Journal of Scientific & Industrial Research

Vol. 64, January 2005, pp 30-34

Commercial and residential building energy labeling

M Siddhartha Bhatt1,*, N Rajkumar2, S Jothibasu2, R Sudirkumar2, G Pandian2 and K R C Nair2
1
Central Power Research Institute, Field Engineering Services Division, Sir C V Raman Road, Bangalore 560 080
2
Central Power Research Institute, Energy Research Centre, Sreekariyam, Trivandrum 695 017

Received 13 May 2004; accepted 04 October 2004

The paper presents base line date for labeling residential and commercial office buildings on the basis of electrical
energy consumption. The study is based on a sample of eight typical residential buildings in Bangalore and five commercial
buildings in New Delhi of varying built-up areas. The overall SEC is in the range 1-3 kWh/ m2/month for residential
buildings and 5-25 kWh/m2/month for commercial buildings. If only building energy consumption is considered, it is in the
range 0.3-1.0 kWh/m2/month for residential buildings and 3-10 kWh/ m2/month for commercial buildings. SEC/person is in
the range of 300-800 Wh/m2/person/month for residential buildings and 3-6 Wh/m2/person/month for commercial buildings.
Commercial building energy intensities are higher than domestic intensities. The energy consumption (winter-summer)
varies between 30-100 % peak value due to variation in ambient temperature and weather conditions.

Keywords: Commercial building, Residential building, Energy labeling

Introduction
The percentage share of commercial and residential energy consumption as well has been growing steadily.
Between 1980 and 2004 the percentage share in buildings has increased from 12 to 18 per cent. Energy
conservation in the commercial and residential building sector is one of the important routes for demand side
management of the electricity sector. Energy conservation in this sector can be approached, both from improving
the efficiency of installed equipment as well as from improving the system efficiency.
Consequent to the passing of the Energy Conservation Bill 2001 and establishment of the Bureau of Energy
Efficiency at New Delhi, buildings are being looked upon as a potential sector for energy conservation. The
concept of the green building for India is emerging, calling for labeling of energy consumption and
establishment of standards for the intensities of energy consumption in these buildings. Commercial buildings
are being classified as designated consumers and it is mandatory for them to adhere to minimum building energy
consumption norms.
The green building concepts in Western countries focus on issues related to thermal insulation, ventilation and
room heating systems. Substantial amount of energy are needed for keeping the dwellings warm in temperate
and frigid zones. In tropical climates the temperatures being much nearer to comfort temperatures the energy
requirements in buildings are much lower. Indian buildings are unique in having low requirements of energy for
room heating and cooling as compared to temperate and frigid zones. In India, lighting, comfort air conditioning,
and seasonal room heating are of great concern. Hence the green building standards or norms of Western
countries1,2 cannot be directly applied in the Indian context. The low energy intensities may give a wrong
conclusion that the energy usage is more efficient. This is not the case because the terms of reference and energy
use patterns are entirely different. In the Indian context, ambient conditions strongly affect the energy
consumption for bathing and air conditioning (cooling).
A green building is one where energy concepts are embedded, both during its construction as well as its life
long use. In the construction stage, it is built:
(i) Smart; (ii) With minimum non-renewable inputs during building; (iii) With minimum pollution during
building; and (iv) To ensure comfort, health, and safety of people who will live and work in them. In its lifetime
of usage, it involves: (i) Resource conservation; (ii) Energy conservation; (iii) Use of renewable energy; (iv)
Water harvesting and recycle; and (v) Energy recycle. In other words, a green building considers the
construction, usage and maintenance in its entire life cycle.
 BHATT et al.: COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL BUILDING ENERGY LABELING 31

What Constitutes Building Energy?

Building energy is composed of energy for: (a)
Lighting; (b) Comfort-fanning/air circulation, cooling and
heating of conditioned space; (c) Lifts, water pumps; and
(d) Losses in the local electrical distribution
networkEnergy for end tasks-refrigeration, bath water
heating, TV, computers, office equipment, etc., though
gets accounted in the building energy consumption and
cannot be decoupled, are not actually part of building
energy. Building energy depends on factors such as: (i)
Ambient temperature; (ii) Weather conditions and
daylight hours; (iii) Building design; (iv) Inherent Fig. 1—Variation of air conditioning power with ambient
efficiency of equipment used; and (v) Installed efficiency temperature
of equipment used.

Indices for Labeling of Building Energy Data

The indices for quantification of building energy data are as follows:

(i) Electrical energy consumption (E) (kWh/month);

(ii) Specific energy consumption (SEC) based on build up area (kWh/m2/month);
(iii) SEC/person based on build up area [SECp] (Wh/m2/person/ month);
(iv) Connected load (CL) (kW);
(v) Electric power (P) (kW); and
(vi) Specific power (kW/m2)

Experimental Procedure
Two types of buildings are taken up for the study:
(i) Commercial office buildings; and
(ii) Residential buildings-cottages and multi-storeyed buildings.
Commercial office buildings are of build-up area in the range 4,000-50,000 m2 with occupancy of 1,000-5,000
persons at a time. Since the range of variation in ambient temperature is very high in Delhi, the buildings are
selected in Delhi for the study. In this study, the sample size is five buildings and the date for the past 2-3 y is
considered. The major energy consumption is for window air conditioners in summer and room heaters during
winter. The other loads are lighting, lifts, pumps, canteens and office equipment. All-electric residential
buildings located in Bangalore are considered with a sanctioned load of 3 kW. The sample size (8 buildings) was
found to be adequate for obtaining baseline data. All these use solar energy for water heating and do not contain
air conditioners, room heaters or lifts.

Results and Discussion

Effect of Ambient Temperature
Under variation of theoretical minimum thermal power for comfort air conditioning with ambient temperature,
the power varies between 0-0.65 kW/m3 of conditioned space (Fig. 1). When the ambient temperature exceeds
35°C, no additional energy input is needed for bathing energy (Fig. 2). Under thermal energy requirement in
India for bathing as a function of the ambient temperature, the variation is observed between 0 and 1.0
kWh/person (Fig. 3).
The annual range of ambient temperature3 is 31.4°C in Delhi, whereas it is 18.9°C in Bangalore, and 16.8°C
in Mumbai (Table 1). Hence the maximum variation (over the year) in building energy can be expected in Delhi
where the temperature ranges between 12-44°C..
32 J SCI IND RES VOL 64 JANUARY 2005

SEC varies between 30-100 per cent of the peak value

(Figs 4-6). Power wise, the variation is 70-100 per cent of
the peak power. Lighting power is nearly invariant with
seasons and the variation is around 10-12 per cent of the
peak value. Pumps, lifts, and other mechanical loads,
which constitute building energy, are invariant with
ambient temperature. During summer, fans and comfort
air conditioner loads account for nearly 50-60 per cent of
the total power, while during winters, room heaters
account for 50-60 per cent of the total power. However,
room heaters consume less energy than air conditioners
because of lower usage factor and hence winter loads are
Fig. 2—Variation of comfortable bathing temperature with lower than summer loads.
ambient temperature
Break-up of Building Energy Loads
In residential buildings, the building related energy
consumption accounts for nearly one-third of the
Table 1Range of ambient temperatures in t
S No. Temperature Delhi Mumbai

1 Maximum 43.5 38.0

ambient, °C
2 Minimum 12.1 21.2
ambient, °C
3 Mean 13.9- 23.9-30.1
ambient, °C 33.3
4 Annual 31.4 16.8
range, °C
Fig. 3—Variation of thermal energy required for bathing with
ambient temperature

Fig. 4—Variation of specific energy consumption per unit area Fig. 5—Variation of specific energy consumption with time
with months
 BHATT et al.: COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL BUILDING ENERGY LABELING 33

Fig. 6—Variation of specific energy consumption with time

energy consumption, while the balance is by non-building related equipment (Table 2). In contrast, in
commercial office buildings, the building related energy accounts for nearly two-third of the total energy
consumption. In other three studies4-6, the break-up of energy consumption in commercial buildings is as follows
(respectively): lighting, 27, 60, 30-35; and air conditioners, 40, 32, 40%.
Building Energy Indices
Energy intensity in commercial buildings is nearly five times higher than in residential buildings
(Table 3). If the comparison is made only on the basis of building related SEC (excluding non-building related
installed equipment), then the intensity of energy usage in commercial buildings is nearly ten times than that of
residential buildings. The reasons for the higher energy consumption could be: (i) Restricted use of air
conditioning in residential buildings; (ii) Weak communication between the source and the load in commercial
buildings resulting in wasteful consumption; (iii) Impersonal attitude of the inmates towards the energy charges;
(iv) No fine-tuning of equipment design to suit the user requirements; and (v) System is not designed to respond
to variations in energy demand.
34 J SCI IND RES VOL 64 JANUARY 2005

Table 2Break-up energy and power demands of residential and commercial office buildings

S No Parameters Residential Commercial office

Energy % Power % Energy% Power%

1 Lighting 20-40 10-15 15-20 10-15

2 Air conditioners - - 30-40 30-40
3 Room heaters - - 7-10 8-12
4 Fans 10-15 4-6 2-3 3-5
5 Air coolers - - 3-5 3-5
6 Electric heaters/boosters to 0-20 20-30 - -
solar water heaters
7 Water pumps 5-8 5-10 1-2 1-2
8 Lifts - - 1-2 2-3
9 Equipment not related to 50-70 50-70 30-35 30-40
building energy

Table 3Range of parameters of energy data for residential and commercial buildings

S No. Parameters Units Residential Commercial

buildings buildings

1 Range of area m2 0-200 1,000-50,000

2 Range of occupancy No. of persons 2-10 1,000-5,000
3 Range of overall energy kWh/month for residential 50-250 5-500
consumption MWh/month for commercial
4 Range of overall specific energy Wh/ m2/person/month 300-800 3-7
consumption per person
5 Range of overall specific energy kWh/ m2/month 1-3 5-25
consumption
6 Curve fit for overall energy kWh/month for residential 62.874 22.759
consumption MWh/month for commercial + 0.6836 [A] +0.0072 [A]
7 Curve fit for overall specific Wh/m2/person/month 2593.3 6.5673
energy consumption per person [A-0.4213] [A-0.0352]
8 Curve fit for overall specific kWh/m2/month 16.138 7.5427
energy consumption per person [A-0.5394] [A-0.003]
9 Specific overall power W/m2 20-50 100-350
10 Building related energy as a % 30 60
percentage of overall consumption
11 Building related SEC (excluding kWh/m2/month 0.3-1.0 3-10
un-connected equipment)

The power intensity of residential buildings is

20-60 W/m2 while that of commercial buildings is 100-350 W/m2. The energy consumption is 1-3
kWh/m2/month for residential buildings while for commercial buildings it is 5-25 kWh/m2/month. In Western
countries, the residential consumption is
25-35 kWh/m2/month and efforts are being made to reduce it to around 6 kWh/m2/month7. Bansal7 has estimated
the energy consumption for six regions in India (considering heating and cooling energy) as: Leh, 56; Simla, 43;
Delhi, 37; Jodhpur, 40; Mumbai, 41; and Bangalore, 15 kWh/m2/month.
Another study6 of commercial buildings has estimated the energy consumption as 10-41 kWh/m2/month with
a variation of 16 per cent between summer and winter consumption. For a fast food unit, the energy consumption
is estimated at
60-94 kWh/m2/month. For star hotels, the energy consumption has been estimated at 35-50 kWh/room/d during
winter and 60-80 kWh/room/d in summer.
Technologies for reduction of building energy consumption which have been successfully tried in a few
sample installations in India are active and passive solar flat plate/transpired collectors, recuperative heat
 BHATT et al.: COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL BUILDING ENERGY LABELING 35

wheels5, integration of energy efficiency equipment with Table 4Energy indices for lighting systems
buildings8, and feed back control sensors9.
S No. Parameters Residential Commercial
buildings buildings
Lighting Loads
SEC for lighting is nearly five times in commercial 1 Lighting loads, W/m2 4-10 20-70
buildings as that of residential buildings (Table 4). The 2 Range of specific 0.2-0.6 1-3.2
lighting norms are 10 W/m2 in Singapore and energy consumption
for lighting systems,
20 W/m2 in the US. The measured lighting power in a kWh/m2/month
typical commercial installation in the US9 is 15.5 to 17.8 3 Norms for lighting in 20 20
W/m2. The Indian lighting intensities are in the range of USA, W/m2
20-70 W/m2. Lighting loads can be reduced by controls 4 Norms for lighting in 10 10
such as, day light sensors and lighting controls, Singapore, W/m2
occupancy sensors, photo sensors, and programmable
lighting systems9.

Conclusions
(i) The overall SEC is in the range 1-3 kWh/m2/month for residential buildings and 5-16 kWh/m2/month for
commercial buildings.
(ii) If only the building energy consumption is considered, SEC is in the range of 0.3-1.0 kWh/ m2/month
for residential buildings and 3-10 kWh/m2/month for commercial buildings.
(iii) In residential buildings, the building related energy consumption accounts for nearly one-third of the
energy consumption while the balance is by non-building related equipment. In contrast, in commercial
office buildings the building related energy accounts for nearly two-third the total energy consumption.
(iv) The SEC/person is in the range of 300-800 Wh/m2/person/month for residential buildings and 3-6
Wh/m2/person/month for commercial buildings. Commercial building energy intensities are higher than
domestic intensities because of air conditioning of space, weak source-load communication, impersonal
attitude of occupants, sluggish response of load variations and no fine-tuning of equipment to suit
specific user requirements.
(v) Lighting energy intensities are very much on the higher side in the commercial buildings (20-70 W/m2)
as compared to international norms calling for task oriented energy efficient lighting with control
systems.
(vi) The variation of energy consumption is in the range of 30-100 per cent (power: 70-100%) of the peak
value due to ambient temperature and weather conditions.

References
1 Energy standards for buildings except for low rise residential buildings, ANSI/ASHRAE /IESNA Standard 90.1-2001 (Office of the
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, US Deptt. of Energy , DOE, Chicago) 2001.
2 Building energy codes for residential buildings, commercial buildings and federal buildings, DOE Building Energy Code
Programme,(Office of the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, US Dept. of Energy, DOE, Chicago) 2001.
3 Misra A & Hukmani N S, Weather data and ambient design conditions for Indian Stations (WeDCo Database), SESI, 12(1) (2002)
25-36.
4 Banarjee Ranjan, Opportunities in commercial building sector, Bull Ener Efficiency, 3(1) (2002) 6-8.
5 Misra A, Achieving energy efficiency in commercial buildings, Bull Ener Efficiency, 3(1) (2002) 13-15.
6 Ramesh Kumar I V & Satyakumar D V, Bench marking building energy management, Bull Ener Efficiency, 4(1) (2003) 31-33.
7 Bansal N K, Energy conservation in buildings and building establishments, Bull Ener Efficiency, 3(1) (2002) 9-12.
8 Mili Majumdar, Sustainable buildings-building consciously for a better tommorow, Bull Ener Efficiency, 3(1) (2002)
16-17.
9 Anon, Energy efficiency achieved in Richmond City Hall, Bull Ener Efficiency, 3(1) (2002) 21-23.

________
*Author for correspondence
Fax: 91-80-23601213
36 J SCI IND RES VOL 64 JANUARY 2005

Table 1Range of ambient temperatures in three cities

S No. Temperature Delhi Mumbai Bangalore

1 Maximum 43.5 38.0 36.2

ambient, °C
2 Minimum 12.1 21.2 18.3
ambient, °C
3 Mean 13.9- 23.9-30.1 20.5-27.6
ambient, °C 33.3
4 Annual 31.4 16.8 18.9
range, °C

Table 2Break-up energy and power demands of residential and commercial office buildings
S No Parameters Residential Commercial office
Energy % Power % Energy% Power%

1 Lighting 20-40 10-15 15-20 10-15

2 Air conditioners - - 30-40 30-40
3 Room heaters - - 7-10 8-12
4 Fans 10-15 4-6 2-3 3-5
5 Air coolers - - 3-5 3-5
6 Electric heaters/boosters to 0-20 20-30 - -
solar water heaters
 BHATT et al.: COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL BUILDING ENERGY LABELING 37

7 Water pumps 5-8 5-10 1-2 1-2

8 Lifts - - 1-2 2-3
9 Equipment not related to 50-70 50-70 30-35 30-40
building energy

Table 3Range of parameters of energy data for residential and commercial buildings
S No. Parameters Units Residential Commercial
buildings buildings

1 Range of area m2 0-200 1,000-50,000

2 Range of occupancy No. of persons 2-10 1,000-5,000
3 Range of overall energy kWh/month for residential 50-250 5-500
consumption MWh/month for commercial
4 Range of overall specific energy Wh/ m2/person/month 300-800 3-7
consumption per person
5 Range of overall specific energy kWh/ m2/month 1-3 5-25
consumption
6 Curve fit for overall energy kWh/month for residential 62.874 22.759
consumption MWh/month for commercial + 0.6836 [A] +0.0072 [A]
7 Curve fit for overall specific Wh/m2/person/month 2593.3 6.5673
energy consumption per person [A-0.4213] [A-0.0352]
8 Curve fit for overall specific kWh/m2/month 16.138 7.5427
energy consumption per person [A-0.5394] [A-0.003]
9 Specific overall power W/m2 20-50 100-350
10 Building related energy as a % 30 60
percentage of overall consumption
11 Building related SEC (excluding kWh/m2/month 0.3-1.0 3-10
un-connected equipment)

Table 4Energy indices for lighting systems

S No. Parameters Residential Commercial
buildings buildings

1 Lighting loads, W/m2 4-10 20-70

2 Range of specific 0.2-0.6 1-3.2
energy consumption
for lighting systems,
kWh/m2/month
3 Norms for lighting in 20 20
2
38 J SCI IND RES VOL 64 JANUARY 2005

USA, W/m2
4 Norms for lighting in 10 10
Singapore, W/m2

Figure captions

Fig. 1—Variation of air conditioning power with ambient temperature

Fig. 2—Variation of comfortable bathing temperature with ambient temperature

Fig. 3—Variation of thermal energy required for bathing with ambient temperature

Fig. 4—Variation of specific energy consumption per unit area with months

Fig. 5—Variation of specific energy consumption with time

Fig. 6—Variation of specific energy consumption with time