THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS

Energy Conservation Week to be Observed from December 14

By Express News Service - HYDERABAD
Published: 14th December 2013 09:02 AM
Last Updated: 14th December 2013 09:02 AM
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With the state and Central governments keen on promoting solar power and focusing
on promotion of energy conservation in a big way, the New and Renewable Energy
Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (NREDCAP) is organising Energy
Conservation Week (ECW) at the Institution of Engineers (India) here from December
14 to 20.
During the week, seminars, workshops and competitions will be organised in
coordination with the National Productivity Council, Petroleum Conservation Research
Associations, Energy Conservation Mission, FAPCCI and OU College of Engineering
among others.
Addressing a press conference here on Friday, NREDCAP managing director M
Kamalakar Babu said that the ECW is aimed to disseminate energy conservation and
efficiency measures.
Rural energy awareness programme for school and college students will be held from
December 14 to 17, Energy Conservation Walk on December 15, followed by
awareness campaign at JNTU on Dec 16, workshop on EC measures in domestic sector
on December 17, industries sector on December 18), in buildings on Dec 19, and Save
Energy calendar cum pocket guide will be released on Dec 20.
He said State Energy Conservation Awards-2013 will be presented to various
organisations that include government departments, municipalities, corporations,
universities, colleges, industries and others on December 20.

Comments
I have had been advocating energy conservation since long.
Apart from Energy generation from Renewables, Energy Saving is

the need of the hour in India. A Novel Scheme to replace Old and
inefficient agricultural pump sets: Out of the 26 Million Agricultural
pumpsets in the country many are old and inefficient. The power
tariff for farmers is minimal. Electricity is a high grade energy
which is needed in industries, domestic purposes, computers etc.
A scheme can be chalked out to replace the inefficient motors by
efficient ones. The cost of a 5 HP Electric motor because is about
Rs 20,000.A subsidy of Rs 15,000 can be provided to replace
these inefficient motors. This yields quick results and Energy
conservation is better than energy generation. Each Kwh saved
is each Kwh generated (1 US$= Rs 60). There must be some
contribution from the beneficiary otherwise he wont take care of
the system. Giving free leads to misuse. In 80s the then
Department of Non-Conventional Energy Sources(Now MNRE)
under Demonstration Programme installed over 4000 Water
Pumping Mills free of cost. In Andhra Pradesh about 500 were
installed. At that time a windmill was costing Rs 20,000. A reliable
windmill costs around Rs 80,000 at that time. Infact in our Filelds
in Muthukur, Nellore District, Andhra Pradesh 2 Wind mills were
installed. None of the windmills worked and vanished in no time.
Based on several studies carried out on agricultural pumpset
efficiency, it has been found that the pump efficiency varies from
25-35% due to various factors. By adopting BEE star lebelled
agricultural pumpsets, the efficiency can be enhanced upto 5052%. It is estimated that, by replacement of existing pumps with
the BEE star labelled pumps, the achievable saving potential is
30-40% and sectoral saving potential works out to be 4.34 BU per
year. Instead of huge investment on New Power projects, The
Government of India and different state Governments can jointly
plan a scheme to replace the existing old and inefficient
agricultural pumpsets with efficient ones. This yields quick results.
Energy conservation refers to reducing energy consumption
through using less of an energy service. Energy conservation
differs from efficient energy use, which refers to using less energy
for a constant service. For example, driving less is an example of

energy conservation. Driving the same amount with a higher

mileage vehicle is an example of energy efficiency. Energy
conservation and efficiency are both energy reduction techniques.
Even though energy conservation reduces energy services, it can
result in increased, environmental quality, national security, and
personal financial security. It is at the top of the sustainable
energy hierarchy. One of the primary ways to improve energy
conservation in buildings is to use an energy audit. An energy
audit is an inspection and analysis of energy use and flows for
energy conservation in a building, process or system to reduce
the amount of energy input into the system without negatively
affecting the output(s). This is normally accomplished by trained
professionals and can be part of some of the national programs
discussed above. In addition, recent development of smartphone
apps enable homeowners to complete relatively sophisticated
energy audits themselves. Building technologies and smart
meters can allow energy users, business and residential, to see
graphically the impact their energy use can have in their
workplace or homes. Advanced real-time energy metering is able
to help people save energy by their actions. Elements of passive
solar design, shown in a direct gain application. In passive solar
building design, windows, walls, and floors are made to collect,
store, and distribute solar energy in the form of heat in the winter
and reject solar heat in the summer. This is called passive solar
design or climatic design because, unlike active solar heating
systems, it doesn't involve the use of mechanical and electrical
devices. The key to designing a passive solar building is to best
take advantage of the local climate. Elements to be considered
include window placement and glazing type, thermal insulation,
thermal mass, and shading. Passive solar design techniques can
be applied most easily to new buildings, but existing buildings can
be retrofitted. Energy Saving in Lighting. One innovation that
saves enormous power in light is READING SOLAR LIGHT dual
powered. Normally in India students read under a 40 Watt
Fluorescent bulb. In school and college hostels one Fluorescent

bulb for 4 to 6 people. A Fluorescent bulb consumes 40 Watts. Its

life time is short. In voltage fluctuations (common in some cases
in rural India), it won't glow. There are Reading Solar lights with
LED (Best LED from a Company like Nichia corporation, Japan)
which can be charged by sunlight or electric including USB. This
lasts 8 hours. It costs around Rs 400(about 7 US$) in India. It
consumes 0.2 Watts. Moreover by this light one can concentrate
on the material reading (especially students) we used to have
Reading lights in the past (Table Lights electric). In suggest
Schools, NGOs, Government can promote these on a massive
scale. Each Kwh saved is each Kwh generated. TODAYS
WASTAGE IS TOMORROWS SHORTAGE. Please save the
power for the next hour! Save power, energize the future.
Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP), India

Microhydro device for low heads

Energy Saving in Electric Pump sets

Dual Powered Reading Light