1Energy and Wetlands Research Group, Centre for Ecological Sciences [CES],
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore – 560012, India.
2 Centre for Sustainable Technologies [CST], Indian Institute of Science.
3Centre for Infrastructure, Sustainable Transport and Urban Planning [CiSTUP],
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560 012.
*Corresponding author:
trv@iisc.ac.in
Abstract
Greenhouse gas emissions due to the electricity production constitute about 28% and approximately 79.8 percent
electricity generated in India is from burning fossil fuels and mostly coal. This paper analyses greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions due to energy consumption in the domestic sector considering household activities and also
socioeconomic parameters. A stratified random survey of about 2050 households in Bangalore pertaining to the energy
consumption reveals that annual per capita electricity consumption ranges from 9.64 to 2337 kWh/year with an average
of 336 ± kWh/year. Emission from most of the wards (66 wards) is about 10 to 15 Gg/year, while wards in
peri-urban areas emit less than 10 Gg/year. Extrapolation of these, show that total carbon dioxide from all wards of
Greater Bangalore accounts to 3350 Gg/Year. This analyses reveal a proportional increase in the per capita energy
consumption with the family income suggesting that economic levels in respective wards is an important parameter in
the domestic energy consumption and also GHG emissions. Also, the study reveals that the annual per capita
electricity consumption among the dwellers of high rise buildings is about ten times higher than those in the
buildings (without glass facades). High-rise buildings with glass facades are suitable for temperate climate
(wherein one needs to conserve heat in the cold environment). Adoption of such architecture in the tropical climate
region (such as Bangalore, etc.) has increased the consumption of electricity in Bengaluru, evident from higher
electricity consumption of 13000-15000 units/person/year in zones dominated by high-rise buildings (with glass
facades) compared to the normal buildings (750-1796 units/person/year). This highlights the need to regulate glass
facades buildings in the tropical climate region as adoption of wrong building architecture has contributed to
higher electricity consumption and hence higher GHG emission in the domestic sector
Keywords: Electricity consumption, Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, Spatial patterns, Bangalore