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A. Mahdavi et al.:
"Advancing Energy Efficiency Research for Habitat in India";
Report for PLEA- Pre-Conference-Meeting; Report No. 1, 2014.

The evolution of human settlements came as a need for protection against the
unpredictability of climatic conditions. It was of utmost importance that the buildings respond to the
weather conditions prevailing in a particular geographic region. Large human settlements of civilized
societies took the form of early cities. These were living examples of human development and
reflected the wisdom and attitudes of their citizens. Dense human settlements have always
depended on the resources from the outside. Today´s rapid pace of development has led to cities´
large energy needs, whose buildings are fed with energy from both non-renewable and renewable
reserves in nature.
India has engaged itself in the generation of knowledge pertaining to energy efficient built habitat.
Related professions have practiced sustainable design with an increasing focus on operating energy
savings. Most of these efforts have been self-inspired or part of bi-lateral programs between India
and other countries. In recent times, a number of government and non-government organizations
have started working to make energy efficient built habitat a mainstream subject. However, very few
academic institutes offer courses and programs dealing with this area. Now there is increasing need
for research activities in this field that are anchored to contextual issues related to India.
The Department of Science and Technology (DST), in collaboration with the Indo-US Science and
Technology Forum (IUSSTF), is organizing a round table brainstorming workshop on Monday, 15th
December 2014, at CEPT University, Ahmedabad.
The outcome of the workshop will be a R&D Roadmap for the Government of India delineating short
term, medium term and long term R&D activities pertaining to energy efficient built habitat. It will
also identify areas where bilateral and multilateral collaboration with the Government of India could
be mutually beneficial. Some research activities which are of special interest to the Indian context
will also be identified, and efforts will be made to develop recommendations to the Government of
India to devise a dedicated program that nurtures research in energy and habitat. These
recommendations will also target the concept and extent of the program.

no german abstract - see english version