Download Two day workshop on rainwater harvesting and energy conservation

Two day workshop on rainwater harvesting and energy conservation
The workshop organized by Delhi Productivity Council at Hotel Le Meridian covered the following
subjects:
Ground water scenario in India and artificial recharge need and planning
The increasing stress on ground water is causing alarm to the development planners all over and in
cities in particular which are primarily responsible for sorry state of affairs. The unplanned
construction activities and paving of areas is adding to the concerns among the planners about
sustainability of ground water resources and in turn economy of the country. Ground water being
hidden source needs to be developed with proper understanding of its occurrence in time and space.
The ground water management on scientific lines has become the need of the time for sustainability of
this vital resource. The ground water resource and its development potential in India is indicated in
the sheet enclosed.
The development of ground water needs to be supplemented by suitable rainwater harvesting and
artificial recharge to ground water measures to augment the ground water resources. The artificial
recharge in urban areas can be of high benefit as under :
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Improvement in infiltration and reduction in run-off
Improvement in groundwater levels and yields
Reduces strain on special village panchayats / municipal / municipal corporation water supply
Improvement in groundwater quality
Estimated quantity of additional recharge from 100 sqm roof top area is 55000 litres
The adoption of rainwater harvesting is being promoted by ministry through various platforms. The
sketch showing the rainwater harvesting well is also enclosed in this respect.
Renewal energy and its uses along with conservation aspects related to building environment
The energy is the pre requisite for developments in the country. The oil which is mainly imported
from other countries leads to tremendous strains on the treasury besides involving geopolitics of the
regions. On the other hand the oil prices keep on increasing and the oil reserves declining which are
throwing the challenging task to meet the energy requirements. The coal reserves are also declining
and country has no choice but to source the non-conventional methods of energy so as to keep the
pace of development going in the country. The anticipated shortage of primary sources of energy has
moved the authorities to bank upon the local resources of energy such as solar, wind, biomass etc. The
sun being available in plenty in India, the efforts are being made to harness the source of energy to the
maximum extent possible. The government and private sectors are fully engaged in development of
solar and wind energy.
The solar energy can be produced and used in domestic and industrial purposes such as heating of
waters, lighting, hotels, dairies etc. As the sun is not available throughout the day, efforts are being
made to develop thermal storage systems. The emphasis on solar energy is also a key factor in
containing emission of CO2 in urban areas which is a matter of great concern now a days because of
increasing global warming.
There is need to ensure demand side as well as supply side managements. The ecological foot print of
the country is governed by the available energy, food, land and travel. The organization such as
Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), The Energy and Research Institute (TERI), Indian Green
Building Council (IGBC) etc. are actively engaged in promoting renewal energy and conservation of
energy leading to green buildings and zero net energy buildings.
HVAC system and energy optimization in Buildings
About 40% of the total energy is consumed in residential complexes and 16% out of this is consumed
in HVAC system. Indian Society for Heating, Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Engineers
(ISHRAE) has outlined the important factors in order to effect energy conservation in buildings
without compromising on the comfort conditions. The orientation of buildings, materials, shading of
walls and windows, roof shading, pre-cooling of fresh air, use of day light etc. can result in saving of
energy to a great extent. Besides use of proper HVAC equipment is also a key factor in effecting
saving of energy. The VRV system of air-conditioning presently is being used for the purpose. In
addition the Government agencies are also encouraging and monitoring conservation of energy by
way of providing suitable ratings to the AC equipment. Market size of air-conditioning is
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Unitary system such as window, split and ductable units – 48%
Central plants – 52%
The comfort conditions are, now a days, specified between 23°C to 26°C to ensure energy
conservation.
B. S. Juneja
HOD (Power)
HOD (HRD)