Chennai : Danfoss India, the Indian Subsidiary of Danfoss Global and a leading solutions provider for the HVAC industry, along with ISHRAE (Indian Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers) organised its maiden conference among all stakeholders from the construction and HVAC industries in Chennai with the intent of collectively finding solutions to address the increasing energy demands of the city given its growth rate.

The conference was an outcome of Danfoss and ISHRAE’s collaborative project IAPD (Integrated approach towards Project Delivery) to ensure a more. IAPD seeks to adopt a holistic approach to design and development, involving various stakeholders in the development of a project at an early stage. It looks at harnessing the talents and insights of all participants to optimize project results, increase value, reduce waste, and maximize efficiency through all phases of design, fabrication, and construction.

“LEED, GRIHA, ECBC are all various measures or efforts towards reducing energy intensity in buildings. However, some of these policy instruments don’t address some of the key barriers to EE such as higher upfront cost with delayed benefits. As a result, a significant portion of the market has not adopted energy efficiency in buildings. We understand that some of the barriers result from lack of expertise, lack of awareness and lack of proper tools which include having a reference guide on the various activities that are to be undertaken at different stages of the construction of a building. Having the right standards and codes for Buildings will assist in a Green future.” said Mr. Ravichandran Purushothaman, President, Danfoss India.

A recent study indicates that by 2020 about 820 MW of cumulative peak load power would be required basis the increase in floor space in Chennai alone. By using the right Energy Conservation measures this can be brought down to about 410 MW which is about 50% of the original requirement. As large projects have several stakeholders, coordination during project executions critical to deliver final product .If there is a lack in this much needed coordination, the project cannot keep cost and timeline and as an end result sustainability is compromised.

Speaking about the need for incentivizing the industry, Mr. Nirmal Ram, newly appointed President of ISHRAE said” Currently the ECBC standards provides minimum requirements for energy-efficiency in buildings. ECBC compliance, when it becomes mandatory will help to move the market toward more efficient construction practices.  For every commercial building with an office space of more than 50,000 SFT some standard templates need to be prepared with availability of different options, the indicative cost and subsequent energy savings. Additionally we propose that government should provide financial incentives for ensuring Energy Conservation technology/Energy Efficiency in new establishments as every unit of power saved is two units produced.”

Heating and air-conditioning takes a major share of electricity bills for residential, commercial and industrial applications, which puts tremendous pressure on energy sources, and ultimately impacts the climate. This has resulted in a need for educating all stakeholders and reducing carbon footprints of companies. It is common knowledge that selection of the right equipment for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning saves any property a lot on its energy expenditure. Cash flows in execution are linked to coordinated execution if suppliers interest needs to be protected.

“The situation today is such that Developers, Architects, Engineers are not co-operating enough towards using these energy efficiency measures which usually have payback period of 2 years and more. Most often the initial cost deters them from making an informed decision without accounting for the measurable ROI they can expect in 3-4 years. Going forward automation and controls play larger role in buildings and it is imperative that stakeholders are in consensus on what would best benefit the end user.” added Mr. Purushothaman.