Energy demand savings in the commercial sector through green building code and sustainable cooking

Submitted by saladin on Thu, 03/31/2022 - 11:00

Measures

Energy demand savings in the commercial sector through green building codes and sustainable cooking

The Bhutan Green Building Guidelines were introduced in 2013. As the country’s first, the guidelines are on a voluntary basis and take into account the limited technical capacity of the building professionals in the country. With the increasing pressure to decarbonize and to increase energy efficiency, Bhutan should consider a hastened effort to encourage widespread uptake of sustainable designs in new buildings, as well as existing buildings.
The adoption of green building measures in the commercial sector can be encouraged through setting up a green building code, which mandates a set of minimum building standards. This shall ensure sustainable building designs for the upcoming buildings. Moreover, this can be equally applied to existing buildings scheduled for retrofitting.

The SDG scenario proposes green building code to be applied to all new commercial buildings, as well as targeting a 50 per cent retrofitting rate for the existing commercial buildings. This amounts to an estimated reduction of 14.1 ktoe. Notwithstanding, one possible in promoting sustainable measures in existing buildings is the high upfront cost to conduct energy audit and the subsequent implementation of measures. The Government of Bhutan should consider providing financial incentives, at the same time, raising energy conservation awareness among the public.