How Smart Design Choices Can Help Reduce Electricity Consumption

A building's electricity bill arrives every month. Yet some of the decisions that determine how high it climbs are made long before the building becomes operational.

When we talk about energy efficiency in real estate, the conversation often turns to efficient equipment, smart controls and building management systems. These matter, but they address only part of the problem. Before asking how efficiently a building can use electricity, we need to examine why it needs so much of it in the first place.

In India, buildings account for over 30 per cent of total electricity consumption, according to the Bureau of Energy Efficiency. Reducing this demand starts with decisions made at the design stage.

Rethinking Comfort And Consumption

"A trip to Japan made me pay closer attention to how temperature, air and water were managed in the everyday settings I encountered. Soon afterwards, in Dubai, I experienced grand lobbies, dramatic interiors and extensive air conditioning. I remember being in spaces cooled to 20 degrees Celsius despite the heat outside," Koheli J Puri, Founder & Managing Director, Studio XP, told NDTV.

She added, "These were different experiences, but together they raised a question for me. Does creating a comfortable, premium space have to mean consuming more resources? Or can we design buildings that deliver the same experience with less energy? For me, this is where sustainable luxury begins. The aim is not to compromise comfort to save electricity, but to design spaces that need less energy to provide it."

Reduce The Demand Before Managing It

A building's orientation and facade influence how much heat enters its interiors. Large west facing windows, for instance, can contribute to afternoon heat gain and add further pressure on air conditioning. With the right glazing, external shading, and window placement, you can keep the natural light and limit unwanted heat.

"These decisions matter because eventually the heat that enters a building has to be dealt with. By reducing the amount of heat coming into buildings, it reduces the load on cooling systems before they even have to kick in," said Puri.

Space planning also impacts energy use. In a mixed-use development retail areas might be active late into the evening while residential common areas have different occupancy patterns. Lighting and cooling zoning based on actual use will help avoid unnecessary use in parts of the building that are unoccupied or need less cooling.

The principle is the same in both cases. Rather than relying on systems to compensate for avoidable demand, design should reduce that demand from the outset.

Let Technology Respond To Real Needs

Even a well-designed building must respond to changing conditions. Occupancy varies, temperatures fluctuate and equipment needs maintenance. This is where technology can make a meaningful difference.

"I was able to see how intelligent infrastructure can support building performance during my visit to One Bangkok, a 41-acre mixed use development. The development has over 250,000 sensors and delivers around 17,000 MWh of electricity savings per year, while its wider sustainability infrastructure, including district cooling, saves around 9,000 tons of CO₂," said Puri.

Operational data allows building management systems to recognise inefficiencies, alter settings and react to changing needs. While design helps establish how much energy a building requires, these systems help manage that demand as the building is used.

Get The Decisions Right Before Construction

Energy modelling allows project teams to compare façade options, estimate cooling loads and coordinate architectural choices with building services before construction begins. Identifying an inefficient design on paper is generally easier and less expensive than correcting it after the building is complete.

The Bureau of Energy Efficiency's Energy Conservation Building Code provides a framework for improving the energy performance of eligible commercial buildings. Such standards offer an important benchmark, but the broader question is how well a building will perform in everyday use.

For developers, energy performance cannot be left until operations begin. It must inform decisions from the outset. A well designed building should not have to rely on electricity to compensate for avoidable design choices. It should need less energy to deliver the comfort it was built for.