Categories
Solar Energy

सौर ऊर्जा आणि आपण – २

भाग २ – घरगुती वापराची वीज

Part 2 – Electicity for Household Use

घरात आपण वापरतो ती वीज आपल्याला वीजमंडळाच्या वीजजाळ्यातून (इलेक्ट्रिक ग्रीडमधून ) मिळते.

The electric energy that we use in our households is available to us from the electric grid of the supply company.


वीजजोडणी १ किंवा ३ फेज ची असते, साध्या वापरासाठी १ फेजचा वीजपुरवठा पुरेसा होतो, परंतु जास्त वापर करणारी उपकरणे जसे की मोठ्या क्षमतेचे पंप , यंत्रसामग्री इत्यादी साठी ३ फेज पुरवठा सोयीचा होतो .

The electric connection is either 1 phase or 3 phase, for small scale household usage single phase connection is adequate, but for large sized pumps and equipment a 3 phase supply is better and recommended.


आपण वापरतो त्या विजेचे बिल आपल्या वापराच्या युनिट नुसार वीजमंडळ दरमहा आपल्याला देते आणि त्याचा भरणा वेळेवर न केल्यास आपली विजेची जोडणी खंडीत करण्याचे अधिकार वीजमंडळास असतात.

The monthly electric bill is generated based on the units of electricity that we use, if not paid within stipulated time, the electric supply company can disconnect the electric supply to the consumer.


वीजवापर मोजण्यासाठी एक मीटर बसविलेला असतो आणि त्यावर आपल्या विजेच्या वापराची संख्या के-डब्ल्यू-एच (KWH) (सर्वसामान्यपणे युनिट असे म्हटले जाते) मध्ये सतत दाखविली जाते.

To measure the consumption of the electricity, an energy meter is installed at the premise of the consumer. On the display of this meter, the accumulated consumption of electricity is continiously displayed in KWH units.


आपल्या माहितीकरिता आणि कुतूहल म्हणून आपण आपल्या मीटर वर सतत दाखवल्या जाणाऱ्या आकड्यांचा परिचय करून घेतलेला बरा.

It is a good thing to know the location and details on the display of our own energy meter.


वेगवेगळ्या कंपन्यांचे मीटर थोड्या फार फरकाने विविध प्रकारची माहिती स्क्रीनवर एकामागून एक दाखवत राहतात – दिनांक, वेळ, आतापर्यंत झालेल्या वीजवापराची युनिटे अर्थात के-डब्ल्यू-एच (KWH)

Energy meters from various companies, with small differenece here and there, keep scrolling the information on the display – typically date, time, accumulated energy units KWH used so far till any given point of time.

आता थोडेसे विजेच्या परिमाणा-विषयी (युनिट)

Now let us understand the unit of electricity consumed

सर्व प्रकारच्या ऊर्जेचे परीमाण वॅट हे असते आणि किती वॅट ऊर्जा किती वेळासाठी वापरली ह्याचे परीमाण के-डब्ल्यू-एच (KWH) असे आहे.

All types of energies (rather power or the rate of consumption of energy) is Watt, and how much energy used for how long is often expressed as KWH units.

तर अश्या प्रकारचे १ युनिट म्हणजे नक्की किती ऊर्जा?

So how much really is a 1 KWH?

तर १०० वॅट चा एक दिवा १० तास सुरु ठेवला तर १ युनिट वीज वापरली जाते.

If we operate a 100 watt light bulb for 10 hours, it is 1000 Watt Hour or 1KWH.

किंवा १००० वॅट (१ किलोवॅट) ची इस्त्री १५ मिनिटे (एक चतुर्थांश तास) वापरली तर ०.२५ युनिट वीज वापरली जाते.

If we use an electric iron of 1000 watt capacity, for 15 minutes, then it is 1000×15/60 = 0.25 KWH units.

किंवा २००० वॅट चा पाणी तापवायचा रॉड हीटर अर्धा तास वापरला तर १ युनिट वीज वापरली जाते.

An electric rod type immersion water heater of 2000 watt if used for half an hour then 2000×0.5=1000 Watt Hour or 1 KWH units are consumed.

ह्या पद्धतीने आपण आपल्या घरातल्या विविध उपकरणांचा जितका वेळ वापर केला जातो त्यावरून विजेच्या युनिटांचा अंदाज किंवा गणित करू शकतो.

Going by this simple calculation we can determine the approximate consumption of electricity in our home on a daily or monthly basis.

वीजवापरासाठी वीजमंडळ वेगवेगळे आकार (चार्जेस) लागू करते ,जसेकी….

Electricity company charges various rates under different heads of charges as below.


स्थिर आकार – कितीही कमी अथवा जास्त वीज वापरली तरी ही ठरावीक रक्कम दरमहा बिलामध्ये घेतली जाते, सिंगल फेज साठी सध्याचा स्थिर आकार ८० ते ११० रुपये आहे.

Fixed Charges – No matter how much electricity the consumer uses in a month, this charge will always be applied in every bill. As of now this is 80 to 110 INR per month for a single phase connection.


वीज आकार – हा आकार मुख्यत्वे वीज वापरासाठीच आहे
Electricity Charges – This is the charge directly applicable for the units of electricity consumed.

वहन आकार – मंडळाच्या वीजवाहिन्यांचे जाळे वापरून आपल्याला वीज मिळते, त्यापोटी द्यावा लागणार आकार
Wheeling or Transmission Charges – This is in a way the charges for providing electricity at a location away from the point of generation, basically the transmission related charge/cost.

इंधन समायोजन आकार – इंधनाचे दर कमी किंवा जास्त होतात त्यानुसार हा आकार लावला जातो

Fuel adjustment charges – This is levied due to changes in the cost of fuel that goes into generating the electricity in the power plants.

वीज शुल्क – वीजवापराचे शुल्क

Energy Charges – Similar to electricity charges, but just a different charge head.

वीज विक्री कर – वीजविक्री करताना लावावयाचा कर
Electricity Tax on Sale – Tax as a part of electricity sales by the supply company to the consumer.

ह्यातील स्थिर आकार वगळता इतर सर्व आकार वीजवापराच्या युनिट वर अवलंबून असतात, अर्थातच जितकी युनिट जास्त वापरली जातील तितके हे सर्व आकार त्या प्रमाणात लागू होणार.

Out of the various types of charges, all charges except Fixed charges are directly proportional to the units of electricity consumed. In a way these are all variable charges and will be higher in propotion to the units consumed.


त्यातही युनिटच्या पायरीपद्धतीने दर-आकारणी केली जाते ०-१०० युनिट ३ रुपये प्रति युनिट, त्यापुढील युनिट ला १०१ -३०० युनिट मध्ये गेल्यास ६ रुपये प्रति युनिट असे चढे दर लागू होतात.

Variable charges are mostly grouped in increasing slabs of consuption, e.g. 0-100 units 3 INR per unit, 101 to 300 units are charged at 6 INR per unit.


आणि ही दर आकारणी ग्राहकाच्या टॅरीफ (वीजदरतक्ता ) नुसार बदलते, साधारणपणे MSEDCL च्या सर्वसाधारण वीज ग्राहकाला 090 /LT-I (B) Residential 1Ph हा टॅरीफ लागू असतो, परंतु असे अनेक टॅरीफ नेमून दिलेले आहेत आणि त्या त्या प्रमाणे दर आकारणी केली जाते.

This actual rates of various charges are also dependent on the tariff category assigned to the consumer. As an example, for the standard residential consumer, MSEDCL in Maharashtra applies a tariff – 090 /LT-I (B) Residential 1Ph

Categories
Solar Energy

सौर ऊर्जा आणि आपण – १

उर्जाक्षेत्राशी प्रत्यक्ष संबंध नसलेल्या जिज्ञासू नागरिकांना सौर ऊर्जा प्रत्यक्ष कशी वापरायला सुरुवात करता येईल ह्याबद्दल माहिती देणे हे या लेखमालेचे प्रयोजन आहे.

अभिप्राय आणि/किंवा प्रश्न अवश्य लिहावे.

भाग १: सौर ऊर्जेची प्राथमिक माहिती

आपल्याला सौर ऊर्जा प्रामुख्याने दोन तऱ्हेने मिळते, प्रकाश आणि उष्णता.

यापैकी उष्णतेचा उपयोग घरगुती प्रमाणावर पाणी तापवणे किंवा पदार्थ वाळवणे यासाठी केला जातो, तर मोठ्या प्रमाणात किंवा औद्योगिक स्तरावर सूर्याच्या उष्णतेपासून वाफ निर्माण करून त्यावर जनित्रे (टर्बाईन) चालवून वीजनिर्मिती करतात.

सूर्य प्रकाशाचा उपयोग थेट प्रकाश म्हणून तर होतोच, परंतु सूर्यास्तानंतर प्रकाश / ऊर्जा मिळवता यावी यासाठी विशेष योजना करावी लागते.

आपल्या घरात, कचेऱ्यांमध्ये, शेतीमध्ये किंवा कारखान्यांमध्ये विजेचा विवीध प्रकारे करता येऊ शकणारा वापर आणि त्यामुळेच निर्माण झालेले विजेचे महत्व काही वेगळे सांगायची गरज नाही.

वीज किंवा विद्युत-ऊर्जा अनेक मार्गांनी आपल्याला वापरायला सोयीची ठरते, त्यामुळे गेली कित्येक दशके पारंपारिक पद्धती वापरून वीजनिर्मिती सुरु आहे, आणि ह्या पृथ्वीवर विजेचा वापर यथेच्छ सुरु आहे.


पारंपारिक पद्धतींमध्ये कोळसा किंवा जीवाश्म इंधने (पेट्रोलियमजन्य ज्वलनशील पदार्थ) वापरून वीजनिर्मिती केली जाते आणि त्यातून निर्माण होतात – प्रदूषणकारी वायू आणि वातावरणातील प्रतिकूल बदल.

प्रदूषणाला आळा घालण्यासाठी आणि दुसऱ्या बाजूला इंधनांचे संपत चाललेले साठे व त्या अनुषंगाने वाढत चाललेल्या किंमती यावर उतारा म्हणून सौरऊर्जेचा सशक्त पर्याय पुढे येत आहे.

सूर्यप्रकाशापासून थेट वीज निर्माण करू शकणारी सौरविद्युत पॅनेल्स गेल्या बऱ्याच वर्षांपासून उपलब्ध आहेतच आणि निर्मितीप्रक्रीयेतील संशोधन व सुधारणांमुळे पॅनेलच्या किंमती मोठ्या प्रमाणावर कमी होऊन स्थिरावल्या आहेत.

आपल्या घरात वीजमंडळाने पुरविलेल्या विजेला सोलर पॅनल वापरून निर्माण केलेली वीज पर्याय ठरू शकते आणि अश्या प्रकारे सोलर पॅनेल्स बसवून आपले विजेचे बिल देखील कमी करता येऊ शकते.


ह्यासाठी सर्वसाधारणपणे तीन प्रकार उपलब्ध आहेत.

१. बॅटरीचा वापर करून
२. वीजजोडणीचा वापर करून
३. सौरविजेचा थेट वापर

आपण याबद्दलची माहीती क्रमशः घेऊया…….

The purpose of this set of articles is to provide information about how to start using solar energy, to the curious citizens who are not directly related to the energy sector.

Feedback and / or questions are anticipated.

Part 1: Basic information on solar energy

We get solar energy in two main ways, light and heat.

Most of the heat part is used for domestic water heating or drying, while on a larger / industrial scale, electricity is produced by generating steam from the heat of the sun and running turbines.

Sunlight is used as direct light, but special arrangements have to be made to be able to use the energy after sunset.

Needless to say, the ease of use of electricity in our homes, offices, farms or factories and hence the importance of electricity is already very well established.

Electricity or power-energy is convenient for us to use in many ways, so since last several decades electricity is being generated using traditional methods, and there is large scale consumption of electricity common across all countries in the world.

Traditional methods generate electricity using coal or fossil fuels (petroleum based substances) and it leads to release of polluting gases and also results in adverse impact on our climate.

A strong alternative of solar energy is emerging, to curb pollution and, on the other hand, to tackle the depleting fossil fuel reserves and their rising prices.

Solar panels that can generate electricity directly from sunlight have been available for many years, and research and improvements in the manufacturing process has led to a significant reduction in panel prices. As of now the prices are fairly stabilized.

Electricity generated using solar panels can be an alternative to the electricity supplied to our home by the power board and thus installing solar panels can also reduce electricity bills.

There are generally three types of systems available for using solar energy for electricity.

1. Battery based systems

2. Grid connected systems

3. Direct use of solar electricity

We will look at these options in subsequent articles…..

Categories
Coronicles OutOfTopic

Pulse oximeter

An informative video explains about importance of oxygen level in blood as a percentage of saturation level.

Recommended oxygen level is 94+ percent. And rather than instantaneous value the trend over a few days would be more indicative of any cause of concern.

Video duration 10+ minutes.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=925062557955697&id=1725157181127

थोडक्यात महत्वाचे
कोरोना झालेल्या बऱ्याच पेशंटचे रक्तातले ऑक्सीजनचे प्रमाण सातत्याने कमी होत राहते आणि श्वास घ्यायला मात्र त्रास होत नाही

साध्या न्यूमोनियामध्ये श्वास घ्यायला लवकर त्रास सुरू होतो, त्यामुळे पेशंट लगेचच आपणहून डॉक्टरकडे जातो.

कोरोना मध्ये मात्र अशी काहीही लक्षणे न दिसता ऑक्‍सिजनचे प्रमाण कमी कमी होत राहते, म्हणूनच बऱ्याच केसेस मध्ये अचानक इमर्जन्सी उद्भवू शकते

यावर आपण घरच्या घरी करू शकू असा उपाय म्हणजे – साधे पल्स ऑक्सीमीटर हे यंत्र वापरून आपल्या रक्तातली ऑक्सिजनची पातळी मोजत राहणे

आता आपल्याकडे दोन पर्याय आहेत
एकतर रीतसर ऑक्सीमीटर इन्स्ट्रुमेंट घेऊन येणे किंवा काही निवडक फोन मॉडेल साठी फक्त एक ॲप इन्स्टॉल करून फोनचा कॅमेरा आणि/ किंवा एलईडी सेन्सर वापरून थोडी कमी अचुकता असलेले रीडींग घ्यायचे.

The app in the link below seems to be only for iPhone, does not show up on my phone playstore (must be due to incompatibility with my Redmi note4)

https://www.digidoctech.no/products-1.html

Requesting all iPhone users to try this app and be informed about oxygen levels of your own and your near and dear ones. Someone reported that Apple stopped supporting such apps.

Also there are some Samsung specific apps.

A request to readers to please report any and all who can or cannot use this or any similar app.

मी गुगल प्ले स्टोअर मध्ये काही ॲप पाहिली
माझ्या फोनला सेंसर शिवाय चालू शकेल असे ॲप सापडले नाही

So then I decided to purchase one such pulse oximeter from Bafna Surgicals near Louis wadi Thane.

It is from a brand named ChoiceMMed and costed me 2500 INR. Works on 2 pencil cell batteties and displays pulse rate per minute and oxygen level in percent.

Opinion of doctors also taken, as per them it’s good to self check anyways.

The first link of the video was shared by my school group friends and also mentioned about experience with such an instrument and about app based measurements taken.

Good to share such information in the current panic pandemic, and the instrument if available at hand can be used to help people in your locality to self check themselves.

It would be good to insist that the person must wash hands with soap before using the instrument.

Categories
Environment

Mini Weather Station (DIY)

A simple Arduino based weather station is installed outside of the window of my house in Thane, Maharashtra, India 400602.

Weatherstation Device
Weatherstation Device

Supported by the home WiFi network it keeps logging the temperature and relative humidity data to the Thingspeak platform. All / most of the components used are open-source and easily available in local electronic market or online.

And the data is logged every 2 minute thus near realtime…….

The weather data can also be viewed at the link https://thingspeak.com/channels/566830

Temperature DegC for last 2 days

Relative Humidity % for last 2 days

So far, 2 years of data has been captured at every 2 minutes. The trend is typical and repeats every year with a few changes.

Can this data be used to conclusively confirm about global warming and climate change?

May be not.

It requires many years (5 or 10?) of data to be logged and also at various multiple locations.

So, anyone interested in installing such a weather station?

The device is about 1100 to 1300 INR for the cost of components, and may take upto 2 to 5 watt of continous power consumption and about 2MB data per day.

If anyone is keen to track the local temperature and humidity, please get in touch.

It is a small device about 4 x 4 x 2 inch PVC box and need to be installed under some kind of weather shed.

All you need to have is below.

  1. A ventilated outdoor space, it can be a balcony / terrace, but no direct sunlight and no direct rainfall at least where the device will be mounted.
  2. A continously available WiFi data network.
  3. Source of electricity to power the device.

It will be really great and interesting, if we team up for multiple such stations at various geographical locations.

Categories
Environment

Carbon Footprint

This may sound to be only a jargon. But in simple words it means the amount of carbon dioxide (and heat energy) gets released in environment due to activities of a person or of a community – either individually or as a group.

And why should one be worried about this? Short answer is – more the CO2 and/or heat released in atmosphere more will be the adverse impact on weather, surroundings, flora and fauna and even the seasons and annual cycles of rain and winter and summer.

This can be calculated or estimated to a very accurate detail but will need lots of data.

So here above is a simple calculation for typical urban or semi-rural lifestyle of current days. As of corona outbreak the human activity has significantly reduced worldwide and so is the impact on environment – expected to have reduced.

Please go through the list and verify how much is your contribution.

Comments please.

Categories
Energy Saving

Energy Efficient Fan – Atomberg

Most of us have been using traditional ceiling fans with speed regulators. These are capacitor operated single phase induction motors and at the power rating of about 60-80 watt, the motors can not be manufactured to be energy efficient due to the price tag considerations.

That is where the newer companies are bringing to market the trend of super efficient fans with Brushless DC Motor (BLDC) and added features like a remote control for speed selection. The motor inherently runs at  much lesser power consumption and especially if the usage hours for the fan are 6+ per day, the additional cost pays back in 1 to 2 years depending on billing slab /tariff of your electric connection.

A commonly found and good brand is atomberg, my personal experience with this company and having purchased more than 4+ fans so far, has been excellent.

The actual power consumption was measured and to be found in range of 22 watts for lower speed to 33 watts at full speed, whereas the traditional fan crosses the 100 watts at full speed.

So go for it, it is sure to bring down your electricity bill and also in a way you will contribute to reduced impact on environment. 

Especially for those who need to replace a damaged fan or if a new fan is anyways to be purchased, this one goes as the most obvious option. Even if an existing working fan is to be replaced with this new fan, the cost paid back in about 3 years.

Add to it the comfort of a remote speed control, very useful for senior citizen.

Besides having basic low cost models shown here in the first picture which is priced at around 3000 INR, they do also have fancier and stylish models to choose from.

And I am sure there must be also other brands to explore.

https://atomberg.com/

Categories
Community Work Solar Energy

Solar Project for Vanvasi Kalyan Ashramshala…. Part 1

It all started way back in 2017 when in a small discussion with Rahul we thought of contributing for a cause through our own efforts and in a manner which will bring in recurring financial benefits to an establishment such as a school.

Such a known school was at Uttekhol, Mangaon District Raigad of Maharashtra. This is run by Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram, where about 400 students stay in and learn through classical schooling classes + skills training laboratories. Most of the students are from Katkari and Adivasi, Thakur families in Kokan region.

The school requires funds for many types of expenses and one of them is electricity bill of around 100000 INR per year from over 7 different electric consumer connections / meters provided by MSEDCL. This led us to propose a solar grid tie netmetering installation for the school.

And that is is how it all started….

Categories
Water

Suranga – A fantastic source of water

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yglADx4DFlE

This is about manmade cisterns / small tunnels in laterite hillocks. The seepage of rainwater makes them a great source of water round the year.

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Water, Energy and Environment – the trio we depend on a lot besides the basics. This website is an attempt to collate various efforts and related information.