With changing lifestyles and rising level of affluence, there has been a change in people’s way of life and living conditions. Today, people can live in houses as fancy as a bungalow, a farmhouse, a smart home or in residential complexes and apartments. People who are financially well-off and prefer comforts and conveniences in life are making a shift to smart homes. A smart home as the name suggests, has many smart appliances that work on Artificial Intelligence making lives of its residents easier. Most of these appliances can also be monitored through smartphones.
Similar to the concept of smart and luxury homes are Green buildings. Green buildings are energy efficient, self-sustainable, and less polluting buildings. Planting green plants on terraces, balconies, and rooftops could also go a long way in reducing heat and cooling the surroundings. The Indian government is also promoting these buildings so as to reduce the overall carbon emission in our country, with many states undertaking measures like reducing property taxes and stamp duties, providing subsidies on capital investments, etc.
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1. Project Summary
Recently, Loom Solar panels were installed on a green building rooftop in Hyderabad city centre. This terrace garden has huge open space having a party area, gym, pool, theatre, joggers’ track, etc. It is a seven storeyed building with lot of greenery all around. The lights on terraces are solar garden lights which uses solar energy in the day and automatically lights up at night fall.
| 1. | Name of the Company | Namitha Isle |
| 2. | Proposed Project Location | Banjara Hills |
| 3. | District Name | Hyderabad |
| 4. | State | Telangana |
| 5. | Proposed Power Plant Capacity | 84kWp |
| 6. | Technology | Solar Photovoltaic |
| 7. | Location of the Earth |
(i) Latitude : 17.4268° N (ii) Longitude : 78.4482° E |
| 8. | Altitude | 542 m (1,778 ft.) |
| 9. | Average annual solar isolation | 5.44 kWh/m2/day |
| 10. | Nearest Town | Secunderabad |
| 11. | Nearest Airport | Rajiv Gandhi International Airport |
| 12. | Nearest Railway Station | Secunderabad Jn Railway Station |
| 13. | Type of Module Proposed | Shark Bi-Facail 440W - 530W, 166 |
| 14. | Type of Inverter proposed | String Inverter |
| 15. | Type of Inverter capacity | 71kW, 3 Phase |
| 16. | Projected Gross Energy Production per year | 128.31 MW @100% grid availability |
| 17. | Installed by | Arka11 Renewable Solutions Pvt Ltd |
2. Engineer Visit
Since this was a different kind of project with customized requirement an engineer visit was a must. Please note we highly recommend engineer visit in all cases before installing solar systems. Remember, solar system is an expensive investment and it makes sense to take professional help since technicians are more knowledgeable about latest technology, your requirements, budgeting, spacing, installation, etc. and are better positioned to guide you on the same.
3. Solar Quotation
The average electricity bill cost per unit ranges from Rs. 5.50 to Rs. 12 in this area. In comparison, the average cost of solar is 60K/ kW in this case and is capable of saving Rs. 1,000/ kW in electricity bills monthly.
4. Design of Solar Power Plant
After Engineer visit, the whole plan was designed keeping in mind the customer’s requirement of using solar but leaving enough space/ area for people to freely move as well as even jog. In order to utilize space smartly, solar panels were installed on elevated tables/ platforms to enable the flow of air and movement freely. The elevated structure is made up of MS Steel, 16 feet in height and 3 mm in thickness. An 84 kW solar system has been installed on the rooftop.
5. Feasibility Report
A feasibility report is required to get approval for net metering. It comprises of all details regarding the solar plant, the number of panels, the power wattage, the requirement whether commercial or residential, address of installation, owner, installer details, etc.
6. Bill of Materials
Here is a list of all components of the 84 kW solar system with details like
number, wattage, etc. which will help any person form an idea of what goes in the whole installation – solar panels (SHARK bifacial mono-perc), solar stands, solar inverters, electric meters, net meters, BoS, etc.
| 1 | Solar Panels | SHARK Bi-Facial Solar Panel, 440 - 530 Watt * 128 & SHARK 540 - 38 |
| 2. | Solar Inverter | 71kW, 3 Phase |
| 3. | Mounting Structure | High Rise Structure, Tin Shade |
| 4. | Solar Wire | 4 sq. mm. 3000 sq. mts. |
| 5. | DCDB / ACDB | System Compitable |
| 6. | MC4 Connectors | - |
| 7. | Earthing Kit | - |
| 8. | Lighting Arrester | - |
| 9. | Net Meter | 3 Phase Meter |
7. Tools
For such a huge project you would definitely need tools to help in installation. These tools include nut bolts, tape, ladder, etc.
- Tape measure
- Pencil or marker
- Drill with bits
- Chalk line
- Wrench set
- Screwdrivers
- Metal cutting saw
- Electrical wiring tools
8. Solar Panel Cleaning
Solar panels’ efficiency is improved manifold when the surface of the panels is clean. If there is dust accumulated on the surface, the working of the panels is hampered. So, in order to generate more power, solar panels must be squeaky clean. You can either employ people to manually clean the panels, or you can use a special coating on panels which avoids any dust to stick on the surface and allows dust to sweep away on its own with wind, or you can also install automatic bot cleaning. The auto-bot cleaning is expensive but you can set alarms for it to clean at times when there is no sun, to allow the panels to generate power incessantly.
9. Net metering
After taking feasibility approval, net meter can be installed wherein any excess power generated by the system can be sent back to the grid to claim credit.
10. Benefits
The 84 kW solar rooftop system is capable of generating 30 lakh units of electricity, saving 1400 tons of carbon dioxide and is equivalent to planting 2,200-2,300 trees in its full lifetime. SHARK bifacial mono-perc (22% efficient) solar panels have been used in this installation. Not only are they eco-friendly but also go a long way in reducing your power bills and promoting plantation of more green plants.
11. ROI
The ROI is expected to be 4-5 years. The RoI indicates the time period within which you are able to fully realize your investments. Post this all that you have is SAVINGS!!
12. Solar Finance
The value of newly constructed buildings having solar system installed also increases with time as it is not only a technology for gen-next but also makes electricity bills practically as zero for its residents. It is important to decide the time of installing solar as a person who is looking at investing in a new property can claim the cost of solar plant as total property cost. A person who is ready to pay Rs.1 Cr for a house can readily pay Rs. 10 lakh more if aware of its advantages.
Conclusion
With real estate reaching sky-high prices, many societies cannot afford to have gardens for recreation purposes. Most building now have rooftop terrace gardens housing most facilities as most big gardens. Though it might be compact in nature, but given the paucity of real estate area rooftop gardens are gaining huge importance in big cities. However, given the rising number of facilities used in these terrace gardens the electricity requirement will also be high in such buildings. Hence, using solar panels makes complete sense not only environmentally but also economically.
1 comment
Ashok
As my industry is in outskirts of Bangalore , we are facing lot of power problem, if you’re project is feasible, we can introduce lot of people