The importance of energy efficiency cannot be overstated. IEA’s Executive Director Dr. Fatih Birol frequently refers to energy efficiency as the “first fuel”, since it represents the cleanest and often, the cheapest way to meet our energy needs. As per IEA’s scenarios, after renewables, energy efficiency offers the second greatest potential to reduce carbon emissions in our economies. If India were to pursue its pathway to net zero emissions by 2070, nearly one third of the emissions avoided by 2040 compared to the current pathway could come from energy efficiency alone. To discuss one aspect of energy efficiency – that related to residential energy consumption – we speak with Soumya Bhattacharya, the Co-founder and CFO of SustLabs, an energy efficiency solutions provider based in Mumbai since 2016. We focus in particular on SustLabs’ Ohm Assistant, which is a device that clips onto the cables near your residential electricity meter and constantly reads the frequencies of electricity being drawn into a home with a very high level of precision. This enables consumers access information they need most to make decisions that help improve energy efficiency at home. Our conversation with Soumya focuses on a range of issues including the innovation challenge that they undertook, the learning curve that their consumers have to deal with, the scale of SustLabs’ operations currently, and their ambitions for the future.

Further reading:

1. Ohm Assistant: https://ohmassistant.com/about

2. Energy Efficiency in India: https://www.iea.org/articles/e4-country-profile-energy-efficiency-in-india

3. IEA’s Energy Efficiency 2021 Market Report: https://www.iea.org/reports/energy-efficiency-2021

4. Digitalisation: Making energy systems smarter, more connected, efficient and resilient: https://www.iea.org/topics/digitalisation

5. India Energy Outlook 2021: https://www.iea.org/reports/india-energy-outlook-2021