Green Buildings and Infrastructure: Energy Conservation Building Code
Green Buildings and Infrastructure: Energy Conservation Building Code
Green Buildings and Infrastructure: Energy Conservation Building Code
RUSHIKA
15091AA066
SEMESTER – VII B
INTRODUCTION
The Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC), was launched by Ministry of Power,
Government of India in May 2007, as a first step towards promoting energy efficiency in the
building sector.
The ECBC was developed by an Expert Committee, set up by India’s Bureau of Energy
Efficiency, with support and guidance from United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) and significant inputs from various other stakeholders such as
practicing architects, consultants, educational institutions and other government
organizations.
The successful implementation of the code requires development of compliance procedures
(compliance forms and development of field-test compliance forms and procedures), in
addition to building capacity of architects/designers/builders/contractors and government
official in States and Urban and Local Bodies (ULBs). It is also dependent on availability of
materials and equipment that meet or exceed performance specifications specified in
ECBC.
SCOPE
The Code is applicable to buildings or building complexes that have a connected load of 100 kW
or greater or a contract demand of 120 kVA or greater and are intended to be used for
commercial purposes. Buildings intended for private residential purposes only are not covered by
the Code
The code prescribes the following three levels of energy efficiency: (a) Energy Conservation
Building Code Compliant Building (ECBC Building) ECBC Buildings shall demonstrate compliance by
adopting the mandatory and prescriptive requirements listed under ECBC Compliant Building
requirements in §4 to §7, or by following the provisions of the Whole Building Performance (WBP)
Method in §9. (b) Energy Conservation Building Code Plus Building (ECBC+ Building) ECBC+
Buildings shall demonstrate compliance by adopting the mandatory and prescriptive requirements
listed under ECBC+ Compliant Building requirements in §4 to §7, or by following the provisions of
the Whole Building Performance (WBP) Method in §9. (c) Super Energy Conservation Building Code
Building (SuperECBC Building) SuperECBC Buildings shall demonstrate compliance by adopting the
mandatory and prescriptive requirements listed under SuperECBC Compliant Building requirements
in §4 to §7, or by following the provisions of the Whole Building Performance (WBP) Method.
COMPLIANCE AND APPROACH
To comply with the Code, EPI shall be calculated based on one of the following:
(a) Prescriptive Method including Building Envelope Trade-off Method
(b) Whole Building Performance Method
The ECBC is currently a voluntary programme, with a number of states adopting
it as a mandatory requirement. Further both Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED) and Green Rating for Integrated Habitat
Assessment (GRIHA) rating systems have adopted ECBC as a minimum
compliance requirement. BEE has developed a Star Rating programme for
buildings which is based on the actual performance of a building in terms of its
specific energy usage in kwh/sq. m/year. Th is programme rates office buildings
on a 1-5 Star scale, with 5 Star labelled buildings being the most efficient. Th e
scheme is propagated on a voluntary basis and the label provided under it is
applicable for a period of 5 years from the date of issue. Th e Star Rating
programme provides public recognition to energy efficient buildings, and
creates a ‘demand side’ pull for such buildings. Various categories of buildings
such as office buildings (day use and business process outsourcing (BPOs)),
shopping malls, hotels, hospitals and IT parks in the five climatic zones of the
country have been identified under the scheme.