Benchmarking Energy Performance of Offices in Kochi
This paper discusses the methodology to benchmark the energy performance of existing buildings at a city scale. The research focused on collecting relevant data from 50 office spaces in Kochi to understand and compare their energy performance. The study also included a qualitative analysis to realize the major barriers to energy retrofits.
The buildings and construction sector accounted for 36 percent of global energy use and 39 percent of energy and process-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2018. In India, buildings were responsible for 33 percent of total electricity consumption in 2018–19 with more than 60 percent of India’s electricity needs coming from thermal power. Globally, countries are committing to decarbonizing their building stock. Achieving decarbonization targets requires an understanding of the efficiency levels of existing buildings. Energy performance benchmarking helps establish baseline energy performance of existing buildings.
Subsequent to the development of the Zero Carbon buildings roadmap for Kochi in 2019, WRI has continued to engage with Kochi Corporation to implement the recommendations in the roadmap. In 2020-2015 office spaces were benchmarked as per their energy performance. The study was aimed at developing a methodology for city-wide energy benchmarking exercises in India. Qualitative research was conducted to understand the perspective of buildings' owners/management towards energy retrofits and energy efficiency services. The working paper – "Benchmarking Energy Performance of Offices in Kochi" describes findings from the research.
