The Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) 2017 was launched by Piyush Goyal, Minister of Power. The adoption of ECBC is expected to lead to 30 percent-50 percent energy savings by commercial buildings.

The ECBC was developed by Ministry of Power and Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) with technical support from United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the U.S.-India bilateral Partnership to Advance Clean Energy – Deployment Technical Assistance (PACE-D TA) Program, stated a government release.

The ECBC 2017 prescribes the energy performance standards for new commercial buildings to be constructed across India. It provides current as well as futuristic advancements in building technology to further reduce building energy consumption and promote low-carbon growth by setting parameters for builders, designers, and architects to integrate renewable energy sources in building design with the inclusion of passive design strategies.

“The new code reflects current and futuristic advancements in building technology, market changes, and energy demand scenario of the country, setting the benchmark for Indian buildings to be amongst some of the most efficient globally,” stated Pradeep Kumar Pujari, Secretary, Power.

For a building to be considered ECBC-compliant, it must demonstrate minimum energy savings of 25 percent. Additional improvements in energy efficiency performance will enable the new buildings to achieve higher grades like ECBC Plus or Super ECBC status leading to further energy savings of 35 percent and 50 percent, respectively.

With the adoption of ECBC 2017 for new commercial building construction throughout the country, it is estimated to achieve a 50 percent reduction in energy use by 2030. This will translate to energy savings of about 300 billion units by 2030 and peak demand reduction of over 15 GW in a year.