Efficient Grid-Interactive Buildings in India

This report assesses the opportunities for efficient grid-interactive buildings (EGIBs) to support India’s clean energy transition. EGIBs unite energy efficiency, smart digital technologies and demand-side flexibility, allowing them to optimise energy use, shift or reduce peak demand and better align consumption with renewable energy generation.

The buildings sector is central to clean energy transitions in a context where rapidly increasing electricity demand is driven by cooling and appliance use, and the share of variable renewable energy in electricity generation is continuously growing. Without targeted action, unmanaged peak loads and variable supply could jeopardise grid stability and increase system costs. EGIBs offer an important solution for optimising electricity use, reducing peak demand and enhancing system flexibility.

Applying a structured framework, this report assesses India’s policy landscape and opportunities across efficiency, decarbonisation, smartness, resilience, materials and building-to-grid interaction. It concludes with recommendations for a comprehensive policy package that encompasses regulations, incentives and information. Scaling up the adoption of efficient grid-interactive buildings would enable India to align its fast-growing building stock with national climate goals and international commitments while lowering system costs and enhancing energy security.