The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is constructiong a new headquarters in New Delhi- Akshay Urja Bhawan, designed to be Net Zero Energy. The project uses a combination of climate responsive architecture with energy efficient technology to achieve this goal. It has been conceived as a 10-storeyed, 2,38,368 sq.ft. office space within a 2.76 acres site, with a north and a south wing connected by a service core.

On the systems side, the building uses a hybrid cooling system with a conventional and a radiant chiller, 215 TR each. Radiant chillers are about 33% more efficient- and they also don’t require big Air Handling Units. Further, the fresh air system is pre-cooled by toilet exhaust. The Building Management Systems is programmed to put a cap on the building load and optimize the running of various systems.

Let’s now look at the on-site energy production. Along with the ‘Solar Wall’, the building also has an integrated solar roof and together these can potentially generate up to 5295 kW-hr on an average every day. Compare this to the building’s daily average energy consumption of 5126.6 KW-hr and it’s well poised to achieve the Net Zero Energy mark!

The MNRE HQ’s design reinforces the fundamental approach towards achieving net-zero- first reduce your energy consumption and only then look at a renewable energy supply.