Solar Powered Schools for a Bright Future
A case study on how Solar Energy can be harnessed to enable digital education
We are on the brink of an industrial revolution. A smart, connected future opens up a world of opportunities for the next generation. However, we also face the possibility of a digital divide where large populations are left behind while the technologically-enabled world moves forward. A modern, digital education is essential to ensure that today’s children are ready for tomorrow’s world.
Unreliable power supply is a factor that greatly compromises the ability to deliver quality digital education. This is a story of how one school overcame this issue, harnessing the power of the sun to transform its students into future-ready citizens.
The Problem
The school faced the problem of extremely erratic power supply from the grid. There would be blackouts for hours on end. We faced this problem first-hand while working there- a night-long power cut put us at the mercy of insects and the searing Tamil Nadu summer heat!
The school aimed to provide modern education to rural students. To this effect, they set up a full-fledged computer lab. However, hamstrung by frequent power outages, they were unable to conduct computer lab sessions.
How They Tried to Solve it (And Why It Didn't Work!)
The school initially turned to a Diesel Genset to provide backup power during outages. But this came with a few flaws:
- The generator needed to be manually turned on. The operator would usually wait and watch for about ten minutes to see whether it was a long enough power cut to warrant turning on the generator. But this meant half the class would be over before the computers turned back on!
- As is common with most Diesel Gensets, the generator was oversized by a factor of 10. This meant that the generators rated power output was ten times the school’s energy requirement! This meant that it consumed far more diesel than necessary.
- Generators guzzle diesel. And the nearest fuel station was miles away- this made it difficult to ensure constant fuel supply for operation.
- With many moving parts, generators require constant maintenance and servicing for wear and tear. Finding reliable service technicians in this remote location proved difficult.
Over time, it became extremely cumbersome (and expensive!) to operate the generator on a daily basis. The school began to use the generator only very occasionally- on festival days or when dignitaries visited. Eventually, the generator ended up as a White Elephant- consuming time, effort and resources for very little utility.
Our Solution
To avoid going the way of the Diesel Generator, any solution we provided would have to be optimally sized, low maintenance, and capable of operating automatically. A solar-plus-storage system seemed ideal.
With few moving parts, Solar plants are easy to maintain and seldom fail. Because they produce energy from an abundant, universal source, frantic trips to the fuel station would now be a thing of the past.
After an exhaustive study of the load pattern and requirement, a 5kW system capable of providing backup for 24 hours without power or sunlight, seemed ideal. A German inverter, capable of smooth and instantaneous transition to battery backup, served as the nerve centre of the system. When children are around, one can never be too safe. Each component of the system was earthed, and fuses and surge protection devices for every electrical sub-system were installed. The whole system was up and running in just under two days.
Today, the school operates as a microgrid, nearly autonomous from the central power supply, on clean, renewable energy generated at source.
Decentralised, distributed power generation solves a number of issues of conventional power generation and transmission. We believe in, and work towards a future of smart, self-sustaining, clean and inter-connected microgrids.
Microgrids that can power schools, and empower futures!
