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Lights, Solar, Action: How a Mira Road society slashed electricty bill by 65% - from Rs 52,000 monthly to Rs 18,000
Nav Yuwan Housing Society in Mira Road cut electricity bills significantly. They partnered with Aga Khan Agency for Habitat for a green retrofit. Motion sensors, solar panels, and water conservation were implemented. Residents saw reduced energy and water consumption. The society received EDGE Advanced green building certification. This project serves as a model for sustainable housing in India.
At Nav Yuwan Housing Society in Mira Road (East), the monthly electricity bill once stood as a dreaded line item. Residents of this 30-year-old complex, with its 280 flats ranging from compact 1RKs to modest 1BHKs, were used to shelling out nearly Rs 52,000 every month for common area power consumption. Today, that figure has shrunk dramatically to just Rs 18,000, reported
The 65% reduction isn't the result of cutting corners, but of embracing smart, sustainable solutions.
“This one small change has completely altered our approach to electricity use,” Rahim Karovalia, a member of the housing society's managing committee, told
Green ideas, big impact
The transformation began in October last year, when the society partnered with the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) to implement a pilot green retrofit programme.
further reported that the changes were widespread and carefully thought out. A total of 150 motion-sensor lights were installed in corridors, lobbies and staircases, ensuring that energy was used only when needed. Fourteen high-efficiency floodlights now illuminate the parking area, consuming far less power than their predecessors.
Perhaps most significantly, a 44-kWp solar photovoltaic system was mounted on the terraces, supplying clean power to support these upgrades. To complement the energy savings, residents also turned to water conservation, installing efficiency measures across the complex.
A kitchen garden now flourishes in a corner of the property, and a composting unit is being set up to recycle household waste into manure, closing the loop between sustainability and everyday living.
The retrofit didn't stop at common spaces. Inside individual homes, each flat was equipped with brushless DC (BLDC) fans, which consume less than half the power of older models. For residents like Parvin Jasani, 64, the difference is tangible: her monthly household bill has fallen from Rs 1,800 to around Rs 1,000.
"We did not realise that small changes can have such big impacts," she told the news outlet. Her husband, Bahadur, added, "Awareness of what people can do at the household level needs to be built," he says.
AKAH paired the technical interventions with capacity-building programmes, helping residents understand the value of energy-efficient appliances and simple behavioural shifts. For many, it was an eye-opener.
We always believed that the longer you use an appliance the more cost-effective it is. We did not realise that an old, energy-draining appliance can actually be more costly in the long run. Neither were we aware of the benefits of high-starred appliances," Anisha Maknojiya, 48, recalled to .
Recognition and ripple effect
The numbers tell the story of success: 41% savings in energy, 35% in water use, 59% in material efficiency, and an annual reduction of 232.78 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. These achievements propelled Nav Yuwan into the spotlight earlier this year, when it became the first housing society in Asia to receive the prestigious EDGE Advanced green building certification.
Developed by the International Finance Corporation, EDGE is a global standard that recognises buildings meeting ambitious sustainability and emissions reduction goals,
For Karovalia and his fellow residents, the certification is more than just an accolade. "It demonstrates our efforts at sustainability to residents, vendors and the municipal corporation. It will, no doubt, also increase the value of our flats," he said.
Beyond pride of ownership, the project is proving that retrofitting is a viable climate solution for India's older housing stock. Unlike new eco-friendly developments, Nav Yuwan is three decades old. Its success proves that existing buildings can be upgraded without demolition, a fact echoed by global research
A study cited in the by the Rocky Mountain Institute found that retrofitting an existing structure produces 50–70% fewer carbon emissions compared to building anew.
"Green retrofits improve thermal comfort, lower energy demand, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and extend the life of existing buildings," Prerana Langa, CEO of AKAH India told the media outlet. "The Nav Yuwan pilot is a proof-of-concept for Climate Action Plan interventions on energy and water efficiency in residential sector and institutional buildings. It shows how practical, low-cost interventions can deliver meaningful measurable outcomes and improve resilience, without the need for new construction," she added.
A model for the future
The project dovetails neatly with the Mira Bhayandar Climate Action Plan (MB CAP) 2024–2050, a joint initiative of the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation and AKAH.
Launched in January this year, MB CAP targets a 36% cut in emissions by 2047, with a focus on heat resilience and low-carbon housing. The residential sector accounts for 62% of Mira Bhayandar's electricity use and 40.5% of its energy-related emissions, making initiatives like Nav Yuwan's retrofit crucial.
Encouragingly, the model is spreading. Word of Nav Yuwan's success has reached neighbouring housing societies, many of which are eager to replicate the formula.
According to the report, the retrofit cost the society about Rs 17,500 per flat—a price many are willing to pay for long-term savings. Meanwhile, AKAH has already applied similar retrofits to three municipal schools in Mira Bhayandar.
According to Langa, the model is scalable if supported through policy, municipal financing, and community participation.
"By linking retrofits to routine maintenance cycles, municipal budgets, and commercial investment returns, the model shifts from one-off projects to mainstream adoption," she told "This makes structural scale-up viable across Mira Bhayandar and replicable in other cities."
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Source: EconomicTimes
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