EESL, USAID Unveils ‘Healthy and Energy Efficient Buildings’ Initiative for Workplaces

With an aim to make workplaces healthier and greener, Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) jointly with the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) MAITREE program, has launched the “Healthy and Energy Efficient Buildings” initiative. This initiative was launched on the occasion of World Environment Day.

As part of this pilot initiative, EESL has taken the leadership by being the first to implement this framework in its own offices.

Speaking on the occasion, Saurabh Kumar, Managing Director of EESL, said that, “this initiative is addressing the challenges of retrofitting existing buildings and air conditioning systems so that they are both healthy and energy-efficient. We hope that this pilot will pave the way for other buildings to take appropriate steps to be healthy and energy-efficient. As always, our work is for the public and for the benefit of everyone, and our partnership with USAID will help scale it up.”

“USAID is proud of its partnership with EESL. It is inspiring to see that EESL has taken the lead by being the first to implement the idea in its own office in New Delhi. This pioneering effort, built in large part on our partnership, will address air quality and energy use concerns in buildings — directly improving comfort, health, productivity, and ultimately the quality of life of citizens in India and South Asia,” said Ramona El Hamzaoui, USAID Acting Mission Director to India.

India was grappling with severe air quality issues since a long time in pre-Covid-19 era. Now, in these testing times where people are returning to public spaces, maintaining good indoor air quality is essential for occupant comfort, well-being, productivity and the overall public health.

This is significant as most buildings in India are not equipped to establish and maintain healthy indoor air quality and need to be upgraded.

Also, some retrofit measures, such as increasing outside air and additional filtration in the air conditioning system, typically come at the cost of occupant comfort and increased energy use. Nor are there standardized approaches to retrofitting.

Now, EESL office pilot will address this problem by developing specifications for future use in other buildings on pan India, as well as aid in evaluating the effectiveness and cost benefits of various technologies and their short and long-term impacts on air quality, comfort, and energy use.

Recently, an expert agency PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC Ltd) in its report revealed that by adopting various energy efficiency measures, India witnessed approx. 66 per cent higher savings to Rs 35,495 crore during 2018-19.

According to the overall study, various energy efficiency measures have translated into savings worth Rs 89,122 crore (approx) in 2018-19, as against savings of Rs 53,627 crore during 2017-18.