A Successful National Training Program on Eco-Niwas Samhita Highlighted the Need to Mainstream Energy Conservation in India

• Posted On: August 27, 2021

In 2018, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) launched the Eco-Niwas Samhita (Part 1: Building Envelope) in order to set minimum building envelope performance requirements to limit heat gains (for cooling dominated climates) and to limit heat loss (for heating dominated climates). The Code, known as ENS, ensures that buildings take into account adequate natural ventilation and day lighting potential. It is estimated that the implementation of ENS Part I can help in abating 100 million tonnes of CO2 during the period 2018-2030. Similarly, BEE had earlier launched the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) to establish minimum energy performance standards for buildings in India. Because buildings consume significant proportion of energy resources, these Codes are an essential regulatory tool to curb the country’s energy footprint.

One of the key avenues to mainstream these Codes and ensure they are utilized across the country is by training the key stakeholders. With this in mind, Honorable Union Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy, Shri R.K. Singh, launched the National Training Program on ECBC and ENS on 16 July 2021. The National Training Program aims to train over 15,000 building professionals all over the country in a span of 75 weeks.

The main objective of the national level training program is to ensure that stakeholders around the country are well versed with the Code and are well equipped to incorporate the components of the Code into the buildings that are being planned and built in the near future. The training is designed specifically for builders, architects, engineers, other building professionals, State Designated Agencies (SDA), various Urban Local Bodies (ULB) and other relevant governments agencies. More than 600 participants attended the training via the designated Zoom link, while many others also participated through the YouTube Live streaming function.

The training began with an overview on ENS that was presented by the Director of GreenTree Global, Anurag Bajpai. This was followed by inputs from Govinda Somani from GIZ and Saswati Chetia from Greentech Knowledge Solutions. The Director of BEE, Mr Saurabh Didi, also addressed and interacted with the participants.

Because the training was designed in an interactive manner, many of the participants were directly able to engage with the presenters. Participants asked questions about the ground-level implementation of the Code and were able to gain immediate insights from the experts on the panel.

Following this national training, refresher sessions for master trainers of ENS were organized from 20 to 23 of July. The key objective of the refresher trainings were to ensure that master trainers could continue to carry out effective and engaging trainings on ENS across the country. Over 50 participants attended the refresher training. The training was taken by a panel of subject matter experts who were able to guide participants well through their doubts on the practical implementation of the Codes.

 

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• Anandh S Krishna
  Anandh S Krishna is the senior consultant in Greentech Knowledge Solutions Pvt Ltd and a mechanical engineer by training. He is a sustainability professional trained in Energy and Environment management with work experience in the areas of sustainability disclosures, green buildings standards, carbon footprinting etc.