Manohar is super excited to show around his majestic 6300 sq ft house in Kakkoor, Kozhikode, Kerala. The house stands out not only for its elegant design but also for the elaborate light fittings that enhance the beauty of the house at night. Besides these light fittings, fans and air conditioners too are switched on frequently at this house.
There are 5 motors just to water the spacious front yard and garden, and 2 more motors for domestic purposes. At night, the house shines incredibly as the beautifully designed spot lights and exterior lamps are switched on. Many gape at all these illuminations often wondering about the ‘whopping’ electricity bill that might hit the owner.
However, it is quite surprising and amazing that electric connections from the KSEB haven’t been installed in this elegant house. Manohar reveals that his scintillating house functions entirely on solar energy.
Inspiration
“I run a school in Irikkoor, Kannur. An entire building of the school functions on solar energy. The lights and fans in around 10 classrooms and the computer labs are functioning with the help of energy tapped from sun. KSEB connections are not installed in this wing. It is the success of this project, initiated on an experimental basis, eight years ago, which inspired me to depend entirely on solar energy when I built a house,” says Manohar with pride.
In his old house too, Manohar used solar power along with the normal KSEB connections. He points out that many people realized the great advantage of the solar power during the floods last year. Many were stranded in their houses, for days, without electricity to even charge their mobile phones. Unable to call their dear ones, people ran around to get their dead mobile phones charged. All these motivated them to depend on solar energy as well.
Production
The panels installed at Manohar’s house have a production capacity of 10 KW of electricity. The plant is established without availing any monetary aid from the government. The high quality equipments cost around Rs 6 lakhs. The panels from Panasonic and the inverter from MROTech have been installed. Manohar says that panels and inverters produced by small scale companies could be installed for Rs 3 lakh. Besides these, arrangements have been made to harvest the rainwater from roof, replenish well, dispose off waste and so on.
These environment-friendly power suppliers turn profitable in the long run. Those who are interested can sell the excess electricity to the KSEB through on grid facility. Government provides subsidies for the installation of the solar panels and other equipment.
Advantages
The most significant advantage of the solar power is that it is available continuously for years. This clean energy is environment-friendly, causing any kind of pollution. It is secured from lightning showers, short circuits or voltage fluctuations. The presence of factories in the vicinity of the domestic connections may cause frequent fluctuations in voltage. Switching to solar power helps avoiding it to a great extent.
Maintenance
Solar panels should be regularly dusted and kept clean. This helps improve the productivity and efficiency of the panels. It is important to check the level of water in the battery at least once in four to five months. Manohar’s eyes gleam with pride when he says that many people, inspired by his amazing solar powered house, have realized the incredible advantages of the solar energy and have resolved to follow suit.
