Optimization based feasibility analysis for Energy Conservation Building Code compliance of opaque wall assemblies in different climatic zones of India

Thermal performance of building envelopes is the determinant factor of building energy consumption. The total built up area of commercial buildings in India is expected to touch 1.9 Billion Sq. m. by 2030 from the 2015 figure of 847 Million Sq. m., a growth of three times. According to Central Electricity Authority of India the projected energy consumption load for 2030 is five times that of the current load in the region. Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) for commercial buildings was first launched in 2007 towards establishing new benchmarks for energy efficient buildings in India. There has been inadequate implementation of ECBC in the country and the success of these codes, policies and regulations depends on the market response to be self-sustaining in the long term. This research uses the evolutionary optimization model for the feasibility analysis of ECBC and incremental ECBC code compliance, in various climatic zones of India towards wider acceptability by the building industry with respect to the thermal transmittance of opaque wall assemblies in building envelope for different typologies of commercial buildings using the available materials in the Indian context / market.