India's carbon future: the design of buildings

This article by Charu Bahri, of IndiaSpend.com outlines how India can save a lot on the energy consumed within its buildings by good building design practice.

Some quotes:

In 1971, residential and commercial buildings accounted for 15% of all the electricity consumed in India. By 2005, that share had doubled, and it has stayed at about 30% since.

...In absolute terms, however, the electricity consumed by buildings is rising, and is poised to rise 700% over 2005 levels by 2050, says a study by Rajan Rawal, executive director of the Centre for Advanced Research in Building Science and Energy, CEPT University, Ahmedabad.

...Unless energy use is curbed, domestic consumption of electricity in India is projected to grow 800% between 2005 and 2050, according to Rawal’s research.

...Enforcing the Energy Conservation Building Code, an energy-saving code designed for commercial establishments, in residential buildings, could reduce residential energy consumption up to 57% and curtail rise in consumption to 300% over 2005 levels, over the same period, said Rawal.   “It would also make buildings so much more comfortable to live in,” he said.

....With more than half of commercial building stock needed by 2030 yet to be constructed, the country has a huge opportunity to get its act right and construct better. In recent decades, India seems to have been doing the opposite.

 Example:

Prior to 2008, Infosys, India’s second-largest IT company, developed some of the country’s most iconic glass buildings. Then, something changed.

...So far, Infosys has cut per capita electricity consumption by 46% from 2008 levels. Despite doubling employee numbers from 2008, its energy needs have grown only 13%.