Planning for energy efficiency in urban residential sector: a case of Bhopal

Abstract

Energy is one of the basic requirements of today’s world. We are dependent one energy for running all our chores. Energy is used in different sectors, one such sector is the building sector. The building sector is a major energy consumer of energy. Energy in a building can be consumed in form of fossil fuels like gas, wood etc and electricity. The building sector alone consumed about 32% of the global energy in the year 2010 and accounted for 19% of the total GHG emissions (IPCC 2014). The heating and cooling energy use in the residential sector is going to increase by 179% globally and up to four times for the south Asian region from 2010 baseline in 2050 (IPCC 2014). Also the CO2 emissions are projected to double or triple by 2050. All these statistics indicate the dire need to prevent energy wastage and develop a more energy efficient society. When seen on the global scale India today is the third largest consumer of electricity after China and USA. Rapid urbanization has resulted in more energy consumption throughout the country. The domestic sector consumes about 22% of the total electricity generated and emits 7.2% of the total CO2 emissions on a national scale. The building sector has a major potential for reducing energy consumption and saving CO2 emissions cost effectively (IPCC 2014). This thesis presents research on electrical energy consumption in a residential sector in selected areas of Bhopal city, the capital of Madhya Pradesh. The thesis aims at studying the role of planning patterns in creating energy efficiency in an urban residential sector. It tries to understand the relationship of energy efficiency with built form and neighbourhood layout characteristics. The study is conducted by selecting two residential sectors of Bhopal city covering various types of residential developments and having different timelines. Various physical parameters at building and neighbourhood level which impact electricity consumption in a residential sector are enlisted. The parameters include constructed area, surface area per unit volume, building orientation, plot aspect ratio, canopy cover per land parcel, green area per land parcel etc. A stratified random sample of 2-5% residential units is taken up from each of the selected areas and primary survey is carried out. Annual electricity consumption of these selected households is collected along with the physical parameters. The datasets comprising of annual electricity consumption and various physical parameters is analysed statistically with the help of correlation and regression analysis. The study has certain limitations like only impact of solar radiation is considered in terms of electricity consumption, wind and travel patterns are not taken into account. Also study is carried out for two broad social classes: MIG and HIG. The enlisted parameters are correlated with the electricity consumption and the parameters showing strong correlation are then regressed using multivariate regression analysis. The results are then used to prioritize the various parameters on the basis of their impact on electricity consumption. The study results basically give us an understanding about the impact of different physical parameters related to built form and neighbourhood layout characteristics on energy consumption in the residential sector. The results give the impact of different physical parameters in a prioritization order. These results can be used for creating guidelines for energy efficient residential layouts by planners.