‘AN ENERGY EFFICIENT VILLAGE IN TERMS OF SOLAR POTENTIALITIES’

SUB-THEME: ENERGY PLANNING AND MODELLING

Team Members: Supriya Aggarwal (Group Leader), Mansy Thakur, Bakul Sharma, Suresh Kumar, Parul Gupta

Teacher Guide: Mr. Manoj Choudhary

“Burgeoning human population and industrialization has put immense pressure on fossil fuel based resources like petroleum and coal. The economic growth of a country is strongly dependent on the availability and access to energy. More than

half the population of India does not have access to electricity or any form of commercial energy. In this context, use of renewable energy resources needs to

be promoted. Keeping these facts in view, we have proposed some suggestions to the villagers and have also proposed a model on how the daily requirements can be fulfilled in a more practical, feasible and economical way by converting solar

energy into electrical energy.”

ABSTRACT

A study was conducted in the rural communities of the Hamirpur district in Himachal Pradesh province with the aim of identifying types of energy resources used and the patterns of utilization of such energy sources. The survey was conducted in five villages and semi –structured questionnaires were used to interview thirty randomly selected households per village. Focus group discussions were also held in each of the surveyed villages.

The paper concludes that there is a need to promote sustainable energy resources and technologies such as the use of sunlight in an improved way. Furthermore, the paper recommends the promotion of solar energy in the form of building a sunlight house which has a potential of being adopted in the area. It is also argued that policies which enhance integrated rural development and promote solar energy utilization in rural communities need to be put in place and implemented.

Materials and Methods:

The study was conducted in five villages under Sanahi Panchayat located nearly 15 km. from Hamirpur town towards Nadaun near Kangoo. The five selected villages were Har Masanda, Shasan Masanda, Sanahi, Telkar and Bharyaal.

The villages have a total of 300 households. The houses are scattered in clusters and are unevenly distributed. The research was conducted by the administering of a questionnaire that was balanced between open-ended and close-ended type questions. This was done to obtain relevant data that allows flexibility to meet the intended objective and at the same time, not restricting respondents to the given options.

Within each selected village, questionnaires were administered to 30 randomly selected households. Focus group discussions were conducted to cross check some of the information collected during the interview.

The majority of respondents showed some willingness to go for a model “Sunlight House”.

a.) Opportunities for introducing sunlight house :

Solar energy is a potential source of power which can generate heat, light and electricity. It can be used for various applications ranging from solar drying to water heating to providing electricity for lighting and powering TV and radio. Solar system “Light House” can also be used to improve the quality of life. For example, the provision of lighting in a rural school, evening education and community activities. With the abundant sunshine available in the region, solar

electricity is a realistic alternative in meeting demands of a household’s energy as well as opportunities for cottage industries.

OBJECTIVES

To encourage people to use local materials and skills to develop low cost, replicable engineering solutions those are economically sustainable in the local area.

To develop multi-functional, energy-efficient home lighting units to minimize household energy demand.

To design energy supply through solar resources which would be appropriate for household scale.

To develop socially and culturally appropriate designs that meet performance, cost and environmental criteria.

To replace carbon-based fuels by non carbon-based fuels. To save non-renewable sources of energy. To reduce cutting of trees as they play a very vital role in the maintenance of ecological

balance. To reduce the expenditure of the inhabitants of that area on electricity.

HYPOTHESIS

For a long time, we have been hearing that the villages visible from our hostel face extreme cold in winters. However, in the hostel, we receive quite a good amount of sunlight which is capable of being harnessed. So, an idea popped up in our mind that there must be something wrong with the built and construction of the houses because of which people are not being able to harness solar energy. Besides, we think that the doors and windows might not be oriented properly. Hence, from the survey, we are going to find out whether our assumption is correct or not. Accordingly, we will get to know if the model proposed by us can be established in the villages we surveyed.

WHY I CHOSE THIS TOPIC?

I chose the topic “An energy efficient village in terms of solar potentialities” as the basis for my survey because there is an urgent need for integrated energy planning in India. This means that at a particular place, we must have multiple energy sources and these sources can be used depending on the particular requirement. Hence, there is need of integrated energy planning and for that, appropriate models are required and in these models, renewable energy sources will play a very vital role. So, we need to explore renewable energy options at all levels.

METHODOLOGY

The work for our survey started in the first week of October and continued till the last week of October. During the survey, we did the following:

o Studied the structure of the houses in terms of solar energy exposure.o Assessed the positions of the windows and doors fitted in the houses and the

institutions which come under the Panchayat.o Gathered information from the villagers using the survey questionnaire.o Visited different villages in the Panchayat and observed their geographical and

topographical scenario.o Went to different institutions like the Government Senior Secondary School, Sanahi and

the Panchayat House to collect related information.o Made the people aware of other energy sources they can use to reduce their

expenditure on electricity.

RESULTS

Data obtained in all surveyed villages showed the following:

1.) Electric bulbs and fans are the main sources of lighting and cooling the house.2.) LPG is the main source of energy for cooking and heating.3.) Due to maximum subsidy on electricity by H.P. govt., people have developed a habit of

careless use of electricity in varied forms.4.) The structures of the houses are against eco-friendly techniques resulting in intense

heat during summers and intense cold during winters.5.) Doors and windows of the houses are made in an unplanned manner without giving any

thought to energy efficient processes resulting in uneven and patchy light inside the house.

Attitude and preferences of respondents towards alternative sources of energy:

On an average, 90% of the respondents were satisfied with the pattern of energy they are using as they have been habituated by the government of receiving subsidized power but a number of reasons were indicated as to why they are dissatisfied with the current living standards due to lack of exposure towards utilization of sunlight. They are subjected to live in an un-eco-friendly environment.

Problem of insufficient sunlight during daytime due to unplanned building-make against proper direction and location of doors and windows results in frequent cough, cold, sinus problems

and headache. There seems to be an overall positive attitude towards use of solar energy technologies for those who could realize the importance of it.

The majority of respondents showed some willingness to go for a model “Sunlight House”.

Opportunities for introducing sunlight house:

Solar energy is a potential source of power which can generate heat, light and electricity. It can be used for various applications ranging from solar drying to water heating to providing electricity for lighting and powering TV and radio. Solar system “Light House” can also be used to improve the quality of life. For example, the provision of lighting in a rural school, evening education and community activities. With the abundant sunshine available in the region, solar electricity is a realistic alternative in meeting demands of a household’s energy as well as opportunities for cottage industries.

CONCLUSION

From the observations made and the results interpreted, we have come to the conclusion that our proposed model can be established in the villages we surveyed as they receive quite a good amount of sunlight. The application of our proposed model to these villages can help to raise the economic status of the villagers. The study also recognizes the need for policies which will integrate various energy systems related to solar energy to make an energy efficient house/village.

The communities are not satisfied with the current utilization patterns and they are willing to divert to more effective energy technologies related to solar energy.

SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM AND FUTURE PLAN

The Sun House-

Aim: Energy production from the heat of sunlight falling on the roof of the building.

*With the growing demands of human needs, the utilization of conventional energy has increased tremendously. Consequently, environmental issues like global warming etc. have risen. Keeping these facts in view, this model has been proposed to present an idea on how the daily requirements can be fulfilled in a more practical, feasible and economical way by converting solar energy into electrical energy.

Materials required (for actual construction):

Conical Hollow Dome- A high, dense and durable plastic to construct the dome-shaped cone. It should be made up of some light weight material like Sintax tank material.

Rubber Pipes- High tensile strength, light weight, durable rubber pipes that can carry heated air without being heated and eroded easily.

Turbines- A turbine having less no. of rotations per minute as the no. of pipes connected to the dome are typically six to eight and another turbine having more no. of rotations per minute as it is fixed at the top level. Beside these, we need an electric pole that acts as the supply line, electrical wires for wiring that is generally done in houses and an inverter to convert DC current to AC.

Materials required(for this model):

Thermocol/Old cardboard box for the house Old cable wires/plastic pipes Funnel for the conical dome Chart paper and decorative material for designing the house Plywood/Cardboard for the base Electrical pole

Scientific Principle Involved:

This model is based on the principle of Bernoulli’s Theorem. There is an increase in speed of the fluid with decrease in pressure and vice-versa.

Construction:

It is a domestic model and can be set up on the roof top of the houses. Since the entire project is based on utilization of heat from the roof tops, the requirement is a strong typical roof above which the conical dome is set up. The broader base of the dome is fitted on the roof and a cylindrical pipe is fitted to its narrower base. A powerful turbine is fixed at the top of this pipe which is then connected to a generator.

There are a number of hollow curved pipes. One end of these pipes is fixed to the region of the house where ventilation is to be made and the other end is fixed at a region above the base of the dome. Every wall of the house is connected to this dome through a pipe.

Provision can be made to connect pipes from the rooms of every floor for a multi-storey building. A less powerful turbine is fixed at the mouth of every pipe opening in the conical hollow dome.

Working Process:

The process starts from the conical dome itself. It gets heated up quickly. Therefore, the process of conduction heats up the air inside it. Warm air rises up and runs the turbine-cum-generator fixed at the top of the cylinder. So, to fill this empty space, the air inside the building is sucked into the dome through the pipe. The air inside the building is pre-heated since the roof is black in color.

The room of the house is kept open. During the daytime, as the air outside is already heated from the solar energy, it enters to the low-pressure region inside the house. The pipes that are already filled beneath the roof transport this heated and pressurized air to dome. When passing through the thin pipe fitted at the base of the dome, it is forced to increase its velocity, thereby reducing pressure (Bernoulli’s Theorem). The turbines fixed at the mouth of every pipe are run by the warm air. The air further rises up with greater velocity and moves the turbine fixed at the top which runs the generator. The electric current that is produced is passed to the internal connection of wires which is linked with the main wirings of the house on a pole. Here, the generated current is transformed into AC and is supplied to the different rooms of the house.

Since there is continuous flow of air and the lower level of the air is left undisturbed, we feel cool inside the house without the use of air cooler or air conditioner.

Applications:

Since this model is entirely home-made, thus it is very useful, practical and economical.

*For a family consisting of five members, the minimum electrical energy requirement per day is 2-3 kW. If this model is built in a region where it has maximum potential, i.e, if it is set up at the top floors of multi-storeyed buildings receiving much heat of the sun, the output would be sufficient to meet the requirements of an average house.

*It keeps the room cool, thereby cutting down energy requirements by the use of coolers or air conditioners.

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