India is facing rising temperatures and increasing cooling demand in residential buildings, particularly in warm-humid and composite regions such as Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. At the national level, the India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP) and an increasing number of city-level Heat Action Plans (HAPs) promote passive solutions such as cool roofs as cost-effective measures to address rising heat stress, particularly among vulnerable communities. This project builds on these policy priorities by demonstrating scalable solutions to improve thermal comfort while reducing energy consumption and emissions.

The initiative will demonstrate cool roof solutions in 20 residential buildings with solar-reflective coatings. The intervention is expected to deliver energy savings of 150–250 kWh per building annually and reduce indoor temperatures by 4–6°C, improving comfort and lowering cooling demand.

In parallel, the project will build the capacity of around 60 stakeholders, develop technical guidelines, SOPs, and a replication roadmap, and engage with state agencies to support policy integration and large-scale adoption. By generating evidence and practical insights, the project aims to enable wider replication of cool roof solutions across India’s building sector.

The project aims to demonstrate cool roof solutions to improve thermal comfort, reduce energy consumption, and lower greenhouse gas emissions in residential buildings in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. Through pilot implementation in 20 buildings, the project will generate evidence on energy savings and temperature reduction, while developing technical guidelines and replication pathways for wider adoption. It will also strengthen stakeholder capacity through targeted awareness and training activities. Overall, the project is expected to directly benefit around 60 stakeholders with at least 30 % female, including households, local contractors, and government officials, through knowledge dissemination and capacity building.

India is experiencing rising temperatures and increasing cooling demand in residential buildings, leading to higher electricity consumption and associated emissions. Low- and middle-income households, particularly in urban and peri-urban areas, are disproportionately affected due to thermally inefficient housing that retains heat and increases dependence on energy-intensive cooling solutions.

Cool roofs, the important passive cooling solution, work particularly well in hot, humid and warm climates, helping reduce heat gain and lower cooling energy use. However, despite the effectiveness of passive cooling measures, the adoption of cool roofs remains limited due to low awareness, lack of standardized implementation frameworks, and insufficient demonstration of performance under local climatic conditions.

This project addresses these gaps by implementing pilot demonstrations in selected warm-humid and composite climatic zones, generating real-time data on thermal comfort, energy savings, and GHG mitigation. It will also develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), technical documentation, and policy recommendations to support integration into state-level programs and facilitate wider adoption.

By the end of the project, thermal comfort in residential buildings is measurably improved and cooling energy demand is reduced through demonstrated cool roof interventions, while stakeholder awareness and institutional capacities are strengthened to enable policy integration, replication, and scaled adoption of passive cooling solutions across comparable regions, contributing to sustained GHG emission reductions.

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