Power conservation code on the cards

• About 25 to 40 per cent energy will be saved in the new major buildings, by complying with the ECB Code
• Stakeholders want code specifications to be simple and understandable

Hyderabad: Continuing its save energy push, the government is actively considering to introduce a mandatory version of ECB (Energy Conservation Building) code soon, as part of Energy Efficiency and Energy Conservation (EE and EC) measures taken up by State Energy Conservation Commission (SECM). Participating in the SECM meeting, the officials said the government geared up to make ECB code mandatory in the sectors - municipal administration (shopping malls, multiplexes, skyscraper commercial buildings), industry, agriculture and domestic areas under EC and EE measures. HMDA Commissioner Neerabh Kumar, GHMC Commissioner MT Krishna Babu and Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA and UD) Director and Commissioner Janardhan Reddy informed the stakeholders that the ECB will come into force soon this year to avoid energy wastage in the major commercial buildings and to fast track ECB code in the state. Technical Committee estimated that about 25 to 40 per cent energy will be saved in the new major buildings, by complying with the ECB Code. The major elements of the ECB Code includes building envelope, solar water heating systems, lighting systems and energy consumption monitoring systems. The stakeholder Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI) requested the government to keep the prescriptive specifications, to be complied with ECB Code, simple and understandable by the builders and stakeholders. They also urged to indicate the clear specifications of the materials to be used during the construction so as to comply with the ECB Code. The MA and UD department officials assured the stakeholders that the technical committee will study to incorporate suitable changes considering the feedback and suggestions elicited from the stakeholders.