For earth's sake

April 21, 2011 08:23 pm | Updated 08:23 pm IST

The Valluri's Platinum Green home. Photo: K. Ramesh Babu

The Valluri's Platinum Green home. Photo: K. Ramesh Babu

‘Charity begins at home' goes the saying, why can't it be ‘conserving energy begins at home'? It is World Earth Day today, and for a change, we need not go on a candle light walks or sign online petitions to celebrate this day. Simple acts done consciously can go a long way in preserving nature or helping someone get a bucket of water without he/she having to pay for it. So where do we start? At home.

Switching off lights and fans when the room is empty is a common practice in most households, but there are other things which we might want to know and learn. “I also make it a point switch off TV when not watching it. I don't see the need of using the TV like a radio. To save energy on air conditioning I let the room cool for a while with the AC on. Once the floors and walls have cooled, I turn it off and use the fan. This works well even during hot days,” says Deepa Ramakrishnan, a content writer.

Saving electricity can go a long way in saving of what is left in nature. But what can be done about switches that remain on after a power cut? “This is an issue at home. So every door in our room has colourful stick-on reminders that say ‘turn around and see if lights and fans are on switch ‘off' position,” says Uma Bhargavi, a lecturer in a private college. Uma lives in an apartment in Habshiguda and says their building association has agreed not to operate the generator when power goes off in the wee hours, as the temperature is bearable. “Some students like to wake up early and study and then lights and fan are necessary so they make a special arrangement. And generator switches aren't provided to all electrical fittings, they are provided to any three lights and three fans in each apartment,” she says. While we cannot think of collecting rain water, rain water harvest can definitely help.

The Valluris' home in Jubilee Hills is platinum green home certified. To save energy they have open to sky toilets, sun pipes direct the sunlight to the garage and the storage areas in the lower most portion of the house. During the day, their house runs on solar energy. The ground water and the water collected from the rain water harvesting pit is used in the house. Water is recycled for use in toilets, garden and the water falls.

Building a platinum green home might not suit everyone's pocket but we surely can “recycle the water used to mop floors. If chemicals are not mixed in the water used to mop floors, the same can be used to water the plants and trees in the garden. The maids complain but I don't give in,” says Pooja Singh, a home-maker.

Most households believe in adopting one simple step to protect planet. Some make it a point to adopt such steps when the houses/apartments are under construction. “To get natural light into the house I refused tinted glass panes,” says Sonali Srikant, a businesswoman. To keep her house cool she has effectively made use of khas - khas mats.

Some households also avoid use of shower and bathtubs during summer. “Use the bucket and mug and let your bones move is what my grandma suggests,” says Kaveri Sarmah. Her grandmother hates the fan when sitting in the balcony and still prefers to use the hand fan.

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