Growth of Net Zero Energy Buildings (Policy Drivers, Barriers and Future Roadmap)

By : Jitendra Kumar Srivastava

Page No: 388-400

Abstract
Net Zero Energy Buildings (NZEBs) represent a critical intervention in reducing emissions from India’s rapidly growing building sector and supporting the national objective of achieving net-zero emissions by 2070. At present, buildings consume close to onethird of India’s total electricity demand, a proportion projected to rise substantially by 2040 due to accelerated urbanisation and increasing cooling requirements. This study reviews international developments in NZEB deployment and evaluates performanceverified operational data from nine public buildings certified under the Bureau of Energy Efficiency’s Shunya and Shunya Plus programmes. The results demonstrate that net-positive energy operation, characterised by an Energy Performance Index (EPI) lower than 15 kWh/m² year, is achievable across multiple climatic zones with investment recovery periods typically between two and five years. Despite this potential, widespread adoption remains limited by climate-dependent solar design constraints, elevated initial capital requirements, fragmented institutional responsibilities, and perceived financial risks. This paper proposes a policy-oriented roadmap to overcome these challenges, encompassing mandatory NZEB targets for public buildings, expansion of green financing instruments, and the establishment of a national framework for continuous performance monitoring to enable scalable, evidencebased adoption of NZEBs in India.

Author
Jitendra Kumar Srivastava, Accredited Energy Auditor and Deputy Director, Energy Management Group, National Productivity Council, New Delhi, India.
 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.32381/PROD.2026.66.04.07