The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) is using the World Urban Forum in Baku to showcase how better-designed homes can lower electricity demand, reduce household power bills and avoid costly new investments in the power grid as India steps up its broader energy-conservation drive.

The initiative reflects the government’s effort to treat energy efficiency as an economic strategy rather than a stand-alone environmental programme.

Through the Eco-Niwas Samhita (ENS)—India’s Energy Conservation Building Code for Residential Buildings—and a new Energy Performance Index-based star-rating framework, BEE is pairing supply-side incentives for developers with demand-side benefits for homebuyers to turn energy efficiency into a commercial advantage rather than a compliance burden.

Buildings already account for more than 24% of India’s electricity consumption, while air-conditioner penetration, currently around 8 per cent of households, is projected to reach 40% within a decade, according to India’s Cooling Action Plan.

BEE estimates that homes designed with better insulation, ventilation and lower heat gain can reduce cooling-related electricity demand by 20–30 per cent. By lowering peak loads, such buildings can defer billions of rupees in future investments in generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure while also requiring smaller transformers and backup systems, reducing upfront project costs.

Homes as Energy policy

Abhay Bakre, Director General of BEE, is presenting India’s low-energy housing framework at the 13th World Urban Forum (WUF13), which opened in Baku, Azerbaijan, on May 17 and runs through May 22 under the theme “Housing the World: Safe and Resilient Cities and Communities.”

The Eco-Niwas Samhita sets minimum standards for building envelopes, ventilation, daylighting and energy systems in residential buildings and mixed-use projects, reducing heat gain and cooling loads at the design stage before inefficient structures are locked in for decades.

On the supply side, developers of highly rated projects may qualify for concessional construction finance through institutions such as the National Housing Bank and SBI’s ESG-linked lending programmes, potentially reducing borrowing costs by 25–50 basis points.

On the demand side, homebuyers in BEE-rated buildings could benefit in two ways. Lenders such as State Bank of India and HDFC are exploring or offering green home loans that may carry interest-rate discounts of around 5–10 basis points, reducing monthly EMI obligations over the life of the loan.

Published on May 18, 2026