Many complain that maintaining a house is more expensive and strenuous than building it. From electricity bills and water bills to waste disposal bills, a major chunk of your monthly earnings is eaten up by these various bills. However, you could live anywhere in the country without paying any bills, if you are a bit imaginative and are committed to the cause of sustainability. Commander Ganapathi who retired from the Navy is thrilled to explain how he saves a significant amount of money every month as he doesn’t pay any bills.
The commander’s smart house is in the metro city of Bengaluru. He has said ‘goodbye’ to the bills by equipping his house with a rainwater harvesting system, greywater plant, solar panels and bio compost. This reduces the living expenses significantly, especially in a megacity like Bengaluru. The city receives a minimum of 1000 mm rainfall during the monsoon. This is enough to store up to 75000 litres of water. Ganapathi’s family of four require 500 litres of water every day. The water that is collected in this huge tank can be used for up to five months. Interestingly, Commander Ganapathi had built this tank by spending just Rs 10,000. It includes the expenses for building the tank and fitting it with pumps and filters. Water from the borewell is used for the rest of the year.
Besides, greywater facilities too have been arranged here. Around 150 litres of greywater is produced in the house. This is used for watering the plants and for flushing. Rs 10,000 was spent for installing this facility too. The house runs on electricity that is produced by solar panels. The panels and the unit can produce up to 1 kilowatt of electricity. The solar panels and the battery unit were installed for an affordable budget of Rs 1 lakh.
Bio compost is prepared using kitchen waste and dried leaves. It would turn into incredible organic manure within months. This organic manure is used in the terrace garden, making it a chain of sustainability. This house could be aptly called a futuristic one that runs on the amazing principle of sustainable living. Experts say that such self-sustainable and smart houses are inevitable to reduce global warming and carbon emission. Moreover, these houses are the only solution to tackle severe electricity and water shortage that plague many major cities in the country.
