Paint the town white!

Summers are getting hotter. Air Conditioners are expensive. So are energy bills - which makes ACs un-affordable for many. Painting the roof white is a low cost solution to beat the heat relatively. This is for rooms and spaces where the roof is exposed to direct Sun light. A little bit of tech gyan first. Heat and light from the Sun travel together. A body is black in color because it absorbs all light falling on it. Hence it absorbs all heat too. A white body on the other hand reflects all light (and so heat) falling on it. In simple words, white is coolest, black is hottest. A dark concrete roof absorbs and transmits a lot of heat during daytime and also radiates during the evening. On the other hand a reflective surface like white painted roof reflects away the light and heat and is often several degrees cooler. Indoors can become 10-15 degrees (Celsius) cooler after being coated with white paint. The hot oven-like feeling on entering rooms during afternoon and evening can be eliminated using this technique. For buildings having air conditioning, energy bills will reduce as it takes lesser energy(also less power plants, less CO2) to cool a cooler room than a hot one. 

White roofs can also help reduce global warming too. According to a research by Department of Energy, USA, white roofs not only reduce air conditioning loads of a building but also help reflect back the solar irradiation back to space. Darker surfaces on the other hand absorb the heat during Sun shine, and radiate it afterwards making cities and the surroundings hot. This is urban heat island effect. These radiations being in different wavelength than the ones incident are not rejected back to space. Studies suggest that if roofs of all buildings in the whole world are painted white, global warming can be reverted. Yes, lower energy bills, a comfortable interior & also saves the environment.

The options:

White paints come in different forms. Traditionally limestone(choona) mixed with adhesive is available commercially in India. Lime is cheap and easy to apply. Other alternative is white cement paint, which is affordable and also is slightly better in resisting rains than lime. Do note that these two paints have to re-coated every year. Another alternative is elastomeric paints. Some Indian brands like ICI Dulux and Berger Paints sell it. These paints form a rubber like stretchable membrane on the surface and are highly resistive to rains. It can last 3-5 years. The downside is that it costs a lot, generally 20 rupees per square feet area. In contrast, lime and cement paint come at around just 1-2 rupees per sqft including labor charges.  

A permanent but expensive alternative is white ceramic tiles. They come at 50-60 rupees per sqft at the least. They can last a lifetime and are much easier to clean, and your terrace looks beautiful too. The roof can be water proof too if grouted properly. It provides an all year cooling as paints are usually washed after rains, and in our tropical climate, we often need air conditioning for more than 6 months in the year. Any white surface (both paints and tiles) provide a longer life to the roof, as expansion and contraction due to heat is greatly reduced. Crack formations are minimized too. Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) values on commercial products are a good way to compare - higher the better. For tiles, vitrified variety is better suited to outdoors due to lower water absorption capacity. 

White is the new green. Cars too in white color save fuel as compared to black ones. Yes your walls and everything exposed to Sun is better off in white. We do white cement paint every year and it is a big relief in this sultry Odisha heat. We have temperatures touching 45 degrees Celsius every summer. White paint works beautifully here. Let us know if you have done it, your experience or any questions if you have - we will be happy to answer them. So cool interiors, climate change arrest, longer roof life – when are you going white?

Electric buses - ideal for our cities

BYD K9 electric bus in London

The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation has recently started trial runs of Electric Buses for its vast public transportation network. Electric Buses are slowly gaining acceptance and have been adopted in few cities around the world. The most popular of these buses is the E9 – manufactured by BYD – a popular Hong Kong based battery and automobile company. Electric buses are commercially in use at various places in China. They are in trial at Utah, Chile, London, South Korea.

The batteries that BYD uses are Lithium Iron Phosphate, developed in-house. These give a range of 250km per charge, which is quite respectable for a day’s intra-city route. They can be charged in 6 hours at normal rate and 3 hours for a quick charge. Ideally electric city buses can be fully charged overnight or given short bursts of high speed charging during terminal stops. Another possibility is wireless induction charging. Read more about that here. It consumes 100 kWh in an hour and that translates to just Rs.4 per km, as compared to Rs.20 per km in diesel buses. The battery is expected to last 6000 recharging cycles or 1.5 million kms, thereby capable of saving nearly a crore of rupees before a battery swap. This is considering the fact that there are hardly any maintenance costs in electric vehicles. Unlike petroleum operated vehicles, they do not have filters, oil changes, turbochargers, etc. These expenses are a lot in heavy vehicles like buses, and the time taken to service also accounts for revenue loss. In fact there is only one moving part in the electric motor.   

Electric buses are an ideal choice for cities with dense traffic and otherwise too. They are very silent. A V8 roar may be appreciable in a sports car, but an old bus noisily accelerating and blowing soot on your face is never charming.  Apart from that, electric buses have regenerative braking. This is a technology that helps vehicles recover the kinetic energy of motion that is otherwise lost during braking. What happens is when the foot is left off the accelerator, the motor acts in reverse as a generator using the motion to top up the excess energy into the batteries. This also reduces the need of brakes in predictable situations (Bus routes = more predictable), thereby elongating the life of brake pads and shoes by a huge margin. This technique is very useful in stop-start situations which are very high in dense city traffic. Going downhill, a Mahindra Reva e2o (an electric car from India) has been able to recover 20% more range on the return journey on a particular trip to hilly region.  

Then there is the usual electric advantage of not wasting fuel at traffic stops – they use energy when the accelerator is pressed. Hence there is no wastage of energy like internal combustion engines which have to kept on during idling and consume fuel in that process. This is particularly beneficial in dense cities and typically for buses as they stop for loading and unloading of people. This frequent dis-acceleration also helps in regenerative braking. Also electric motors produce 100% torque at 0 rpm. This high torque nature is more suited to heavy vehicles like buses and trucks.

With rising costs of polluting petroleum, the operating cost difference will widen further for sure. Electric buses at present scenario are able to recover the initial investment fast too. A proper charging infrastructure is highly necessary. The grid needs to get greener. Dirty coal needs to be replaced with renewable sources like hydro, solar and wind energies. Karnataka produces a fair share of green electricity. These low floored, air conditioned electric buses will go head-on with the red Volvo city buses and are expected to be even more comfortable than them. They will also make the Bangalore air more breathable. We hope this model is a success and it is replicated in more cities throughout the country.

Why India needs economical and green two seater cars

Office hour traffic in India

How often is this nazara real – office hour, four doors and one person? This and innumerable motorcycles make up the city roads traffic scene in our country, apart from buses. This division between the two is primarily because of fuel economy – 15:60. This predominates the upfront cost difference too. The need of the hour is something in between a car and a two wheeler; in terms of fuel economy, cost and size. Two seater cars have never worked in India, but there seems to be a case for this now; more so because the population of both human beings and automobiles is rapidly increasing. Infrastructure issues are plaguing the country. Urban Indian life demands the need of a single person vehicle that protects one from the pollution, harsh weather conditions or simply from overcrowded uncomfortable public transportation.

Toyota iQ - a two seater compact car

A compact two seater the size of the Toyota iQ or the Smart Fortwo would be ideal for India. Parking woes have become a daily routine in urban places and are ever increasing. Worldwide, compact two seater cars in the affordable segment have worked in select places like a few European nations. But these cars are not really cheap there. Why are they expensive? Simply because they were never made for the Indian market. What needs to be done here is frugal Indian engineering. Something around 3 metre length, a fuel efficiency of at least 30 kmpl, 2 seats with a little shopping bag storage area, and basic modern amenities like air conditioning and power steering cannot be missed. In short, it has to be a proper car because ours is a country that sees cars as status symbols.  Such cars can be electric as this will be the everyday office car and so range wouldn’t be much of an issue. The Mahindra Reva e2o did make a good case but it still is expensive. It makes sense for it to be an hybrid at least as most of the commute in this would be done in stop and go traffic. Hybrids and electrics with regenerate braking capture the lost power during braking and slowing down. An automatic transmission is a highly necessary option for our busy roads, and it is very much preferred by women – a big potential market for a car like this. 

Renault Twizy - an urban electric vehicle

An interesting alternative to self transportation is the Renault Twizy. It is a two seater electric vehicle, has 4 wheels and a steering, but is neither a car nor a motorcycle. It has an average range of 100km per charge. There are a few models, base model starting at GB£6,990 and top speed of 45 – 80 kmph depending on model. This right now is an expensive proposition for India, but this green transportation concept is interesting for our roads. 

In Japan, such vehicles are categorized as ‘Kei car’ and in Europe and other places as ‘Quadricycles’. The Indian Govt. has recently announced that Quadricycles will be categorized here. The Bajaj RE 60, an improved 4 wheeled auto rickshaw could be the first to enter this space. The petroleum powered four door car has been in the world for more than a century now, it is definitely time for a change.

Wireless Charging

Wireless charging is the next big thing. Not only is it going to replace clumsy wired cables but it is going to unveil a whole new world of possibilities. Before we get into that, a little bit of tech gyan on how it works. Wireless charging or technically inductive charging is similar in principle to a transformer. The primary coil is in the base unit that creates an alternating electromagnetic field and the secondary winding in the portable device receives the flux and converts it back to alternating current to recharge the battery.

Continuous in-road wireless charging

One of the biggest possibilities of inductive charging is in-road wireless charging. This is similar to the power supply to trains and trams minus the overhead cables and clumsy pantographs. Primary cables are laid inside the road surface to which electricity is supplied and receivers are placed underneath electric vehicles which acts as secondary coil. This non-contact method can be used for charging as well as providing a continuous electrical power supply to vehicles where plugging-in is not convenient or possible. This is weather proof and safer also as no electrical points are exposed.

Wireless Mobile Charger

Charging an electric car takes a long time and requires expensive and bulky batteries for long ranges. A very practical application of in-road induction charging would be to lay cables throughout the lengths of highways where electric/hybrid vehicles can ply over the entire length without the need of big and expensive batteries. This is particularly very suitable for electric/hybrid buses and trucks which travel long distances on a fixed route. When used by electric cars, it can help eliminate range anxiety – one of the biggest hindrances in the popularity of electric cars. If this is coupled with green electricity, then zero carbon transportation is possible.Static chargers can be helpful at homes, parking lots or under bus stops for quick top-up.

There are a couple of challenges to be met before this technology can be put to use. First, the efficiency is lower than conductive chargers though 90% efficient wireless chargers have been developed at Utah State University. Secondly, electromagnetic interference with patients wearing pacemakers is a concern. Qualcomm Halo, a leading wireless charging developer believes there needs to be an universal set of regulations and limits to address this. Also the modes of payment by user needs to be figured out. So far, the pros of this technology does sound very tempting. The fact that stationary wireless chargers for mobile phones and electric cars are available commercially is promising enough that the day of in-road wireless chargers is not far away.

Inverter Air Conditioners

Hot sultry summers and high electricity bills due to air conditioners are synonymous to each other. Air Conditioners are no longer a luxury in our twin cities. It is a necessity today, courtesy - global warming. It is one of the biggest consumers of electricity in homes and offices. The in thing in room air conditioners’ efficiency now is Inverter ACs which promise to save around 20-30% on running costs than similar 5 star rated(by Bureau of Energy Efficiency-BEE) ones too.
In traditional air conditioners, the compressor operates on cycles of on (maximum capacity) and off. In inverter driven ones, the compressor motor’s speed is varied according to the cooling demand using a variable frequency drive. This eliminates on-off cycles and hence increases efficiency and life of components. Uniform temperature is maintained as the compressor operates continuously on lower speeds as per demand. This results in a more comfortable evenly cooled room as there is no sharp rise and fall in temperatures like traditional air conditioners. Sharp fluctuations in the electrical grid are also prevented. Outdoor units are also quieter in comparison. Another advantage is that inverter ACs can operate at over capacity, that is a 1.5 ton AC can run at 1.75 ton when required. Typically they operate at higher capacity in the beginning to achieve cooling faster and then the speed is reduced to fractions of the rated capacity when the required temperature is reached.

How it works

In the variable frequency drive, first the alternating current is rectified to Direct Current which is then pulse-width modulated in an inverter to produce alternating current of required frequency. This drives an induction motor or a brushless motor, and the speed of compressors is varied proportionally to the frequency of the alternating current.

A DC inverter Air conditioner usually costs more than normal ones. The savings in running and maintenance bring the payback period of the initial extra cost to less than two years depending on usage. The technology is robust too – all air conditioners in Japan are inverter driven being a testament to it. Next time you go shopping for ACs, look for 5 stars and ‘variable speed compressor’ ticked on the BEE labels. You will save electricity and hence the environment too.

Mahindra Reva e2o

The much awaited Mahindra e2o is finally here with a price tag of Rs.5.96 lakhs on road, Delhi. Is it worth it? Has the holy grail of environment friendly transportation being finally unlocked? Lets find out.

It is the predecessor to the little cute Reva which had been the brainchild of a savvy entrepreneur named Chetan Maini. Maini holds a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan where he extensively studied on solar electric vehicles, and a Master's in Mechanical Engineering  from Stanford University where he focused on hybrid electric vehicles. He has over two decades of experience in the development of solar, hybrid and electric vehicles in the U.S. and India. For more than a decade, he produced the green Reva electric car in Bangalore and even exported it to many countries, including the United Kingdom. This model was crude, used generation old lead batteries, questionable safety and had limited range and performance. This soon became a critics’ favorite to bash though tree huggers had a soft corner for it. Circa 2010, tides changed for Reva when Chetan Maini shook hands with Anand Mahindra. With new ownership came much needed funds, automobile expertise and the UV specialist’s countrywide dealership and service network of the Indian Conglomerate.

The e2o is the first fruit of this association. It is miles ahead of its ancestor. It is a proper four seater, though still two doors. It measures 3280 mm x 1514 mm x 1560 mm, similar in size to most small B segment hatchbacks.
Manufactured in a state of the art facility in Bangalore,the factory itself is green. Optimum use of daylight, wind channeling, LED lights, rain water harvesting and solar power ensure a eco sensitive manufacturing process. In fact, the first charge in your e2o will be done by solar power. Carved by ace automobile designer Dilip Chhabria, this looks much mature than the old one. The design is a bit unusual, two doors and swooping high rear windows are new. Projector headlamps and LED rear lights look uber cool. LED lights save power, last much longer and are safer as brake lights as they lit up instantly and can thus prevent high speed collisions. Good space management ensures easy ingress and outgress. The interiors are comfortable for four adults. The boot is tiny. The e2o is well built having high tensile steel frame structure, crumple zones and impact beams like any other car. The body is made of specially made ABS panel s which are scratch and dent resistant(upto 15kmph impacts). The color is impregnated into the panels and are not painted, hence scratches can be polished off with a simple buff. ABS panels save precious weight but may raise eyebrows of skeptics in terms of strength.

The biggest change is the move from lead acid batteries to lithium ones. Lithium batteries similar to ones used in mobile phones, laptops and popular electric cars like Tesla, Nissan Leaf etc, are definitely in vogue as they offer better energy density, lighter weight and much higher life. The range is now upped to 100 km. Full charge takes 5 hours(10 units of electricity) and each hour of charging gives 20 km on a 220 V 15 amp socket. No news of quick charging methods now, though one can keep their fingers crossed. In case you run out of charge, there is a reserve power which can be activated via apps on your smartphone that will unlock an emergency range of 8 kms. Regenerative Braking aids to the range a little by ensuring the otherwise wasted energy during braking is recaptured. Specifications of the 19 kW 3 phase induction motor is a little meager as it produces just 25.5 bhp power and 53 Nm of torque from 0 - 3400 rpm. But the light mass (830kgs) and availability of 100% torque from 0 rpm(like all electric cars) makes things a little better. The low centre of gravity due to battery mass lying on the front seats makes it stable. Fully automatic transmission, low rolling resistant tires and a low turning radius of 3.9m makes this a very easy to drive car. Mahindra claims the lack of power steering won’t be felt as there is no heavy engine in the front.

This car is loaded with tech. In fact , the tech itself can be a deal maker for some. Stepping in, one is welcomed by a conventional dashboard layout with an unconventional first in class 6.2 inches touch screen LCD. Apart from playing virtually all types of media, it has a fully loaded navigation system covers over 1.5 million kilometers of road across 1200 cities. You get access to over 5 million points of interest including restaurants, ATMs and , Charging stations and Mahindra service centers. Using the apps you can interact with the car at all times and virtually from everywhere. The car has a SIM card and by that it is always connected to Mahindra’s server. Hence using your smartphone, you can remotely switch on the AC - A novel way to save you from intense heat when your car is parked in the sun. The HVAC system can be scheduled as needed. The onboard computers process the Distance To Empty (DTE) data along with the GPS Navigation data to provide you with the amount of remaining charge in your car and how far you can travel. This intelligent feature allows you to plan every trip, on the go. Using the app, you can also lock/unlock the car, turn on/off charging, schedule your service, locate servicing centers, find the nearest charging stations, receive notification and access the help menu for any assistance. There is a Driver Information System (DIS) that feeds you vital information about the car. It can display your service interval, your daily driving efficiency score and troubleshooting videos. ICE (In-Car Entertainment) is up to the brim with 4 JBL speakers and 2 tweeters. Bluetooth is also offered.

To sum up, this does make a case for the 2nd car in house and primary everyday office go-er. But Rs.5.96 lakhs comes with a big catch - it is after subsidies that the Delhi state govt is giving. Rest of the country it costs more than 7 lakhs in its home market(Bangalore) and this is not exactly cheap. On the other side, 50 paise per km running cost is drool worthy. Added to it are negligible maintenance costs as electric cars have no engine, clutch, carburetor, belts, filters, radiators and hence there is hardly any topping up of fluids which means lesser chances of inefficiency, lower costs and a greener planet. Just a yearly check up at your premises promises Mahindra.  Like all other electric cars, this doesn't use power being stuck in traffic apart from the nominal consumption of air conditioner and music system, so you can stay cool without the guilt of idling. The battery would cost Rs.1.5 lakhs and Mahindra says it would last around 5 years on normal usage. That is a big recurring cost but one can save around 85000 rupees per year in comparison to a petrol car. But how green it really would be being run on our primarily dirty coal electricity grid. One can argue that cities would get cleaner and pollutants are better controlled in a power plant while electric car critics question it and the recyclability of lithium batteries. Mahindra hence offers solar panels which can setup by them at your home or office and you can get free and zero carbon charging. That option again comes with another 1.5 lakhs bucks. Electric cars are undoubtedly the future, but there is a lot to be done for that. Greening the grid would be a start. Increased investment in solar and wind power solutions is definitely a promising sign. Development in battery technology is the biggest challenge. Researchers are trying to make batteries that can give a range of 500-1000 km to electric cars and that would be the holy grail. As per the E2O, if only you get the subsidies, this makes sense if you need an easy to maneuver, automatic, green, low running cost and most importantly doesn't consume power when being stuck in traffic,solution to go to office everyday in heavy traffic.

Green Indian Wedding

The Indian wedding industry is pegged at an astronomical US$ 25 billion. The elaborate series of affairs in an Indian wedding makes it have one of the highest carbon footprints weddings in the world. According to a recent survey, young India is very much interested in environment friendly weddings. This can be done in a few simple ways.

Invitation
Traditional paper cards means cutting of trees. A new trend is recycled paper cards ,but the greenest form of invitation electronic invites in form of emails,text messages which are fast, ultra economical and transportation fuel is also saved.

Time and Venue
Winter weddings in India are a lot greener than other seasons as air conditioning energy can be saved. Naturally vented places like open gardens instead of closed halls are definitely a greener bet. Having the wedding on a holiday prevents congestion of traffic and hence saves fuel.

Flowers
The greenest way here is to use potted plants. Going for locally produced flowers is better than imported ones which have too much transportation CO2 attached to them. Organic flowers are softer on the environment. Plastic flowers are slightly greener than natural ones due to the fact that they can be reused.

Lighting
If daylight can be used,there is nothing like it. LEDs are the most eco way of artificial lighting. Alternatively florescent lamps can also be used. Incandescent bulbs are to be strictly avoided. Strategically placing lights is important so as to have proper and efficient lighting.

Power
Using more Solar or any renewable power, grid power to reducing diesel gensets requires proper planning and calculation.

Food
Food is the biggest source of carbon in an Indian wedding - wastage being the primary reason. Careful planning of appropriate quantity is essential to minimize wastage. Plan should be previously made to distribute leftover food among the poor or to waste to energy plants. The menu should be so designed that most food items should not get spoiled quickly. Locally sourced and organically grown food is a good way to lower the carbon footprint. Menu should have a fair share of fruits and salads that do not require cooking. Coconut water instead of packaged drinks is a environmentally beneficial option. Burning wood should be avoided. LPG and electric cooking are more efficient. Earthen plates and leaf plates are a green choice. They decompose when buried in earth and since they are not reusable, washing water is conserved. Thermocol plates are to be avoided. Melamine or ceramic crockery is also moderately green as they can reused many times.

Clothing
Organic clothes are green and in vogue. Care should be taken to go for such a wedding dress that can be re-worn later. Mehndi should be organic and so should sandalwood, sindoor etc.

Wood
Minimizing the amount of wood used in puja can reduce cutting of trees.

Baraat
Minimizing the use of diesel gensets in the processions is essential. Energy efficient lights like LED and florescent lamps should be used. Speakers and amplifiers are to be properly measured and used as per requirement. Fireworks are best avoided. An idea uncommon in India to use hybrid or electric cars in the baraat and they consume very less amount of energy in stop go situations. Otherwise fuel efficient cars should be used. Going traditional with horses or palanquins can save fuel. A new trend set up by an Ollywood actor is using cycle rickshaws instead of cars.

Offset
If greening up is not so possible, one can invest in carbon credits or green projects in order to offset the carbon hence emitted.

Going minimalistic
Slimming down the Big Fat Indian wedding is an option most Indians will not appreciate but it is the greenest form of weddings. Reducing the number of parties, guests or all together eliminating elaborate customs is not only green, but also saves valuable man hours and unpleasant expenses. An average Indian wedding costs 19 lakhs rupees, an amount of money that can very well be put to better use. One way is to take the legal way of marriage. Alternatively adopting minimalistic customs like Arya Samaj in Hindu customs can reduce amount of wood burnt. Going minimalistic is a far fetched thought for the time being as Indian weddings are all about pomp and show. Sadly Indians have to evolve more for adopting this idea. Young India has to stand up so that ills of Indian society like dowry or female foeticide can be eliminated, and yes also get the blessing of Mother Earth.