAN
C7B 7223 Dept.of Civil engineering
TKMCE Kollam

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Abstract

India is now the worlds seventh largest energy consumer, sixth largest source of greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions, and second in terms of annual GHG emissions growth(Bureau of Energy
Efficiency, 2011). Indias electricity demand is projected to reach 1,900 terawatt-hours (TWh)
by 20212022 (MOP, 2007), and its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from coal combustion are
projected to reach 1.3 billion metric tons in 20307% of the world total (International Energy
Agency, 2007). A zero energy building (ZEB) produces enough renewable energy to meet its
own annual energy consumption requirements, thereby reducing the use of non-renewable
energy in the building sector. ZEBs use all cost-effective measures to reduce energy usage
through energy efficiency and include renewable energy systems that produce enough energy to
meet remaining energy needs. There are a number of long-term advantages of moving toward
ZEBs, including lower environmental impacts, lower operating and maintenance costs, better
resiliency to power outages and natural disasters, and improved energy security
Reducing building energy consumption in new building construction or renovation can be
accomplished through various means, including integrated design, energy efficiency retrofits,
reduced plug loads and energy conservation programs. Reduced energy consumption makes it
simpler and less expensive to meet the buildings energy needs with renewable sources of
energy.

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Introduction

India is facing formidable challenges in meeting its energy needs. As per the Planning
Commissions Integrated Energy Policy Report (Planning Commission 2006), if India
perseveres with sustained growth rate of 8% per annum, its primary energy supply will need to
grow by 3 to 4 times, and electricity generation capacity/ supply by 5 to 6 times compared to
2003-04. It is estimated that by 2031-32, the countrys power generation capacity of 800,000
MW would be required as against the installed capacity of 160,000 MW inclusive of all captive
plants in 2006-07. Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has estimated that the country is
currently facing electricity shortage of 9.9% and peak demand shortage of 16.6% (CEA 2009).
Figure 1 shows continuous widening gap between electricity demand and actual achievement in
the country.

Generation Capacity Requirements vs Achievements

600000

500000

400000
Electricity Power

300000

200000
in MW

100000

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 20 13 2014 2015

Generation capacity required for a sustained growth of 8%

Actual Generation capacity from 2002-2008
Linear Projection

Source: Adapted from Central Electricity Authority, All India Electricity Statistics-General Review 2006 and 2009 and Planning Commissions
Integrated Energy Policy Report 2006

Figure 1: Electricity generation capacity and achievements in India

While it is essential to add new power generation capacity to meet the nations growing energy
requirements, it is equally important to look out for options that will help in reducing energy
demand for various end-use sectors. Figure 2 shows electricity consumption in various sectors in
India. Domestic and commercial sectors account for approximately one-third of total electricity
consumption and these sectors are likely to consume around 37% of electricity in 2020-21. It is

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therefore, critical that policy interventions are put in place to improve energy efficiency in both
new as well as existing buildings in these sectors.

Source: Adapted from Central Electricity Authority, All India Electricity Statistics. General Review 2009

Figure 2: Electricity consumption in various sectors in India

Around the world, there are many initiatives to improve energy performance of buildings
with names such as net zero energy, zero net energy or net zero carbon buildings.
Although these terms have different meanings, several countries have adopted this broad
vision as a long-term goal for developing energy policies and programs related to the
building sector. India has already identified buildings as one of the sectors in its fight
against climate change. However, a long-term policy initiative that encourages the
development of cutting edge research and cost- effective technologies can bring about
step changes in the energy use in buildings.

Context

To give impetus to energy conservation in the country, Government of India enacted the
Energy Conservation Act (EC Act), which came into force on 1st March 2002. Under
the Act, Government of India established the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) in

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March 2002, a statutory body under the Ministry of Power, Government of India. The EC
Act directs BEE to spearhead improvement in energy efficiency through various
regulatory and promotional measures. The EC Act has empowered the Government both
at the Central as well as at the State level to put in place a legal framework that could help
in creating an institutional set-up that promotes energy conservation in the country, and
also helps in monitoring the efforts to meet the energy saving targets and energy intensity
of the economy.

Under the Prime Ministers National Action Plan on Climate Change, the Government
has launched eight national missions, out of which following three missions can promote
higher energy efficiency levels in the buildings:

National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency

Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission

National Mission on Sustainable Habitat

Building Sector

Residential and commercial buildings account for about 33% of the total electricity used
in India.

The residential buildings consume 24% of total electricity consumption in the

country which can be attributed to higher disposable income and better access to finance
for purchasing home appliances among the households. This is leading to substantial
growth of electricity consumption in recent years. On an average 45% of electricity in
this sector is being used for space cooling and thermal comfort using air conditioners,
fans and evaporative coolers; while lighting accounts for 28%. As per McKinsey, India
had residential floor space of 8 billion square meters in 2005, which is expected to touch
37 billion square meters in 2030. Considering ever widening gap between electricity
demand and supply, as being seen currently in the country, meeting electricity demands of
the residential buildings in the coming years could be very challenging.
The commercial buildings sector which comprises of the office buildings, hotels,
hospitals, educational institutes, retail malls, etc., consumes 9% of total electricity

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 consumption in India. This sector has experienced electricity consumption growth rate of 12-
14% in recent years which is attributed to the increasing electricity consumption in the existing
buildings as well as increasing energy intensity of newly constructed commercial buildings.
ECO-III Project has estimated that in the year 2010 commercial buildings had a built up area of
0.65 billion square meters, and this is expected to grow to 1.9 billion square meters in 2030.
This means that about 66% of commercial building stock that will be there in 2030 is yet to
come up in the country. Appendix 2 gives an overview of building sector in India.

There have been landmark initiatives by the Government of India for improving energy
efficiency in commercial buildings. The Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC)
launched by the Government of India under the Energy Conservation Act 2001, for
voluntary adoption in the country, sets minimum energy performance standards for commercial
buildings. BEE has also developed a Star Rating Program for existing commercial buildings,
which is based on actual energy performance of the buildings, expressed as an Energy
Performance Index (measured in terms of annual electricity consumption per unit of built up
area) .

Given the constraints in enhancing electricity generation capacity and over-dependence

of fossil fuels for electricity needs, there is a pressing need to go beyond driving incremental
increases in energy efficiency in buildings. Development of a new set of policies are needed to
enhance energy efficiency initiatives and promote on-site generation of electricity through
renewable sources for captive use in the buildings.

net Zero energy Building - definition

This kind of impetus on net zero energy building calls for the need to know its denition. 'A net
zero energy building is dened as a highly energy ecient building which on annual basis
consumes as much energy as it produces energy at site using renewable energy sources'. In other
words, a building is said to be a NZEB when the dierence between its annual total energy
consumption and its annual on-site energy generation through renewable sources is zero.

It also combines state-of-the-art, energy-ecient construction and appliances with commercially

available renewable energy systems, such as solar water heating and solar electricity. The
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combination results in a home that produces its own energy - as much or more than it needs.
Even though the home might be connected to a utility grid, it has net zero energy consumption
from the utility provider. In other words, a zero energy building is a structure that produces more
electrical or thermal energy, than it uses.
This can be measured in dierent ways (relating to cost, energy, or carbon emissions) and,
irrespective of the denition used; dierent views are taken on the relative importance of energy
generation and energy conservation to achieve energy balance. Although zero energy buildings
remain uncommon in developed countries, they are gaining in importance and popularity. The
zero energy approach is promoted as a potential solution to a range of issues, including reducing
carbon emissions, and reducing dependence on fossil fuels. Most NZEB denitions do not
include the emissions generated in the construction of the building and the embodied energy of
the structure which would usually invalidate claims of reducing carbon emissions.

A building approaching zero energy use may be called a near-zero energy building or ultra-low
energy house. Buildings that produce a surplus of energy during a portion of the year may be
known as energy-plus buildings. An energy autarkic house is a building concept where the
balance of the own energy consumption and production can be made on an hourly or even
smaller basis. Energy autarkic houses can be taken o-the-grid.

Countries across the globe are embracing net-zero or near-zero goals as they seek to diminish the
energy footprint and carbon emissions of their building stock. In spite of the increasing
popularity of net-zero concepts, the term lacks a lucid, universally accepted and technically
consistent denition. Moreover, there are no denitive, widely accepted net-zero metrics for
quantication of targets, goals and actual building performance. Depending on the context, the
net-zero scope may include remotely located renewable energy sources, take into account a time-
period that is seasonal, comprise of a community-level project boundary, consider primary
energy generation at the source, or use an accounting matrix that includes carbon emissions or
embodied energy of building materials.

nZEB Vision

The overarching vision that this strategic roadmap is conceived with is that, from 2030, all

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newly constructed buildings in India must be NZEBs as defined above. This strategic roadmap
is essentially aimed at answering the questionWhat needs to be true so that, from 2030, all
newly constructed buildings in India are built to be NZEBs? The roadmap goes about
answering this question by setting progressive targets that build towards the achievement of this
vision. Additionally, the roadmap also examines the barriers that exist, and proposes how these
barriers should be tackled, through stakeholder engagement and policy interventions.The
roadmap provides a number of recommendations and also suggests milestones, which need to
be achieved on NZEB path for realizing the vision.

Designing for nZEB

Designing of a NZEB typically requires successful integration and optimization of
several architectural concepts and strategies such as building orientation with respect to sun
path, natural ventilation, solar shading, day-lighting, solar heat gains, thermal comfort as well
as deployment of well proven insulation practices, energy efficient glazing, air conditioning
and lighting systems, and incorporation of renewable energy technologies for on-site power
generation.

There is a growing realization internationally that major breakthroughs in reducing

energy use in buildings will entail combining whole-building design approaches with state of
the art energy-efficient technologies (e.g. super-efficient building envelope, low-energy
comfort air conditioning and lighting systems, advanced metering and control systems, etc.)
and on- site renewable energy technologies (e.g. building integrated photovoltaic, solar
thermal, etc.).

Looking into the current trends, cooling load is going to be major energy consuming
component particularly in air conditioned commercial buildings such as large private
establishments and public sector/government offices, high end hotels, multi specialty
hospitals, shopping malls, etc. in the State capitals and other major cities falling particularly in
warm-humid and composite climate zones.

Cities falling under hot-dry climate zone however may have the option of using
evaporating cooling and ceiling fans to meet thermal comfort in the buildings. Water
availability could be an issue in some cities. Figure 3 indicates the use of air conditioning

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systems in India.

Source: 2007 Sales Data from Emerson Climate Technology

Figure 3: Market share of different types of AC units in India

Lighting requirements are also likely to rise due to higher demands for general lighting
levels, task specific lighting requirements, and generally the needs for good visual comfort as
well as improved productivity.

Basic issue for the building owners and users is related to inadequate availability of
electricity supply from the utilities. Captive power generation through diesel/gas generation
(DG/GG) sets among the commercial establishments has become a norm. The research and
technological advancements worldwide have, however, shown that efficient harnessing of on-
site solar energy, and energy from wastes in urban areas can gradually pave the way for
NZEBs in next two decades, if pursued with strong commitment.
Three focus areas discussed below which need to be recognized and pursued by the
building designers and developers community for leading the NZEB path. These need to be
supported, however, by appropriate policy and commitment from the Government.

1. Designing for Solar Passive Building Envelope

While planning and development of newer townships and newer real estates such as

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commercial and institutional complexes, residential colonies, large shopping malls, etc., it is
important to give sufficient attention to the following measures to reduce solar heat gain and
improve day lighting level in the buildings:

1. Planning site orientation preferably with longer axis of the buildings to be in east-west
direction, as far as feasible

2. Designing building fenestration with low window-wall ratio (preferably less than 40%)
having lesser windows on south and west

3. Placement of large windows on north side of faade to enhance daylighting in the building

4. Adoption of horizontal shading devices (overhangs and louvers) on windows on south side,
and vertical shading devices (side fins and louvers) on east and west side of building faade

5. Enhancement of use of natural and cross ventilation of air within the building

6. Planting of trees and vegetation around the building, wherever possible, to block direct solar
radiation falling on the building

2 . Designing for Energy Efficiency

Once the above considerations are taken care of, following energy efficiency measures need to
be integrated judiciously in the building design through whole building design approach:

Reduction of cooling load requirements

1. Reduction of heat gains (external heat load) in building through windows, roof and walls
by:

a) Using energy efficient windows (with glazing having low SHGC, U-factor and high
VLT, and window frame material having low thermal conductivity)

b) Application of cool roof (specialized coatings/paints with high solar reflectance and
high solar emittance) on roof tops and terraces

c) Application of insulation materials on roof and walls (having high R-value or low U-
factor)

2. Reduction of internal heat gains within the building: Building equipment and appliances
such as, lighting systems, computers, photocopiers, IT servers, UPS, water coolers,

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 refrigerators, fans, etc., generate heat and add to the cooling load requirements. Energy
efficient systems not only consume lesser energy but also generate lesser heat.

Deployment of energy efficient air conditioning and cooling technology

1. Adoption of cooling systems and technologies with higher COP or EER such as variable
refrigerant flow, radiant cooling, etc.
2. Utilization of vapor absorption chillers using waste heat from DG/GG sets
3. Adoption of energy efficient evaporating coolers, wherever feasible.

4. Utilization of efficient ceiling fans for temperate climate zones as preferred option over
conventional air-conditioning systems

Reduction of lighting load

Encouraging developments in energy efficient lighting technologies and control systems have
been seen in recent years. However their penetration in real situations has not occurred.
Rigorous adoption of following measures is crucial:

1. Enhancement the use of energy efficient CFLs and TFLs (T5) which have higher lamp
efficacy over Incandescent Lamps and TFL (T12) for general lighting in buildings. Lamps
based on LED technology which is likely to make a major impact in lighting load reduction
strategy, need to be utilized wherever feasible

2. Optimization of general lighting and task lighting requirements

3. Integration of daylighting with interior lighting systems through efficient sensors and
controls

4. Deployment of Low Pressure Sodium Lamp with high lamp efficacy for exterior lighting

3 . Designing for Renewable Energy

1. Designing buildings with Solar PV System on building roof/ terrace, while ensuring
availability of required space for solar panels
2. Inclusion of Building Integrated PV system particularly on south facing building faade
3. Selection of Solar PV modules with high efficiency of solar panels. Currently mono

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 crystalline cells (230 Wp or more) with solar panel efficiency (13% or more) are available
in the market. Extensive research has been going on world-wide to produce modules with
efficiencies more than 20% for commercial applications
4. Deployment of solar water heating systems in hospitals, hotels, which need hot water
throughout the year
5. Generation of on-site electricity from locally available wastes for meeting buildings own
electricity requirement

nZEB Targets

Commercial buildings can be classified into number of categories depending upon what
functions are being carried out in the building. Broadly these can be categorized as office
buildings,hotels,hospitals,shoppingmalls,universities/schools,conventioncentres,callcentres,data
centres,etc. Energy consumption in each one of these could vary significantly from others. Also
within the same category, energy consumption in different buildings, can also vary substantially
depending upon the energy intensiveness of facilities deployed and services offered, and to
what extent the working space in the building is air conditioned.
For instance, the energy consumption per unit built up area of a multi-specialty hospital could
be many times that of an un- conditioned or partially air conditioned government hospital. Same
is true for office buildings. Well organized compilation of buildings energy data in the country
is still in infancy. Thus fixing a specific NZEB energy consumption targets for each category of
the buildings becomes a complex task. However considering an example of a typical office
building having entire built up area being fully air conditioned, the electricity consumption
can e considered as 200 kWh/sq.m/year. This is broadly based on data generated by BEE, ECO-
III Project and other institutions. Figure 4 depicts how the NZEB target path of office buildings
of such category should perform, giving emphasis on gradual reduction of their overall energy
consumption. It also shows how the rising share of electricity generated from renewable energy
sources should replace the share of electricity drawn from the utility in a span of twenty years.

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 Source: USAID ECO-III Project, 2011

Figure 4: NZEB targets for electricity consumption in a typical office building (fully air-conditioned)

Barriers on nZEB Path

To promote the concept of NZEB, the ECO-III Project in association with BEE and CEPT
University organized two Roundtables, one on Technologies for Net Zero Energy Buildings
in May 2011 at New Delhi and another on Net Zero Energy Buildings: Concept to
Completion in July 2011 at CEPT University, Ahmedabad. The Roundtables were very well
attended by various stakeholders, viz., technology manufacturers and suppliers, architects,
engineers, building designers and developers, etc. Based on interactions and inputs received
from the stakeholders, the following barriers on NZEB path have been identified.

1. Limited awareness on tfte concept of NZEB: The general concept on NZEB is gaining
importance and recognition in the developed countries though its definition and
interpretation vary from country to country. For promoting NZEB, there is a need to define
first NZEB for the country in easy to understand terms. This will help various stakeholders
to address various aspects and issues related to NZEB on a convergent perspective.

2. Policy and Program on NZEB not existing: Government has taken a number of initiatives
to improve energy efficiency in commercial buildings inlast couple of years. As
mentioned earlier, these include development of ECBC and Energy Star Rating Program for
commercial buildings promoted by Bureau of Energy Efficiency and Ministry of Power.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has been promoting renewable energy

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 systems including technologies for electricity generation from wind power, solar energy
and bio-mass by providing several financial subsidies in India. However so far there has not
been any specific policy or a well defined government program to integrate these initiatives
and promote a common NZEB strategy for the country.
3. Market for commercial NZEBs does not exist: Construction business is driven by short-
term profits where building construction cost is an important factor affecting the
management decision. Financial benefits of NZEB are mainly for the building users.
Building developers and construction companies do not see this as a specific advantage for
them for developing NZEBs. There is also no demand for NZEBs from the Government
for the construction of their own and public sector buildings. The building users from
private sector also find difficult to understand and see any short term or long term
financial gains for going for NZEBs.

4. Absence of public awareness on residential NZEBs: Government has been quite

successful in promoting energy efficient home appliances such as air conditioners,
refrigerators, ceiling fans, etc. in the household sector through its on-going energy star
rating program. However the developers of multifamily residential building complexes
and individuals who intend to build their homes are not aware of energy efficient
architectural guidelines and renewable energy opportunities which can fit effectively
into their buildings functional requirements. Therefore such efficiency measures do not
get incorporated at the design stage.

5. Higfter costs of EE and RE tecftnologies for NZEB: A range of advance energy efficient
technologies and systems for buildings, initially developed in other countries, are being
made available by a few vendors for the indigenous construction industry. However their
higher first cost over the conventional building material and systems impedes their
penetration in real situations. Similarly renewable energy technologies even though not
difficult to procure from indigenous vendors, are normally seen as high cost cosmetic
technologies. These technologies are yet to find their place in building design despite
several fiscal incentives being offered by the Government to the building owners. The
building developers and designers on the other hand, because of their insufficient
experience and doubt on energy performance generally do not promote these technologies

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 in their building designs unless the building owners demand and agree to pay higher initial
cost towards the construction of the building.

6. Limited design expertise in tfte market: There is inadequate knowledge and expertise on
NZEB concepts amongst majority of building designers and architects on upcoming energy
efficient building materials and technologies, solar passive architecture, and lack of knowledge
and working experience on renewable energy systems. Thus the designer community is not
proactive in promoting NZEBs. Lack of motivation and inclination of architects to learn
something new and highly technical subject such as NZEB remains a major barrier.

7. Lack of specialized energy simulation and modeling skills: Designing of a NZEB

typically requires successful integration and optimization of several architectural
concepts, deployment of energy efficient technologies and renewable energy
technologies. This integration and optimization process essentially requires computer
based energy simulation and modeling tools and associated specialized skills to evaluate
multiple options and assessment of buildings performance at the design stage. A number
of energy simulation softwares are available in the market but there are a very few
professionals in India who have the requisite energy simulation expertise that can assist
large pool of practicing architects and engineers in developing good NZEB designs

8. Management constraints among collaborating partners: Construction of NZEB is not

likely to be a construction as usual. The primary construction company is required to
involve number of specialists and multilevel subcontractors. An effective monitoring of
their performance and taking corrective actions could become very complex. This can cause
functional and communication gaps among the project team partners leading to
management disruptions in the construction delivery process Thus despite ensuring the
availability of number of experts and professional islands in the form of collaborating
partners, monitoring and achievement of common objectives and goals of NZEB project can
be very challenging.

9. Inadequate implementation services for on-site integration: Usually vendors supply and
install their technologies and systems individually, and this normally leads to a piecemeal
approach, poor workmanship and inadequate holistic integration at the project site. Such
practices can reduce the potential of energy efficiency and on-site energy production

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 resulting in limited gains and unsatisfactory experience.

10. Inadequate technology and products testing facilities: Many manufacturers tend to claim
higher performance of their technologies and products, and these are difficult to evaluate
at the design and procurement stage because requisite testing and certification facilities are
practically non-existent in the country, keeping in view the actual needs. This requires
extensive financial support and human resources development to create and manage such
facilities.

Development of Consortium on nZEB

Keeping in view above barriers on NZEB and for realization of potential benefits, there is an
urgent need to put together a dedicated group representing various stakeholders that have the
knowledge, experience, and the expertise to make this happen. In this context, it is advisable
to establish an Academia-Industry- Government Consortium (an enhancement of the Public-
Private Partnership model) to bring together all the stakeholders including technology providers
to promote a well directed NZEB program, build knowledge base and develop expertise in the
country to pursue large scale development of NZEBs in the coming years. The vision of the
Consortium should be that all new buildings constructed in India after 2030 are Net Zero
Energy Buildings, even though this vision appears to be very ambitious at present.

The Consortium needs to be planned to provide an active forum to address NZEB barriers and
catalyze appropriate actions at all concerned levels for next two decades. However in the
initial period of five years, the Consortium needs to focus its efforts in achieving the following
objectives:

Concepts and process of development of NZEBs are widely disseminated amongst the
stakeholders

Energy efficient and renewable energy technologies are integrated in NZEB designs
Policies and Programs on NZEB are initiated by the Central/ State Government

Monitoring mechanism of NZEB Program is put in place and made functional at the State
and/or Central level

To spearhead the NZEB Program in India, it is important to identify an independent institution

to act as a Centre on NZEBs that drives the functions of the Consortium. The Centre for

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 Sustainable Environment and Energy at CEPT University which is a leading institution on
buildings could possibly be the potential candidate for the Centre. The University already hosts
the Regional Energy Efficiency Centre for Buildings established in 2010 under a bilateral
program between the Government of India and USAID. It also has Building Energy
Performance Lab which has been developed with financial support from MNRE, Glazing
Society of India and USAID.

Role of Stakeholders Government: NZEB Policy and Program

The Government at the Central as well as at the State level needs to form a unied policy and
program towards NZEBs, giving its enhanced commitment towards integration of energy
eciency and renewable energy at the design stage of the buildings. The Government also needs
to establish NZEB targets for commercial and residential building sectors. Government also
needs to promote and endorse the constitution of NZEB Consortium. It needs to support the
design and construction of NZEB buildings belonging to the government and public sector as
well as the building developers in the private sector. To demonstrate its commitment, it should
initiate pilot projects in new government buildings in dierent States and also facilitate private
builders in doing so through the enhancement of existing scal incentives. These could include
specic tax rebates, reduced excise and import duties on ecient technologies, dierential
energy taris to the building owners/users, reduced capital costs and interest rates, etc. It also
needs to support R&D initiatives that have potential to assist faster development of NZEBs in the
country.
Private Sector: Building Industry

Builders, building owners and users can be the most inuential in driving the way buildings are
designed, built and operated. This stakeholder group needs to be engaged to participate in pilot
projects. Building equipment manufacturers and suppliers need to be involved to ensure that they
bring in cutting edge technologies and materials which can substantially reduce energy
consumption and enhance on-site power generation. Supportive partnerships with individual
companies as well as industry associations through the proposed Consortium can play a major
role in undertaking pilot projects.

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Academic & Research Institutions

These institutions can assist in creation of newer generation of architects and engineers through
academic and professional education, also facilitate in capacity building programs for the
practising architects and building construction community at various levels. In association with
proposed Consortium, these institutions can also undertake specic market and policy level
studies and enlighten various stakeholders involved in the NZEB Program and provide their
technical services in development of pilot projects. They can also be involved in continuous
monitoring and dissemination of information on the developments taking place in dierent
countries on NZEBs, through workshops, conferences, etc.

Initiatives to promote zero energy buildings

The Partnership to Advance Clean Energy - Deployment (PACE-D) Technical Assistance (TA)
Program is a ve-year bilateral program with an objective to accelerate India's transition to a
high performing, low emissions, and energy secure economy. The U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID) launched the program in July 2012 in partnership with the Ministry of
Power and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to support clean energy deployment and
scale-up. The program has three key components: Improving end-use Energy Eciency (EE),
Increasing supply of Renewable Energy (RE), and Accelerating deployment of Clean Fossil
Technologies.

In the buildings sector, the PACE-D TA Program is supporting the Bureau of Energy Eciency
(BEE) to promote energy eciency and net-zero goals in India. These activities build upon
BEE's past activities in the buildings sector and will be centered on the Energy Conservation
Building Code (ECBC) Implementation under the 12th Plan, with a strategic vision of
leapfrogging the vibrant Indian building market towards design and implementation of high
performance buildings in the near future. The activities include technical resource development,
capacity building, demonstration projects, ECBC implementation support, and updating the
ECBC 2007 with provision for NZEB components.

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Role of PACE-D

The PACE-D Technical Assistance (TA) Program focuses on increasing the market deployment
of energy ecient and renewable energy technologies, smart-grids, improving access to clean
energy nance, strengthening policy and regulatory frameworks and increasing the technical
capacity of institutions to advance clean energy in India. These activities will be deployed in a
complementary manner to put India on the pathway to a net-zero future.

The PACE-D TA team is working closely with the Bureau of Energy Eciency (BEE) to dene
net- zero goals as well as to achieve the synergies required across various focus areas. The
PACE-D TA Program will also focus on demonstrating the technical feasibility of the NZEB
concept. The demo projects will provide the opportunity to engage stakeholders across the
building value chain and disseminate information about tools, technologies, costs, performance,
and measurement and verication data over a period of time. The PACE-D TA Program will
engage local stakeholders at the state level across India and establish a network of demonstration
projects that are supported by State Designated Agencies and State Renewable Energy
Development Agencies.

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The PACE-D TA Program will also facilitate the information exchange between relevant
stakeholders through knowledge dissemination which will showcase Net-Zero Energy Building
success stories from around the world.

Recommendations on Strategy roadmap for nZEBS

1. Government of India should state countrys definition of Net Zero Energy Building. It
could possibly consider the definition given by ECO-III Project, which is restated below:

A Net Zero Energy Building is defined as a highly energy efficient building which on
annual basis consumes as much energy as it produces energy at site using renewable energy
sources. In other words, a building is said to be a NZEB, when the difference between its
annual total energy consumption and its annual on-site energy generation through
renewable sources is zero.

2. Government of India should constitute an inter-ministerial coordination mechanism, a

unified policy and a national program and targets on NZEBs involving Bureau of Energy
Efficiency, Ministry of Power, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy as well as the
Ministry of Urban Development.

3. A national level NZEB Consortium with an overall objective of promoting NZEBs needs
to be created in India to actively involve and encourage architects, consultants, builders,
technology providers and other stakeholders. The Consortium is proposed to be housed in
CEPT University, an independent institute which has been working in buildings and
energy efficiency for the last many years. The CEPT University, in consultation with
Government of India should constitute a high level Advisory Committee on NZEB,
involving policy makers, eminent specialists and domain experts to give a national
perspective to the NZEB Program.

4. A NZEB Steering Committee at CEPT should be constituted to overview, guide and

monitor the functioning of the Consortium periodically. Consortium should drive its
functions by getting financial support from the Central/State Government, private sector
membership and funding from the bilateral/multilateral agencies, international foundations,
etc.

5. Government of India needs to review the existing fiscal incentives on advanced renewable

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 energy technologies for power generation as well as energy efficient technologies
pertaining to buildings primarily with a view to promote newer time bound policies and
schemes to give impetus for the construction of NZEBs in India. The Government
should gradually withdraw these when the cost of these technologies come down due to
higher off take in the market and paybacks on investments on such technologies and
systems become commercially attractive.

6. The Government (Centre/State), to demonstrate its commitment towards NZEB path, and
acquire first hand experience, should initiate 4-5 pilot projects in the on-going 5-year span
(ending 2015) in different cities/states possibly in different climate zones for constructing
government buildings. These buildings should be designed primarily to reduce overall
energy consumption through energy efficiency measures while ensuring that on-site power
generation through renewable energy sources replaces significantly energy derived from
fossil fuels. For every subsequent 5 year period, 4-5 pilot new projects should be promoted
with higher levels of energy efficiency and higher reliance on on- site power generation.

7. The Government should engage, collaborate and mainstream concerned stakeholders such
as major building/real estate developers, most prolific architecture firms and building
owners from the private sector who are willing to incorporate NZEB concepts and design
features in their upcoming commercial buildings (e.g hotels, hospitals, shopping malls, etc.)
or high-rise residential buildings to undertake pilot projects. In next 5 years, the
Government should facilitate such 4-5 pilot projects to construct commercial or residential
buildings similar to the approach adopted for Government promoted pilot projects. This
should be followed by 4-5 new pilot projects in every subsequent 5 year span.

8. Case studies on all pilot projects should be documented by the Consortium for wider
dissemination of experiences.

9. Programs should be initiated to build capacity of building construction companies to equip

them with specialized project management and execution services for effectively
implementing NZEB projects in real situations.

10. Long term energy savings and self reliance on energy needs, and corresponding financial
and environmental benefits of NZEBs should be identified and documented by the
Consortium with Government support. These should be disseminated widely among all the

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 stakeholders, including concerned Government organizations such as CPWD and state
level PWDs, town planning departments, urban local bodies, private sector building
developers, building designer and construction community, building equipment
manufacturers, academic and research institutions, etc.

11. For public awareness, mainstreaming of well established architectural guidelines and best
practices for net zero energy residential buildings and complexes should be promoted
widely through awareness campaigns. Help desks should be created in various institutions
for providing basic assistance to all concerned.

12. Large pool of professionals and young architects should be identified in the country and
trained to run building energy simulation tools so that their services can be fruitfully
utilized by building designer community in designing NZEBs.

13. Government of India in partnership with the State Government need to take steps to develop
suitable testing and certification infrastructure to facilitate faster development of NZEBs in
the country. Financial assistance from concerned private sector entities and international
agencies could be sought.

14. US, European Union and a few other countries have taken political and policy decisions to
go for NZEBs in the coming years. Therefore it may be advisable for the Government of
India should develop appropriate collaboration networks with them to acquire and share
knowledge and experiences for mutual benefits. The Consortium can play a significant role
in this activity.

Case study - Indira Paryavaran Bhavan , Delhi

In an environmentally stressed world, green buildings are moving towards specialised

focus constituting Net Zero Energy Building (NZEB) and high performance buildings.
Buildings are perhaps the single greatest stress on the environment, accounting for the
world's fresh water withdrawals, one-quarter of its wood harvest, and two Ghs of its
material and energy ows. In such a scenario of shortages of clean water and other
materials, and the possibility of devastating climate change, the greening of buildings
constitutes a collective vital. Given the political diculties of obtaining energy, and likely

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future shortages of conventional energy sources, we cannot ignore the enormous
conservation that green buildings make possible. And

In this script of context, the Central Governments Indira Paryavaran Bhavan in Delhi has
become Indias rst net zero energy building and it clearly shows a positive sign towards
conserving energy and other natural resources. This building has been constructed with
adoption of solar passive design and energy-ecient building materials. However it was
functional since a year. It was aimed at reinforcing the need for more such building in the
country. Ms. Mili Majumdar, director of the The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and
the Association for Development and Research of Sustainable Habitats has acknowledged
Indira Paryavaran Bhavan that it is one of the exemplary projects to be rated under Green
Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA).

The building boasts an earthquake-resistant structure with a total plinth area of 31,488 sq.
m. It covers only 30 per cent of the total area, while more than 50 per cent area outside the
building is a soG area with plantation and grass. The building has a robotic parking system
in the basement that can accommodate 330 cars. Thin-client networking system has been
provided instead of conventional desktop computers to minimise energy consumption.

The building has received GRIHA 5-star (provisional) rating for the features including:

The design allows for 75 per cent of natural daylight to be utilised to reduce energy
consumption.

The entire building has an access friendly design for dierently-abled persons.

With an installed capacity of 930 kW peak power, the building has the largest rooGop solar
system among multi-storied buildings in India. The building is fully compliant with
requirements of the Energy Conservation Building Code of India (ECBC). Total energy
savings of about 40% have been achieved through the adoption of energy ecient chilled

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beam system of air-conditioning. As per this, air-conditioning is done by convection
currents rather than air ow through air handling units, and chilled water is circulated right
up to the diuser points unlike the conventional systems. Green materials like y ash bricks,
regional building materials, materials with high recyclable content, high reectance terrace
tiles and rock wool insulation of outer walls have been used. Renewable bamboo jute
composite material has been used for doorframes and shutters and the building has UPVC
windows with hermetically sealed double glass. Calcium Silicate ceiling tiles are laid that
have high recyclable content and grass paver blocks on pavements and roads.

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 Milestones on nZEB Path
Year Milestones
2011 Government of India (GOI) recognizes NZEB concepts and formally takes initiatives to develop a roadmap to
achieve the proposed NZEB vision by 2030
Ground work is started for forming NZEB Consortium comprising of key stakeholders from private sector,
government, and academic institutions
Process for identifying potential government buildings and private buildings for undertaking NZEB pilot projects is
started
2012 A Government directive that announces that by 2030, all new buildings are to be NZEBs, is put in place. This
announcement includes intent to move in this direction by 2030 through a well drawn NZEB roadmap
NZEB Consortium is in place engagement with all key stakeholders is well under way
National level NZEB roadmap till 2030 including 5-year NZEB targets is in place
GOI reviews the existing fiscal and financial incentives on energy efficient technologies and renewable energy
technologies from NZEB perspectives
First set of 4-5 pilot projects (Government buildings) are identified, and design process for pilot projects starts
First set of 4-5 pilot projects (Privately owned buildings) are identified, and design process for pilot projects starts
2013 GOI issues newer fiscal/financial incentives and policies that promote NZEBs
Pilot projects are under implementation
A few pilot projects start being operational
2015 All identified pilot projects are constructed and are made operational for demonstration
Experiences including achievements of targets are documented and disseminated
On the basis of experiences, newer set of incentives and support are introduced by GOI
Second set of new 4-5 pilot projects (with higher efficiency levels in comparison with the first two sets) each from
the government and private segments identified, and design process starts
2020 Second set of pilot projects are made operational
Experiences and achievements of targets are documented and disseminated
Third set of pilot projects with higher emphasis on energy efficiency and renewable energy are initiated
GOI starts the process of mandating that all new buildings that constructed in 2030 onwards are to be NZEBs
2025 Third set of pilot projects are operational, experiences and achievements documented and disseminated
Fourth set of pilot projects which are designed almost very close to NZEB are identified and initiated
GOI enforces the mandates that all new buildings constructed after 2030 are NZEBs
2030 Fourth set of pilot projects are operational, experiences and achievements documented and disseminated
Stakeholders are fully equipped to meet GOI mandates on NZEB
Construction of NZEBs becomes a norm in reality

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Conclusion

Commercial and residential sectors account for about one-third of electricity used in India. In the
next 20 years, these sectors will add new floor space that will be twice and thrice respectively of
what currently exists in these two sectors. Government of India in its fight against climate
change has launched a national building energy conservation code to meet minimum energy
performance in new commercial buildings. However, considering the relatively long lifespan of
buildings, there is a pressing need to go beyond driving incremental increases in energy
efficiency in the country. Newer vision, policies and programs coupled with constitution of a
Stakeholders Consortium can ensure that all buildings constructed after 2030 will be NZEBs.

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Reference

1. A pathway for net-zero energy buildings: creating a

case for zero cost increase Paul Torcellinia, Shanti Plessa & Matt Leacha
a National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 15013 Denver West Parkway, Golden, CO 80401, US
Published online: 10 Oct 2014

2. Strategy RoadmapforNet Zero Energy Buildings inIndia

August 2011 Ravi Kapoor, Aalok Deshmukh and Swati Lal
USAID ECO-III Project
3. Zero-energy buildings: the challenges Federico M. Butera a
a Politecnico di Milano, BEST, Via Bonardi 9, Milan, 20133, Italy
Version of record first published: 23 Jan 2013.

4. Zero energy buildings and sustainable development implications e A review

Danny H.W. Li a, Liu Yang b, Joseph C. Lam a,*
a Building Energy Research Group, Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, City
University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region
b School of Architecture, Xian University of Architecture and Technology, Shaanxi 710055,
China
5 . http://www.nzeb.in/

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