[shajufx]

Home invertor is the only affordable option in a city. I have neighbours who have invested less than Rs.20,000/- on an invertor and battery packs, getting over 6 hours back up with some basic lighting, fan etc. in the house. Using a 29 inch TV will cut down the back up to half. But irregular and extended power failures will affect the recharging function as I am experiencing with my APC back ups R S 1500.

Solar energy is one practical option for a city living person, although initial set up and installation is very expensive. I too heard of lot of subsidies offered by the government on solar products, but never found any real-time users so far. Majority of solar users have 1 or 2 CFLs charged by a single panel. I havent heard of anyone backing up many electrical gadgets to a solar power (atleast residential use). I dont consider solar water heaters as power back up, because it only gives hot water (power saving), not an alternative power source !

Windmill energy is possible only for industrial/commercial set up that too far from city with plenty of open air/breeze. I have seen a single leaf of the windmill (called windmill turbine) carried on a 16 wheeler truck in Tamilnadu (TN produces the maximum wind energy -over 3500 MW- in India). I didnt realize its the windmill turbine until my bro-in-law educated me on it. What a massive size !! 3 of them put together on a tower, my brain froze imagining the set up and area covered by a single tower, over 50 of them in a place !!. So, thats commercial production.

[vivekiny2k]

Originally Posted by sriturl

Source of this news : 21 July Deccan Chronicle.
Sorry cant post link instead of copy pasting since the content changes every day.

[SIZE=2] Hyderabad, July 20: The upcoming CRPF gym in Chandrayangutta is all set to give an entirely new meaning to the urban slang of a ‘power-packed’ workout.
[/SIZE]

great, i love it.

back in india i had thought of doing something like this for pumping water in my house instead of running it on electricity every morning. too bad I didn't have access to the immense source of advice in form I of TBHP. I also remember somebody designed a washing machine which works when you cycle.

[black12rr]

I have installed solar water heater for 200 liters (tata BP ) .
It has been more than a years and I can count in fingers the number if days there was not hot water ( i mean boiling hot water , it will be warm in extremely cloudy days ) . My power bill is half now and also get 40 paise discount on each unit used ( a max of 40 rs ) .

I strongly recommend to go with solar water heater .

[theMAG]

Originally Posted by n_aditya

Solar lighting is pretty expensive from what I heard. My neighbor has it and its the initial investment that is high.

Can you find out how much its priced at? The power(less) situation in Bangalore now is so pathetic its not even funny.

[MillionSwords]

Originally Posted by Mission_Safari

Ram,

Check this link. :::Solkar:::Products::

I did a project in college on using the solar power for industrial lighting and had chance to work with solkar industries who are the leading solar panel/product manufacturers in chennai.

That is a very useful link, and what we all wanted exact!

Originally Posted by mjothi

I like it. 2 in one purpose

Dunno how this gets implemented, it should not be a mess to install these dynamos in tandem with the threadmill or so...

Originally Posted by suvi

Wind Mill may not be practical unless you have a huge site and sparse neighbourhood (definitely not in Chennai and Bangalore). may be apartments can try. A storage unit consisting of batteries can be used, but i would recommend using Wind power to directly pump water to over head tanks (the original use of Wind mills by Dutch)

This option is for our Keralaite friends and people wo are down south, where wind is ample and space is not a problem. We discuss so that we know!

Originally Posted by sridhga

This has been my experience with solar water heaters. I briefly lived in Pune in a house fitted with solar water heaters. On those days that are hot there is ample sunshine you get so much hot water and you dont want to bath in it as it is a hot day. And on one of those days when it is pouring and you want to have a hot water bath the panel does not receive enough sunshine and so there is no hot water.

Damn, cannot agree more! Always thought there should be a storage unit!!

Originally Posted by Mission_Safari

Government already provides considerable subsidy for solar products.

Like what? - please give details!

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Safari has hit on the nail. Solar is good on paper, but besides a lifestyle statement, takes eons to recover costs.

But then if we were all pure VFM, we wouldn't bother with the kinda cars we buy, do we?

That said, Delhi, which suffers more powercuts than any metro survives on invertors for everything. or power backup in societies via generators. for normal house non ac usage, inverter would do fine. for ac, you need a generator.

Solar/Wind - we are talking about alternative energy that will not bother the environment either! But Inverters/Fuel Gensets will sure do the damage, ain't it?

VFM - well this is a situation where, we need a fan/light in emergency and during powercuts, we are facing power cuts on stipulated times and ehnce this arrangement will keep a PC/TV/Fan running! the least consuming equipments we must say.

So it is upto us to spend on a solar panel or a Nitro Booster or a Sub Woofer or that cool looking Alloys - haan ??

With aged parents around, or baby @ home, I guess investing in something like Energy that serves on a daily basis is VFM Am

Originally Posted by rippergeo

Will ask him and post.
How long do you want back up for? Are the appliances meant to run on solar when the power is cut, or full time?

Yeah, please do ask.
Some few options would be great, we all look for just a couple of hours backup. Max 3 hours lets say. Read above to see which appliances.

Originally Posted by sriturl

Source of this news : 21 July Deccan Chronicle.
Sorry cant post link instead of copy pasting since the content changes every day.

[SIZE=2] Hyderabad, July 20: The upcoming CRPF gym in Chandrayangutta is all set to give an entirely new meaning to the urban slang of a ‘power-packed’ workout. Jawans sweating it out at the CRPF Hyderabad Group Centre in Chandrayangutta will not just be burning calories but also producing power, literally!
The power they produce through their exertion will be used to charge batteries of vehicles. Not just this, the jawans will also get paid in proportion to the quantum of power they produce. "We plan to utilise the generated energy to charge the batteries of the huge fleet of vehicles in our possession," said the Deputy Inspector General of Police (CRPF), Mr B.N Ramesh.The unique equipment which taps energy from the exercising jawans is being devised and customised at the manufacturing unit owned by CRPF.
At present, the fleet of vehicles is charged with power supplied by the AP State Electricity Board. But soon these vehicles will be running on ‘manpower,’ so to say. "Getting money for a workout at the gym is sure to attract a lot more jawans," said Mr Ramesh. The CRPF officials are planning to inaugurate the state-of-the-art gym soon and experts are working on the amount of energy that needs to be generated to run the batteries. Ideally, the jawans would earn Rs 25 per unit of energy produced through their exertions.
[/SIZE]

GOOD Going, like the dynamo Idea as above!!

[m8002?]

I am not sure if windmills can be installed for domestic use.

I remember reading some time back ( dont remember where ) that each windmill costs approx 35 lacs. This includes the initial localtion survey, installation,etc. Banks finance 70-75% at very low interest. Also, i think the state electricity boards WILL buy back the power generated by you. Not sure about the price, etc. The article was mentioning that the income will cover your bank emi and you will still be left with some small amount if your location is good. Many cine starts in the south ( Mammooty, Surya,etc ) have invested in these near coimbatore, nagercoil etc.


regards
m800

[MillionSwords]

Originally Posted by shajufx

I have seen a single leaf of the windmill (called windmill turbine) carried on a 16 wheeler truck in Tamilnadu (TN produces the maximum wind energy -over 3500 MW- in India). I didnt realize its the windmill turbine until my bro-in-law educated me on it. What a massive size !! 3 of them put together on a tower, my brain froze imagining the set up and area covered by a single tower, over 50 of them in a place !!. So, thats commercial production.

Yeah the place is called Aaralvaimozhi, amazing place and a treat to the eyes, if u drive throuch that place!!

here are some photos:

[sriturl]

Any idea whether I can purchase a dynamo? That way I can connect that to a cycle in gym, and produce some electricity, just enough to power the gym. It can be self sufficient in energy !!!
Small things to start off with.

I am using stairs to walk to 9th floor. 9th floor is difficult, but I am motivating myself
do your bit, encourage your offices/work places to switch off all non-essential power like decorative lamps, non-essential common lighting etc.

[gopinathann]

A year back I wanted to install solar water heater to the newly constructed house. At that time the dealer told that a separate pipeline should be taken to the bathroom, I thought he would connecting to the existing hot water line. So I didn't install it.

Now I have installed the inverter which is very much useful during powercuts, however I wanted to use solar energy atleast during the morning.

From this website TEDA - Frequently Asked Questions, I could find that the cost seems to be good for running lights & fan.
[FONT=Arial][SIZE=2]Home lighting system - a fixed, indoor lighting system - Available in various configurations, namely, 1 light, 2 lights, 1 light + 1 fan, 4 lights, 2 light + 1 fan Costs vary from RS. 7,000/- to Rs. 25,000/- depending upon the model.[/SIZE][/FONT]

Originally Posted by black12rr

I have installed solar water heater for 200 liters (tata BP ) .
It has been more than a years and I can count in fingers the number if days there was not hot water ( i mean boiling hot water , it will be warm in extremely cloudy days ) . My power bill is half now and also get 40 paise discount on each unit used ( a max of 40 rs ) .

I strongly recommend to go with solar water heater .

[MillionSwords]

Originally Posted by gopinathann

A year back I wanted to install solar water heater to the newly constructed house. At that time the dealer told that a separate pipeline should be taken to the bathroom, I thought he would connecting to the existing hot water line. So I didn't install it.

Now I have installed the inverter which is very much useful during powercuts, however I wanted to use solar energy atleast during the morning.

From this website TEDA - Frequently Asked Questions, I could find that the cost seems to be good for running lights & fan.
[FONT=Arial][SIZE=2]Home lighting system - a fixed, indoor lighting system - Available in various configurations, namely, 1 light, 2 lights, 1 light + 1 fan, 4 lights, 2 light + 1 fan Costs vary from RS. 7,000/- to Rs. 25,000/- depending upon the model.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial][SIZE=2]Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA)[/SIZE][/FONT] - TEDA - Frequently Asked Questions

As mentioned above by Gopinath, has abundant information on alternative energy and I like the Windmill facts and figures, though we fellas cannot afford to build a serious Windmill, and generate energy from it, it is nice to know about them and the cost involved.

There is so much of FAQs answered in this above page, glad that it is brought to notice in TBHP!! cheers:

[Mission_Safari]

Originally Posted by MillionSwords

[FONT=Arial][SIZE=2]Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA)[/SIZE][/FONT] - TEDA - Frequently Asked Questions

As mentioned above by Gopinath, has abundant information on alternative energy and I like the Windmill facts and figures, though we fellas cannot afford to build a serious Windmill, and generate energy from it, it is nice to know about them and the cost involved.

There is so much of FAQs answered in this above page, glad that it is brought to notice in TBHP!! cheers:

Vestas Wind Technology India Private Limited (formerly NEG MICON) used to manufacture the wind mill units. If you are serious on getting the info on windmills you can try contacting them. Their factory/office is on the OMR close to Sholinganallur.

[trrk]

Hi,

> I remember reading some time back ( dont remember where ) that each
> windmill costs approx 35 lacs. This includes the initial localtion survey,

Two projects are to come up in Kerala. A 600KW windmill is just 4+ crore rupees. The government had agreed to a rate of Rs 3.40 per unit of electricity generated by it.

[diabloo]

List of WindMill manufacters

Related Links:
Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Ltd. (KREDL)

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE)

[MillionSwords]

As the dynamo topic has come up in some post, I thought it will be cool to add some of the very common, but not so used products. These might save some electricity and Use &Throw Dry Cell Batteries.

1. Hand Dynamo LED Flash Lights
2. Hand Dynamo Flashlight and Radio
3. Hand Dynamo Mobile Charger

I have been using #1 and #3 and they tend to be reliable products, never had a problem. Choose the right one, by looking you can say if it is a dumb product or not. Be wise!

I saw the SOLKAR website, and they had a Solar LED, and SOLAR Fan and a Solar Cap-Fan - pretty cool, dunno how reliable though. Will buy one when I see one in some stores.

Here are some pictures of the products said above.

[rk_sans]

The thread is dead for more than a year now. Wanted to post a new thread, but still thought lets re-use this thread.
Any update/experience, etc on using solar energy for homes as an alternative electricity.