Optimising Industrial Buildings in India: A calibrated building performance simulation case study
(2026) AEBM01 20261Division of Energy and Building Design
- Abstract
- India's buildings sector accounts for 41% of national electricity consumption, yet studies incorporating calibrated whole-building energy simulation with thermal comfort evaluation of manufacturing facilities to reduce the industry’s electricity consumption remain scarce, leaving designers without evidence to prioritise passive strategies for this building typology. This study characterises the energy use intensity (EUI) and worker thermal comfort of five manufacturing buildings, at a truck production facility in Bhopal (composite climate zone), through 1,925 parametric simulations across seven design and operational variables, evaluated against an 18-metric comfort framework integrating the Indian Model for Adaptive Comfort (IMAC) and... (More)
- India's buildings sector accounts for 41% of national electricity consumption, yet studies incorporating calibrated whole-building energy simulation with thermal comfort evaluation of manufacturing facilities to reduce the industry’s electricity consumption remain scarce, leaving designers without evidence to prioritise passive strategies for this building typology. This study characterises the energy use intensity (EUI) and worker thermal comfort of five manufacturing buildings, at a truck production facility in Bhopal (composite climate zone), through 1,925 parametric simulations across seven design and operational variables, evaluated against an 18-metric comfort framework integrating the Indian Model for Adaptive Comfort (IMAC) and Standard Effective Temperature (SET) across three airspeed levels.
Across all five buildings, the EUI can be grouped into distinct performance bands based on three parameters: lighting power density (LPD), roof insulation, and shift scheduling, which together produce mean reductions up to 20 kWh/m²/year, while the remaining four variables (wall insulation, window specification, skylight type, and solar absorptance) produce within band movement without shifting a building between tiers. Thermal comfort responds differently: HVLS fan operation at the first airspeed threshold reduces discomfort hours by up to 26%, more than all envelope measures combined, naturally ventilated buildings show broad alignment between low EUI and low discomfort scenarios, whereas process dominated buildings remain in persistent discomfort across all scenarios. The as built design already approaches the parametric optimum within 2%, but worst case specification raises EUI by 14% to 27%. (Less) - Popular Abstract
- India is adding factory floor space at a very fast pace. The decisions made at the design stage of these buildings will shape their energy consumption and the working conditions inside them for years to come. This thesis asks which design choices matter most, and by how much.
Five manufacturing shops at a truck factory in Bhopal, central India were studied: the Machine Shop, Engine Shop, Weld Shop, Cab Trim Shop, and Chassis Assembly Shop, together covering around 47,200 m². Through calibrated building energy simulations, nearly 2,000 combinations of design and operational variables were tested across all five buildings, including roof insulation levels, window specifications, lighting power density, skylight type, roof solar absorptance,... (More) - India is adding factory floor space at a very fast pace. The decisions made at the design stage of these buildings will shape their energy consumption and the working conditions inside them for years to come. This thesis asks which design choices matter most, and by how much.
Five manufacturing shops at a truck factory in Bhopal, central India were studied: the Machine Shop, Engine Shop, Weld Shop, Cab Trim Shop, and Chassis Assembly Shop, together covering around 47,200 m². Through calibrated building energy simulations, nearly 2,000 combinations of design and operational variables were tested across all five buildings, including roof insulation levels, window specifications, lighting power density, skylight type, roof solar absorptance, and shift scheduling.
Of the seven variables tested, three accounted for most of the energy savings. Improved lighting efficiency, installing roof insulation, reduced energy use intensity by up to 20 kWh/m²/year. Reorganising one shift to run at night, when outdoor temperatures are lower and the parallel daytime shift can use natural daylight in place of artificial lighting, added a further reduction of around 6 kWh/m²/year. The remaining four variables produced comparatively small effects.
For thermal comfort, high-volume low-speed ceiling fans were the most effective measure, reducing hours above acceptable comfort thresholds by up to 26%, more than all envelope interventions combined. This finding is relevant because these fans are already a common feature of Indian industrial buildings and require no additional capital investment.
The factory studied already performs close to its parametric optimum. But for the many facilities across India built to a lower specification, these three measures represent a practical, evidence-based starting point. With manufacturing floor space in India projected to grow significantly over the coming years, embedding these priorities at the design stage offers a clear and achievable path toward more energy-efficient and comfortable industrial buildings. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9229156
- author
- Mahajan, Ishaan Vinay LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- AEBM01 20261
- year
- 2026
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Industrial Buildings, Energy Use Intensity, Thermal Comfort, Parametric Simulations, Adaptive Comfort
- language
- English
- id
- 9229156
- date added to LUP
- 2026-06-02 11:07:01
- date last changed
- 2026-06-02 11:07:01
@misc{9229156,
abstract = {{India's buildings sector accounts for 41% of national electricity consumption, yet studies incorporating calibrated whole-building energy simulation with thermal comfort evaluation of manufacturing facilities to reduce the industry’s electricity consumption remain scarce, leaving designers without evidence to prioritise passive strategies for this building typology. This study characterises the energy use intensity (EUI) and worker thermal comfort of five manufacturing buildings, at a truck production facility in Bhopal (composite climate zone), through 1,925 parametric simulations across seven design and operational variables, evaluated against an 18-metric comfort framework integrating the Indian Model for Adaptive Comfort (IMAC) and Standard Effective Temperature (SET) across three airspeed levels.
Across all five buildings, the EUI can be grouped into distinct performance bands based on three parameters: lighting power density (LPD), roof insulation, and shift scheduling, which together produce mean reductions up to 20 kWh/m²/year, while the remaining four variables (wall insulation, window specification, skylight type, and solar absorptance) produce within band movement without shifting a building between tiers. Thermal comfort responds differently: HVLS fan operation at the first airspeed threshold reduces discomfort hours by up to 26%, more than all envelope measures combined, naturally ventilated buildings show broad alignment between low EUI and low discomfort scenarios, whereas process dominated buildings remain in persistent discomfort across all scenarios. The as built design already approaches the parametric optimum within 2%, but worst case specification raises EUI by 14% to 27%.}},
author = {{Mahajan, Ishaan Vinay}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Optimising Industrial Buildings in India: A calibrated building performance simulation case study}},
year = {{2026}},
}