AIIMS campus in Delhi to become climate-responsive

Ministry of Health has recently taken initiative to make AIIMS campus in Delhi climate-responsive. Renowned solar expert SP Gon Chowdhury will attempt to make the half-century-old All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) campus in Delhi energy efficient. Gon Chowdhury will also be advising the ministry to ensure that the new AIIMS units proposed in different states - including West Bengal - become 'green buildings'. The task to make AIIMS in Delhi climate responsive will be a tough one. The buildings of the institute dates back to the 1950s, and therefore large-scale retrofit will be  required. Though installing solar panels on the roof will be easy, conserving water, capturing daylight and managing solid waste effectively will be difficult.

"To reach the ultimate goal of a climate-responsive campus, we have to modernize the buildings so that they are more efficient. There are systems and technologies like solar dome to capture daylight and stream it through highly reflective 2-3 inch tubes. This can be used to light up an entire building during the day without the need to switch on electric lights," Gon Chowdhury explained. He also wish to capture the heat generated by air-conditioners and then use it to generate thermal power.

"Retrofit is happening everywhere including Italy, Latin America, the US, Australia and Germany. While any retrofit is a challenge, the bigger hurdle is to change the mindset so that people recognize the importance of being energy-efficient and carbon neutral," said Gon Chowdhury.

By 2019, India's government promises at least one lightbulb in every home, thanks to solar energy

The new central government of India has promised at least one bulb in every home with solar energy by 2019. This idea of generating electricity with roof-top solar plant has prompted state governments in India to go door-to-door, or rather roof-to-roof, to solve their acute and recurring power problems.

Karnataka which is the largest southern state by area has recently announced its new solar policy and the state government plans to buy energy from homes and public buildings that generate power from rooftop solar panels connected to the power grid. This summer Karnataka had a shortage of more than 400 megawatts of power in April. Also, Bangalore, the state’s capital, witnessed power cuts every two hours in the hot months of April and May. If this solar energy plans goes well then Karnataka will add 2,000 megawatts (2 gigawatts) to the state’s power kitty and rooftops will contribute 400 megawatts by 2018. Karnataka has 10 gigawatts of solar energy potential because the city gets over 300 sunny days a year!

Typically a residential rooftop area in India ranges between 200 and 1,000 square feet. This means it can comfortably house a standard one-kilowatt solar photo voltaic system. The Energy and Resources Institute estimates these systems can cost as little as Rs 110,000.

Solar is Green: Where to put Photovoltaic Panels?

The new 'mantra' is to build "zero energy" homes or offices. This can be achieved by combining green-building techniques with active solar systems. A "zero energy" building is one that produces as much energy as it consumes over the course of a year. Making use of solar energy using Photovoltaic Panels is at the heart of sustainable building. But it is important to understand that where should these Photovoltaic Panels placed.

A small amount of shade covering the panel can reduce the panel performance by 80%. Therefore, the most important point to remember is that when choosing a location for your Array is shading obstacles.

Find out which month has the least amount of sun on average. Determining this month is particularly important if you intend to use or constructing a system that will be used year-round. Similarly, if you want to use it for summer or winter, you will have to find month with least sun during months that you will use the system.

It is also very important to estimate the availability of sun and the cloud cover. Obtaining this information may be little difficult. Sometimes you can get this information on the web otherwise you may contact concerned authorities in you town/city.

You want to choose a location that is on or near the place where you loads will be. The array should be free of shade (during each month in use) from 9 am to 3 pm. This is the optimum time-frame a panel has to receive light and is called the “Solar Window".

India can be ahead of other countries in producing green electricity from sunlight

The solar energy potential in India is immense due to its convenient location near the Equator. Isn't this amazing that India receives solar energy that is equivalent to over 5000 trillion kWh/year, and this is far more than the total energy consumption of the country! It is also possible to use this solar energy for different types of applications. It can be used for both grid-connected and off-grid generation of power. Imagine if even 50 percent of this energy is utilized, then how much we can save on the total energy expenditure!

The amount of solar energy produced in India in 2007, according to wikipedia, was less than 1% of the total energy demand. The grid-interactive solar power in 2010 was merely 10 MW. In 2005, Government funded solar energy in India only accounted for approximately 6.4 MW-yr. However, India is ranked number one in terms of solar energy production per watt installed, with an insolation of 1,700 to 1,900 kilowatt hours per kilowatt peak (kWh/KWp). By the end of March 2013 the installed grid connected photovoltaics had increased to 1686.44 MW and India expects to install an additional 10,000 MW by 2017, and a total of 20,000 MW by 2022.

Even the Indian Railways has plans to use solar power to supply electricity to air-conditioned coaches in some of the country's express trains.

The builders have also realized the the power of solar energy and have started installing photovoltaic systems in their buildings. Also known as solar electricity systems, these panels capture the sun's energy and convert the sunlight into electricity which can be used to run  appliances and lighting in homes or office buildings.

Using Solar Energy For Green Buildings

As the prices to create and install solar cells continues to decrease, more and more homes and businesses are using solar power for their energy requirements. The use of solar power reduces the amount of carbon used for traditional power sources, and can decrease energy costs, therefore, solar power is gaining popularity in many parts of the world.

The solar power is actually gained by installing solar power cells. There are many different types of solar power cells but 4 of them are widely used. Crystalline silicone, ordinary silicon cells, thin film cells, and concentrator cells are commonly used. Crystalline silicone cells are the cells most commonly used in solar power plants. Just like in most semiconductors, the Crystalline silicone cells are also made from two layers, a positive layer and negative layer and when photons from the sun’s light strikes the semiconductors and released electrons, the electric field is created between the two layers. 

Photovoltaic (PV) Energy

Photovoltaic (PV) panels contain hundreds of small silicon cells that collect the sun's energy and convert it into electricity that can be used in the home or offices. With the appropriate power conversion device (inverter), these PV systems can produce alternating current (AC) compatible with any conventional appliances and operate in parallel with and interconnected to the utility grid.

Dynamic Daylighting

Many companies have also come out with smart solar solutions to increase efficient use of resources. One such solution is to control individual sections in a building such as in a floor-to-ceiling window with a hot glare in only one area, thus allowing a work or living space to use daylight rather than artificial lighting, but hold down glare at the same time, making a comfortable work space and still using less energy.

In nutshell, the sun provides an unlimited resource for power around the world and is becoming a positive energy source for people across the world to reduce their carbon footprint and save on energy expenditure.