N. Sridhar, who resides in Saibaba Colony, ventured into green initiatives five years ago. He went in for rainwater harvesting structure first and later installed 3.5 kw rooftop solar energy system and three biogas plants. He is now self-dependent for the energy needs at his house and is able to reuse rainwater for several purposes.
Mr. Sridhar told The Habitat that he has installed a seven-stage filter for rainwater harvesting. The collected water gets into the water tank and is reused for several purposes. In the case of energy conservation, he has replaced the tube lights with LED lamps and the ordinary fans with energy efficient ones. He has installed sensors so that lights are not switched on when there is no one in a room and has gone in for Bureau of Energy Efficiency star-rated refrigerator. These efforts have brought down the electricity needs of the house, which has 3,300 sq.ft built up area.
The 3.3 kw solar energy system generates 10 to 15 units of power and the consumption is just three to five units a day, he says. Since there are multi-storeyed buildings nearby, solar energy generation is optimum only from 6 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. But, Mr. Sridhar is able to use solar energy for washing machine, water pumping, refrigerator, etc. It is not used only for the air-conditioner, he says. The excess solar energy is exported to the grid.
Kitchen and garden waste are used in the biogas plants and it is used for cooking and water heating.
Having spent just a little more than Rs. 6 lakh on these systems, Mr. Sridhar says he is able to save on power consumption, cooking gas and water bills. These systems require minimum investment on maintenance too, he says.
