ENERGY BASELINE REPORT

INTRODUCTION

Background

Although the climatic conditions vary greatly across the country, houses tend to be
similar from region to region, though being realized in different construction techniques.
Among other materials, rammed earth, stone and RCC with bricks are the most commonly
used in the Bhutanese building sector.

In Bhutan the utilization of thermal insulation is basically absent, which together with a
high amount of leakages in the envelope make the buildings very uncomfortable and cold in
winter / hot in summer. The missing airtightness also tends to pump humidity in the load
bearing structure, thus worsening the thermal capacity and the lifetime of the building
elements. Moreover, in many multifamily buildings (especially the ones in concrete+bricks)
stairwells are designed to be in the middle of the house and not part of the thermal envelope
(i.e. they are not heated but highly ventilated), which constitutes a worsening of the A/V
ratio while also increasing the thermal losses for transmission and ventilation of the building.

High levels of electric consumptions due to inefficient and energy-consuming appliances

are documented in the whole country, being used for lighting, cooking and cooling as well as
for producing DHW with the common and inefficient Bhutanese boiler called “Geyser”.
Minor percentages of people using kerosene and gas are also reported (BLSS13, 2013).

On the other hand, heating is mainly supplied by firewood (94% of the thermal energy
according to (BEDD15, 2015)) but recent restrictions due to strict laws against deforestation
(EnPol09, 2009) led to an improvement in the use of LPG, kerosene (fossil fuels) and
electricity (with inefficient heaters) for heating (BEDD15, 2015).

Although electricity is >99% produced through hydropower thanks to the amount of

seasonal snow melt and monsoon periods (EnPol10, 2010), Bhutan aims to diversify the
energy mix by installing more renewable sources and investing in energy efficiency. This
would also result in domestic cost savings as well as in added national revenue from
electricity export to India.

A higher level of comfort for the population of Bhutan and a significant reduction on the
overall energy consumption of the building sector are intended to be the scope of the project
on “Expert on Energy Efficiency in Buildings and Construction Materials”, awarded by
Department of Engineering Services, MoWHS under Austrian Development Agency Fund to

Expert on Energy Efficiency in Buildings and Construction Materials4