The Big Fat Elephant in the room, called Solar Energy

Arpit | 13th September 2016

The Big Fat Elephant in the room, called Solar Energy

“Solar power cost drops to Rs 4.23/unit fixed tariff for 25 years”

“Government targets 100,000 MW solar power by 2022”

“By 2030, solar power to make up 18% of Indian energy generation”

“Solar Impulse, the first plane running on solar power, completes its round-the-world tour.”

These are just some of the headlines that you must have read in the newspapers or magazines recently. Everyone is talking Solar.

There’s a sense of optimism within traditional and digital media alike when it comes to India’s pledge and subsequent march to the advancement of clean energy. To be fair, it is high time as well! Unless you’re a conspiracy theorist par excellence, the altruistic and utilitarian nature of the Sun’s radiation have been well documented and accepted for (literally) an eternity. As it stands, 300 million unconnected Indians will have the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of power such as education, better standards of living and economic benefits that are beyond their current realm of possibility. Not just the less fortunate ones, the remaining population stands a chance to improve their quality of living a few dozen times over and earn the love of mother nature by moving towards cleaner fuel.

While this makes for an interesting dinner table conversation and unquestionably positive PR for policy makers, the herculean task at hand makes for slightly murkier comprehension. 100,000 MW is approximately twenty times India’s current solar energy production capacity as well as more than all of Europe’s solar output put together at the start of 2015. Moreover, solar power makes up a mere 1 percent of India’s total energy generation today. So while we are talking of great ideas and big fundamental changes, fact remains that we are still in the nascent stage as far as the big move towards solar goes.

What brings about this sudden economy and push for solar? While one aspect has been the need or demand of a cleaner and greener solution for producing electricity, you cannot discount that solar as a solution itself has come leaps and bounds, both in terms of costs and efficiency. The initial setup costs of installing a solar system or a plant have dropped substantially and today, you break-even this investment fairly quickly. You not only reduce your energy bills from the first day but also accumulate huge lifetime savings. Think of it as an investment which gives high double digit post-tax returns. And compare this with other traditional investment returns you get (FDs, Mutual funds, etc.). Solar is way ahead of a lot of these investment instruments. We just need to look at it from a different perspective.  For utility scale solar (the kind that is greater than 1MW and connected to high voltage transmission grids), the cost of electricity generated has already fallen below the cost of power generated from imported coal and according to KPMG estimates, is expected to become 10% lower than domestic coal by 2022.

Additionally, the rudderless practices that plague distribution grids have created a formidable case for rapid adoption of solar. You just need to come to terms with the fact that the cost of power you pay to your distribution company includes all their inherent inefficiencies including transmission and distribution losses and all the free and subsidized power they sell due to political reasons.

You could argue that this is a state issue and a central policy initiative. It doesn’t affect you, right? But think of it like this, you are the homeowner, who has to deal with multiple power cuts during the day, and then pay the exorbitant prices for inverter usage. You are the hotelier that has to pump lakhs and lakhs of rupees into diesel generators to make sure your property has uninterrupted power. You are the industrialist that pays higher rates for electricity from the grid, since state utilities have capped prices for the residential users. It very well affects you and that is why you and only you can make the choice to go solar!

Begrudgingly joining the media circus, we think it is about time you thought of alternatives for your property. An efficient infrastructural addition that alleviates these issues and brings you the clean energy that you can be proud of and also rely upon. A completely transparent facilitator, who creates a personalised plan for your energy requirements. And in doing all this also ensures world class technology and standards are maintained and adhered to. Better yet, someone that simplifies all this white noise for you and holds your hand as you begin to take up this fulfilling journey of solar. Watch this space, because bet you, we are up to something electric!

-Team MYSUN

Interesting Ways the World is Utilising Solar Energy

Arpit | 13th September 2016

Interesting Ways the World is Utilising Solar Energy

Around the world in 80 days, in a tuk tuk, powered by solar? Not really in 80 days! Even though, it would make for a wonderful sequel to the Jules Verne classic, we are not talking about a fictional story here.

An Australian-Indian engineer Naveen Rabelli, has set about on a unique journey where he has planned a trip from Kochi all the way to London in a tuk tuk. Yes, you read that correct. The story would be far more believable if the narrative was written about as much in news as the Solar Impulse aircraft, but it truly is about a man travelling 10,000 odd kilometers in a tuk tuk that is powered by electricity and solar power.

Rabelli has been on the road for seven months now, and hopes to reach Buckingham Palace around mid of September, which would mark the end of this extra-ordinary voyage. The journey was scheduled to be completed earlier, but Rabelli was unfortunately robbed of his passport and cash from the tuk tuk in Sarcelles, north of Paris. Such has been the popularity of the tuk tuk, which cost Rabelli about $1500 upfront and another $11,500 in modifications, that it has been given its own name, Tejas. There is a dedicated Facebook page for the same, that Rabelli maintains  to keep all us up to date about his journey. You can follow the same here.

The tuk tuk has a top speed of 60 kmph, and has been a project that Rabelli has worked on for four years now, pouring all his savings into the same. His mission has been  to showcase to the world a sustainable and a cost effective solution for transportation while ensuring zero-emission. The tuk tuk, before halting in Paris has crossed about ten countries, starting from India. These include: Iran, Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Being an electric vehicle, the tuk tuk has three lithium-ion batteries that are responsible for running the main motor. In case, there is no socket for power supply, like several villages of India, there is an overhead solar panel that is placed on the tuk tuk to recharge the battery and ensure that the tuk tuk is on the road, moving.

Going has not been easy for Rabelli who had met with an accident, back in India, just before he set out on this epic journey, which delayed the flag off by at least 6 months. There have been flat tyres, mechanical failure and roads have not been too kind. There have been nights on the journey where he has had to unscrew the second seat in the cargo and make a bed to sleep at night in the vehicle alone. On good days, there have been people who have been welcoming and have given him warmth and hospitality that he has been only glad to share with the world via his Facebook page.

As they say, where there is a will there is a way, Rabelli has continued defying the odds and we are sure that the setback in France is not going to dampen his spirits. From the entire team of MYSUN, we wish Rabelli the best and cannot wait for him to reach the finishing line.

How to Solarize Your Office or Home in 7 Easy Steps

[email protected] | 13th September 2016

How to Solarize Your Office or Home in 7 Easy Steps

Before we get going with this solar panel installation guide – especially with MYSUN – we are sure you are wondering why should install a solar panel at home in the first place?

If you've been thinking about solar panel installation, there's no better time to do it than now. The cost of photovoltaic (PV) cells and therefore the Solar PV Systems has reduced substantially, and it’s an excellent project to install a solar panel at home for several reasons. For a start, you'll save loads on your electricity bill, and may even be able to sell some of the power that you generate back to the utility company. Just in case you are curious to know how much can you actually save through solar panel installation, you may want to run our in-house designed Solar calculator, called MYSUNCalculator, which provides you with the potential to save. Aside from your savings, you'll also reduce your carbon footprint, and if you’re installing a solar system in a remote location (such as a cabin or a telecom tower), you will have much less to worry about than you would, since you’ll use a diesel generator. Beyond this, you will also support a growing industry, and in doing so help contribute to the worldwide adoption of this wonderful new energy source in the form of solar panel installation. So instead of you asking us ‘why solar’, we put the question to you, ‘why not solar?’

Now that we have introduced you to the massive list of benefits that can be accrued from solar panel installation, let us get down to how do you go about getting this magic in your world. Here’s a guide detailing how to install solar panels step-by-step.

Step 1 - Review the physical installation options.

  • Do you have room on your roof or on your property for solar panel installation? If yes, then how much area (in sq. ft. or sq. mt.) would you be able to spare?
  • Would you rather have panels on your rooftop or on the ground where you can reach them easily?
  • Does the sun shine bright on this area for most of the daylight hours?
  • Do shadows from trees or other structures fall on this area at certain parts of the day or not?
  • Is your roof structurally sound enough to bear the weight of solar panels and racks?
  • Will you be able to orient your solar panels towards south, so that the winter sun hits the panels in the most optimally perpendicular manner possible at noon?

(As you may have noticed, that there is quite a bit of things you need to consider and take care of before solar panel installation. If these questions sound too complicated to you and you are in no mood to research for the answers, you can always reach out to us from the Contact Us page, and the MYSUN team would be more than glad to help you with the installation options and other relevant details for you)

Step 2 – Load Calculation

Now that you have assessed the physical installation options, the next step is to calculate how much power you would need once you install a solar panel at home. Since solar panels are measured by how much energy they can absorb, this will tell you how many panels to buy, how efficient they need to be, and perhaps – most importantly – how much space you're going to require for solar panel installation. Don't worry; this process is no longer complicated thanks to our advanced tool MYSUN Calculator where just in a few easy steps, you can get a fairly accurate assessment of your solarization potential and can also get a personalized solar scorecard.

Step 3 – Grid Tied or Off Grid System?

Next up is a step that’ somewhat technical. But do not worry, we have simplified solar panel installation for you under our FAQ and Solar Essentials sections. And if you still have queries, we are just a click away (write to us at [email protected]). It is time to decide between a Grid Tied (On-Grid) or an Off-Grid System.

Grid Tied or On-Grid: An on-grid system is a form of solar panel installation which is interconnected with your existing electrical system. The solar energy generated is simultaneously consumed, and if the solar panels are not generating sufficient energy to cater to your consumption needs, the differential is automatically sourced from the grid. It is also possible to connect the system with batteries, home inverters, diesel generators, etc.

Off Grid: An off-grid system is an independent, battery-backed solar panel installation system which is not connected to any grid. During daytime, the solar energy that’s generated runs your appliances. Any excess energy is stored in the batteries, which can be utilized at night. Off-grid systems are used for standalone applications like traffic & streetlights, billboards, agricultural pumps, telecom towers, rural applications, etc.

Now that you know the difference between grid-tied and off-grid systems, you need to decide what kind of solar panel installation system is appropriate for you.

Step 4 - Decide how much to invest and how to finance it

After load calculation and deciding what kind of system fits your overall solar panel installation requirements, you can easily check how much the process to install a solar panel at home is going to cost you. You must also determine recurring costs and performance estimates for PV systems, including maintenance costs, system lifetime, expansion potential, warranty, and so on. Once you have the cost, you have to make a choice; whether you are going to spend the money out of your pocket or are going to look at solar financing options. MYSUN provides the best industry benchmarked pricing to you along with options to finance your solar panel installation cost as per your convenience.

Step 5 – Get the installation done

Now that the money is in place, it is time to locate contractors and go out for formal bids. Our suggestion to you is to talk to as many contractors as you can, and ask them as many questions as you can think of. Get them to give you a personal visit at your house/office/ building and look at your solar panel installation situation in greater detail. Do not give anyone a contract to install a solar panel at home unless and until they have given your place a personal visit and assessed the area and location thoroughly. Also, make sure you deal with experienced, quality and reliable installers only. MYSUN brings to your fingertips the entire process of receiving and evaluating quotes from different pre-screened solar installers to get the right quality and commercial terms.

Step 6 – Permits/ Incentives

Permits are usually not required for off-grid systems or on-grid solar panel installation systems for captive consumption. For on-grid systems, if you choose to go for net metering or gross metering, certain approvals are required. These approvals usually vary from state to state and depend on the type and size of solar panel installation. Your solar system installer will either guide you in this process or take up ownership of this process.

Several incentives are available for rooftop solar PV plants in India. The specifics of the incentives could vary from one state to another. These incentives broadly fall under the following categories:

  • Accelerated Depreciation (for companies)
  • Capital Subsidy
  • Priority Sector Lending
  • Net-metering

Step 7 – Maintain and repair your system

Your solar system does not need too much of maintenance, but it is still important to take care of a few things. Cleaning the solar panels is a critical aspect to ensure good performance from your system. And as with any mechanical or electrical appliance, PV systems require some routine and periodic checks, though not very exhaustive. You may be able to carry out many routine inspections and maintenance tasks yourself. If, however, you are not the do-it-yourself types, or if there is a major problem with your solar panel installation system, you will need to locate a professional to do the work. Keeping an eye on the generation will help you catch any potential problem early and thereby avoiding you any major energy generation or savings loss.

Home solar panel installation is not very complicated, and it isn't terribly expensive either. In the long run, you can save a lot of money on your energy bills, and even make money by selling power back to the utility company. Once you know the parts of a solar system, the entire process is much less intimidating - it's just a matter of adapting the formula to your specific situation. You are always invited to stop by itsmysun.com for more learning articles, solar news stories, affordable solar systems and components, or if you have any questions, for a solar expert. And if beyond all this, there is anything that is related to solar and you were unable to trace back in the article or on our site, remember we are just a hello away using the Contact Us page or our Social Media platforms.

How Much Energy Do You Consume When You Browse Facebook on your Phone for 10 minutes?

[email protected] | 13th September 2016

How Much Energy Do You Consume When You Browse Facebook on your Phone for 10 minutes?

There is a fat possibility that you may have discovered this article via one of our Social Networks. We all use the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and several other cool stuff like Snapchat tens of times a day. With India moving towards 3G and now crawling towards LTE, checking social media on the fly has become more of a habit than just a need. While we are checking sites these sites or as the case is now, apps, we end up being concerned largely  about the ever-looming ‘Low Battery’ notification on the smartphone or overshooting the mobile data. But, have you ever wondered how much energy is expended, every time you decide to fire Facebook app or post that selfie with your friends on Instagram?

Broadly speaking, every time you decide to use the internet, there are majorly two devices that tend to consume the power, the peripheral on which you are connected and viewing the content and the other being the data center. However, the third factor, which is the energy required to transport data that brings you your favorite websites over mobile network is overlooked. According to a report published by Ericsson, each GB of data that is transported over mobile network, or in simpler terms 3G or 4G, utilizes 2kWh of electricity. So by the same estimate, if you happen to use Facebook for about 5 minutes as you wait to board the next metro or the auto-rickshaw, you would have consumed enough electricity that would have been enough to power an LED bulb for an hour. Similarly, a Youtube video streamed for 45 seconds would consume enough energy to power the same bulb for another hour.

If you like downloading movies, then a typical bollywood movie, from the internet is about 700MB to about a GB in size. This means that downloading it via mobile data utilised enough energy, which could have powered an LED bulb for 200 hours. And that doesn’t even include the power that your device and the data centre consumed for the minutes that the movie was downloading. Staggering isn’t it?

So how can you help conserve energy, even as you do something as common as surfing Facebook? The obvious one would be to use solar to power the devices through which you connect to the internet. You could start by buying a solar mobile charger or power bank. If this article has got you interested about your overall energy consumption habits you could evaluate installing a rooftop solar system using the MYSUN website. Not only does it have advanced tools to help you estimate your possible savings from solar, but also helps you pick the right solar solution, get it installed and set you up with the right maintenance plan. The next would be to switch to using broadband internet when you are doing more intensive browsing like downloading movies. This helps as data is generally transported over optical fibres or undersea links, which are more energy efficient and do not consume energy as much as data flowing over mobile does.

When it comes to data centers, not a lot of them are using PV Solar Panels to generate electricity. But the shift has begun. Several big brands, including Emerson, Intel and WorldBackups.net either have operational or under-construction data centers that are fully being powered by solar. There are several more that are in line to join this list.

With the population of mobile devices only set to grow and data per user always rising thanks to innovative players such as Reliance Jio entering the market, the energy required to browse the internet will only grow. As we have alluded to, solar can most definitely play its role and help out. With the support of faithful solar enthusiasts like you, and tech players like Apple, who claim to be using 100% renewable energy to power their data centers, we foresee a future, where one day, internet too, will be green, and powered by solar.

Few Commonly Heard Solar Related Myths Busted – Part 1

[email protected] | 13th September 2016

Few Commonly Heard Solar Related Myths Busted – Part 1

A common issue with something aspirational and very hot off the press is that everybody seems to think they know it inside out, yet very few get to reach the depths of reality. Solar too, is a victim to this. The general thought process is that, we have seen the sun right from our birth and how much more could there be about it or for that matter, about generating electricity from it? Most of you would be aware of the process but let's have a look at some of the solar energy information and facts.

It is fairly straightforward that solar energy falling onto solar panels is converted into electricity and is then transmitted through transmission lines, a bit like how conventional power generated is transmitted. It sounds really simple and easy. And perhaps, that is why, a lot of people think they know solar energy facts well, but there is more than what meets the eye. Not complicated stuff like a rocket lifting off, but a little more than what the next door neighbour would tell you. No wonder, there are several things that you hear about solar systems, that cannot be further away from the truth.

While we have tried to cover most of these in the form of FAQs on our site, we still thought, we will pick up the most common thoughts and facts about the solar system, that get peddled around as truth but in reality, aren’t.

We plan to do this in a series format, what you see here are five popular myths around solar busted, we will follow this up with another set, and so on.

Myth: Solar Power is very expensive.

Reality: Isn’t it like a paradox? Solar is supposed to be cheap, given how widely the energy from the sun is available, yet the perceived notion is that it is more expensive. However, the reality is distinctly different. Unlike the traditional power generation sources, the solar industry in general has seen rapid developments. Thanks to some brilliant engineering masterminds coming together, economies of scale and other market forces, over the last decade, the upfront cost of solar has seen a steep decline. The initial cost of installation has dropped by almost 75%, which is extremely significant. The technological advancement in general has not only made the components cheaper but also more efficient and reliable. This has resulted into solar power becoming cheaper for a lot of consumers, be it residential, commercial or industrial consumers. So to think, that solar is expensive, is well, a myth and nothing more. Take for example, a typical residential consumer in New Delhi who pays a monthly bill of Rs. 5000. The savings he racks up over 25 years goes to show that solar is anything but expensive.

Myth: Solar systems are high maintenance.

Reality: Solar systems are made in such a way, that there are no moving parts involved. And by the laws of physics, something that is not moving will experience less wear and tear and therefore likely to last longer. Generally speaking, grid-connected solar systems need almost negligible maintenance. 8 out of 10 users that we surveyed about their upkeep habits, across various segments, stated that they casually just wait around for the rain to perform the cleaning for them! This usually leads to about 5-7% reduction in the efficiency of the panels. We obviously would not advocate a completely reckless attitude to your investment. It would be a good practice to hose the panels off, once a month, as it helps in removing any unwanted materials that may have accumulated on them over a period of time. A cursory check on the panels for any visible spots or cracks could also help in ensuring that the generation is right and within the expected range.

Myth: A Solar PV system doesn’t work at all in overcast conditions.

Reality: The crux of this myth comes from the fact that power generated is directly related to sunlight, right? We would be more than glad to squash this misnomer. Solar panels work just fine under ambient light aka, cloudy or not so sunny conditions. Unlike shade, overcast conditions allow at least some sunlight to reach your system. The reduction in the amount of power generated under mildly overcast to heavily cloudy situations varies between 5-10% to 60-70% of the total output, respectively. Moreover, cloudy conditions lead to a dip in temperatures of the location in which the system is located, which is actually beneficial to the system as observed in some parts of the world. Germany, anyone?

Myth: Solar PV only works in areas with very high temperatures.

Reality: Contrary to popular belief, solar panels work at their efficient best when the temperatures are not too hot. The science behind this is fascinating and worth reading about. Sunlight comprises of photons, that carry the requisite energy required to start the photovoltaic or PV effect. These photons transfer this energy to the electrons in the solar panels, which constitute of the solar PV cells. The energised electrons move from a state of low energy to high energy. A solar cell is designed to extract these excited electrons and run them through a circuit to produce electricity. However, under extremely hot conditions, these electrons get more excited and vibrate faster than they would normally. As a result, these electrons bump into other atomic constituents of a solar cell, converting this extra energy into excessive heat. Hence, their ability to generate electricity is reduced and this has adverse effects on the output of the solar system.

Myth: Manufacturing of a solar panel creates more greenhouse emissions than it saves in the future, which kind of offsets the benefits.

Reality: This is an interesting one. Sure, it is true that carbon dioxide is emitted in the production of a solar panel to the tune of about 70 grams of carbon dioxide per kWh generated. However, these panels are “carbon negative”. In fact, it takes 2-3 years to generate as much power to compensate for the amount that was required to manufacture them, and they still have another 25 years to run! Add to the fact, during their lifetime solar panels still produce less than 30 times the carbon dioxide than what their fossil fuel counterparts do and you know you are looking at an environmental friendly solution. So therefore, pretty apt to state that while solar panels may consume resources when they are young, they grow up to be magnificent adults, that help keep our environment healthy and fresh.

Which of the solar myths above that we busted did you once believe in? Or is there a myth that we perhaps have not covered and missed out on? Go ahead and share it with us in the section below or catch us up on Social Media, links to which are located in the footer. We would love to hear from you.