1 October 2014: The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the United Technologies Corp (UTC) have announced the formation of the United Technologies -TERI Center of Excellence on Energy Efficient Buildings in India’s Cities, which will evaluate energy efficiency in buildings in India.

Zubin Irani, President, Building and Industrial Systems, UTC India, explained that while new buildings in India are typically more energy efficient, many existing buildings waste energy. Thus, the Center of Excellence aims to, inter alia: develop an energy use reporting framework for the existing building sector; evaluate building energy rating systems; develop tools and techniques for energy management, energy consumption reporting and cost benefit analysis of energy conservation measures; establish a measurement and verification protocol to determine energy saving potential of conservation measures; formulate design and retrofit guidelines to complement relevant codes and standards; and establish standards and regulation to enable market uptake of energy-efficient technologies.

Globally, buildings account for 40% of total energy consumption, but by using energy-efficient technologies, their energy consumption could be reduced by up to 60%. In India, the building sector accounts for approximately 35% of total energy consumption and is growing by around 8% every year.

The Center of Excellence was announced during the Fifth US-India Energy Partnership Summit, which focused on pathways to accelerate the growth and development of sustainable energy partnerships and where participants addressed issues related to green buildings and energy efficiency. UTC will provide support for the center, while TERI will undertake the evaluations and work to enhance the energy efficiency of buildings. [TERI Press Release] [US-India Energy Partnership Summit]