HYDERABAD: With the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 passed by Parliament, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) plans to extend Energy Conservation and Sustainable Building Code (ECBC) to large-sized residential buildings, offices and gated communities in Hyderabad.
The State government is expected to make ECBC mandatory by integrating the code with building by-laws. Presently, ECBC is applied to all new commercial and public buildings. The Bill is aimed at large-sized residential buildings (connected to at least 100 kilowatts of power), which makes it mandatory for renewable energy sources to be used in such buildings as well.
All new commercial buildings of more than 1,000-sq.mt plot area or 2,000-sq.mt built-up area must comply with ECBC.“As the city is steadily pioneering the energy code compliance system through online building approvals, all new commercial and public buildings, and major retrofits, should comply with ECBC before construction begins. Mandatory ECBC is the start to attract global business houses to set up their offices in Hyderabad with reduced energy bills,” GHMC officials said.
They told TNIE that as per the Bill passed by Parliament, energy conservation and sustainable building code will apply to office and residential buildings. The new code will provide norms for energy efficiency and conservation, the use of renewable energy, and other requirements for green buildings. The Bill empowers the State governments to lower the load thresholds.
GHMC has included ECBC for commercial buildings in the online building permission system since 2018, wherein energy efficiency in buildings will have to be complied with by builders and certified by the empanelled Third Party Assessors (TPA).
The energy code sets minimum energy efficiency standards that real estate developers must meet through various technologies, such as energy-efficient windows, lighting, building materials, ventilation, landscape orientation, heating and cooling systems and overall design in their building projects. Locking in energy efficiency savings is key to India being able to meet its skyrocketing energy demand in its growing cities, they added.