Thiruvananthapuram:
It was a time when 'Going Green' had become a fashion, but no corporate body or government organisation would do anything to implement alternative sources of energy in their offices.
It was almost a year ago that the Trivandrum Tube Corporation, tucked away in a small by lane at Chalai, decided to go in for solar power.
In a bold initiative, the Trivandrum Tube Corporation set up solar panels right on top of their roof and started running their computer, five fans, ten tubelights and 10 CFL lamps on solar energy.
The solar power unit, which gave the power to run the whole lot of electrical equipment, even has an intelligent solar power management system. This intelligent system automatically switches over to the standby Kerala State Electricity Board line if the battery is drained of 70 per cent of the energy.
One year later, we at Express decided to check up on the electricity bills of Trivandrum Tube Corporation. A stark contrast was seen in the bills in May 2010 and May 2011. In May 2010, the electricity bills touched Rs 1,771, including the fixed charge of 300, as is applicable in any commercial establishment.
In May 2011, this came down to just Rs 506, including the fixed charge of Rs 300. "The maximum consumption that we now have is just about 10 or 15 units a months and this would come to a maximum of just Rs 200 per month,'' says Sreeram of Trivandrum Tube Corporation.
While the computer and fans run throughout the day, the lights are switched on from dusk. It was not just the rising electricity bills that prompted Trivandrum Tube Corporation to adopt alternative energy. "I have been reading all these articles on global warming, climate change and depleting energy resources and I wanted to do my bit,'' R S S Mony, proprietor of Trivandrum Tube Corporation, had then told Express.
The proprietors are satisfied with the solar unit that was installed by Shyam Kumar, who was fully supported by Megabyte Technologies, in the venture. So much so that they say that in a couple of years they would set up solar power units at their houses too.
''We only wish the state government would give some sort of a subsidy to Green initiatives. If this can be worked out, the solar power unit can become affordable to many. It is indeed a blessing,'' says Sreedhar of Trivandrum Tube Corporation.
It cost Trivandrum Tube Corporation Rs 2 lakh to switch over to solar energy, including the cost of the eight solar panels set up on the roof.
Now that the Trivandrum Tube Corporation has taken the lead and the results of the changeover is there for all to see, Shyamkumar, who helped them set up the venture, says that there is no reason why other establishments like Anert, Shastra Bhavan and even Technopark should not follow suit. "Even when I had set this up, I had not expected such an excellent result,'' says Shyam.
A happy Shyam and happy owners of Trivandrum Tube Corporation thanked the Green energy.