Energy audits in Government Buildings

January 26: The Haryana Renewable Energy Department has launched a scheme to audit energy consumption in the Government buildings of the State with a view to minimize the energy cost and to plug the gap between energy supply and consumption. Haryana is one of the few States in the country to launch this type of a scheme.
While giving this information the Director of Renewable Energy Department and HAREDA Ms. Sumita Misra said that the department had prepared an Energy Conservation Action Plan. One of the activities to be taken up under this action plan was conducting an energy audit of Government buildings.
She said that Energy audit was a tool to a systematic approach for decision making in the area of energy management with implementation of recommendation to bring energy efficiency in these buildings. In view of this, the Energy audit of Haryana Raj Bhawan was also got conducted by HAREDA through NITCON Chandigarh and the report recommended that there was a potential saving of 1.20 lakh units annually on adoption of energy efficient measures with the immediate investment of Rs. 16.16 lakh. It was also suggested in the report that inefficient air conditioning units may be replaced with efficient air conditioners, the conventional tubes and bulbs would be replaced with energy efficient CFL and T-5 tube lights and High Pressure Sodium Vapour lamps with Metal Halide Lamps. Similarly, LED solar streetlights and solar water heating systems were also proposed in the energy audit to meet the outdoor lighting and hot water requirement of Raj Bhawan.
Ms. Sumita said that the recommendations of Energy Audit had been implemented in Haryana Raj Bhawan by HAREDA and all energy inefficient devices had been got replaced with CFLs, T-5, 28 watt tube lights fittings, T-5, 2x28 watt recess and surface type mirror optics tube lights fittings, 80 watt induction lights and 150 watt metal halide lamps, 1500LPD Solar Water Heating System, 1.5 Ton 4 star rated split AC, 1.5 Ton 4 star rated window AC, 11 watt CFL concealed lights and LED Solar Street lights.
She said that this was the first building in Haryana Where Energy audit recommendation had been implemented comprehensively. She said that this replacement would result in annual saving of 1.20 lakh units of electricity amounting to Rs. 4.80 lakh in the electricity bills of Haryana Raj Bhawan and the entire investment would be recovered with in a period of three and a half years through saving on electricity bill.
She said that Energy Conservation Act-2001 had come into force with effect from March 1, 2007. The State Government had designated the Department of Renewable Energy as the State Nodal Agency for the implementation of Energy Conservation activities in the State and to comply with the provisions of Energy Conservation Act.