Energy efficiency: A channel towards establishing sustainable interiors

The growing trends in population as well as building and construction sector in recent years has an immense impact on environment as well as quality of life, which has led to issues related integrally with increased demand on natural resources. As the building and construction sector is growing rapidly, preserving the environment poses host of challenges. The built-in environment of existing residential as well commercial establishments can create a sizeable impact on the global environment as well as of the occupants. Hence, there is a need to design interiors which minimizes the issues related to environment deterioration as well as impaired quality of life of the occupants. This augers well for the country and now there is imminent need to introduce sustainable concepts, techniques in the building and construction sector, which can direct the growth in ecological manner. In wake of increase in natural and man-made disasters, it is sustainable interiors which play a marginal but critical role towards averting major ecological crisis. Various designers around the world have started their practices which contribute towards a healthy environment along with well-being of the occupants, as there is paradigm shift from ‘environmentally irresponsible’ to ‘environmentally responsible’ design. Sustainable interiors remarkably lead to energy efficient indoor spaces along with water efficient spaces with better indoor environment quality. It leads to an approach for reducing the energy cost by installation of energy efficient appliances and those certified by the star rating. By utilization of passive design strategies such as daylight, thermal mass, and shading there is significant reduction in energy demands which reduces the required energy costs. The major purpose of the study was to identify the practices of selected Interior designers which lead to energy efficient indoor spaces while designing Sustainable Interiors. The study was conducted among sixty practicing Interior designers from Ahmedabad city, who were chosen on the basis of purposive and snowball sampling technique. The findings of the study revealed that majority of the respondents very often followed the practices which lead to energy efficient indoor spaces, which in all led towards achieving the aim of sustainable interiors. The findings of the present research would be beneficial to educational institutions, government and non-government organizations, practicing architects, and Interior designers to meet the challenges as well as popularize the concept of Sustainable Interior Design.