1.

2 Rationale of the Study

The International Energy Agency (2019) summarizes the significance of energy efficiencies
enhancement in buildings:

‘The buildings and building construction sectors combined are responsible for 36% of
global financial energy consumption and nearly 40% of total direct and indirect CO2
emissions. Energy demand from buildings and building construction continues to rise,
driven by improved access to energy in developing countries, greater ownership and use of
energy-consuming devices, and rapid growth in buildings floor area, at nearly 3% per year.’

Notwithstanding the long-term growth forecast of global energy consumption in the building and
building construction sectors, the International Energy Agency (2019) has identified an efficient
world scenario in which the global building energy demand to decline by 2040 because of
improvement in building energy efficiencies.

This special study is undertaken under the backdrop of the foregoing global findings on the
significance of energy efficiencies enhancement in buildings as a preparatory groundwork for
undertaking research study entitled ‘Improvement of Energy Efficiencies in Bhutan Power
Corporation Limited (BPC) Corporate Building.’ In particular, this special study will establish the
baseline data for total energy consumption and its constituent components such as lighting,
heating, and appliance and equipment in the BPC Corporate Building to explore avenues for
energy consumption reduction and efficiency enhancement. Further, the International Energy
Agency (2019) has highlights the crucial roles adopted and implemented by national governments
to materialize the energy efficiency gain potential. Hence, this special study will explore not only
the current energy and environmental scenario but also the policy regimes of the Royal
Government of Bhutan to align the proposed research study with the national energy efficiency
programme.

In summary, this particular study will enable the student to better formulate the problem statement
and define scope of the proposed research study.
1.3 Objective of the study

As a preparatory groundwork for the proposed research study, namely, Improvement of Energy
Efficiencies in BPC Corporate Building, this special study will achieve the following objectives:

 Establish the baseline data of energy consumption in BPC Corporate Building broken down
to its constituent components such as lighting, space heating, cooling, and equipment &
appliances and their contribution to the total energy consumption;

 Identify avenues for energy consumption reduction and efficiency enhancements in BPC
Corporate Building using standard and accepted methodologies available in the literature
by exploring the baseline energy consumption thus obtained above’

 Take a detailed inventory of the current energy and environmental (where applicable)
scenarios in Bhutan and their future projected trajectories; and

 Explore the energy and environmental policies of the Royal Government of Bhutan to
determine whether the current policy and regulatory mixes engenders of inhibits building
energy efficiency enhancement initiatives.

1.4 Scope and limitation

As a preparatory groundwork for the proposed research study, this particular special study will be
limited to clear articulation of the problem statement and defining the scope of the proposed
research study.