This is an interesting article from the TOI's 10th Feb 2009 edition about solar-power promotion initiatives being taken in Baramati.
PUNE: Baramati is set to become the first solar-powered town in western Maharashtra where streetlights, garden lamps and even some advertisement hoardings will be powered by solar energy. Baramati is among 18 towns in Maharashtra to have got funding from the Maharashtra Energy Development Agency (Meda) — the state nodal agency for new and renewable energy — for solar projects under the Union ministry of new and renewable energy. Speaking to TOI on Monday, Meda director general Mahesh Zagade said, “It has been our effort to install solar devices in various parts of the state and the Baramati Municipal Council has taken a great initiative to implement the project.” The civic body is expected to save about Rs 2 lakh per month. Meda has so far installed 1,400 solar lights, 400 solar studs (garden lamps), 70 solar blinkers and nine traffic signals across the state, he said, adding that Baramati will be the first town where there will be such a large concentration of solar installations.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
An enterprising B.E. project in tune with the environment
We all think that cell phones have become an integral part of our lives. While, that assumption by itself is questionable, a group of six COEP students have built a mobile charger using a completely renewable source of energy. Not only have they won the first firze at Techfest for their efforts, but they have also demonstrated that sustainable and renewable sources of energy can be tapped at a personal level. The following is an article from Times of India's 'Pune Mirror' which tells us about this group....
POWER WALK
This mobile charger is truly mobile. Six COEP students have built a device that can charge your cellphone battery while you take a walk
ARUNDHATI RANADE
Now your regular 20-minute morning walk can also help in recharging your cellphone battery. Don’t miss a step. It’s true! A team of six students from College of Engineering, Pune (COEP) has made this possible for those who are always on the run. Isha Nag, Aditya Nanavaty, Rushikesh Pande, Shachi Pande (all third-year production engineering students) and Sarvesh Patil, Tejas Narasimhan (second year students from the same stream) teamed up for the venture. The portable walk-in charger that they have made works on energy produced while you walk and within 20 minutes your cellphone battery could get fully charged.
WINNERS ALL
Their device bagged the first prize in the recently-concluded Tech Fest at IIT Bombay. Tejas said, “Our task at Techfest was to construct a device which uses only renewable sources of energy to produce at least 3 watts of electric power. And it was for this that we got the prize.” But even before giving in their entry for this national competition, the team was working on manufacturing an easy-to-use portable charger which uses alternative source of energy.
THE DEVICE
The device they made comprises a small spring coil attached to belts. This compact device has a single casing enclosing all necessary components along with the charging circuit with an output power of around 3.5 W. A brief walk of 20 minutes (not necessarily a constant walk) could give you a fully-charged mobile battery.
PATENT IN THE PIPELINE
The COEP team has already applied for a patent for their walk-in charger. “We have applied for the provisional patent now. During the Mumbai Techfest, some venture capitalists such as DGlight and Mellagro approached us and expressed interest in our device,” Isha said. When asked if they are ready for its commercial launch, the team expressed full confidence. According to them, the production cost of the charger is around Rs 250. “With a much more attractive and portable design on a commercial level, it could be available for Rs 350 as per our calculations,” she added.
DESIGN DETAILS
While talking about the device’s manufacturing details, Shachi and Rushikesh said, “The spring design was the crucial part of the device. We tried the device with a tin outer cover earlier. But it took whole of last week to design it to make it more attractive.” They did all the experimentation in COEP’s workshop. “The material was provided by the college which supported us throughout the venture,” they said.
CHARGE-ON!
A single pencil cell costs about Rs. 7. A walk ‘n’ charge device would generate as much energy as a AA battery in 21 minutes. If it is used for one hour daily, it would recover its cost in less than 12 days A 20 minute walk charges your cell phone for a day’s usage. It can fit in your pocket Not only mobile but could be used to charge other electronic devices such as i-pods, PMPs, GPS devices, Digital cameras The spring has a guarantee of eight years!
FUNDAMENTALS
Basic principle behind the device is similar to that of a generator or a dynamo.
A DYNAMO In simplest terms, a dynamo is an electric motor run in reverse, instead of spending energy, it saves energy. A dynamo uses magnets spinning in a metal coil to spin a shaft.The spinning shaft in turn, causes the same magnets to rotate in the coil.This generates an electric current.
WALK ‘N’ CHARGE The mobile charger uses the oscillatory movement of your legs.This is converted into rotations by a pulley onto the shaft. Repositioning of the shaft and pulley is done with the use of a prestressed coil spring.
HOW DOES IT WORK? 1 Dynamo: Captures the rhythmic movement of both legs and turns it into a rotary motion
2 Retractable string: Can be pulled out from the device to connect both legs
3 Circuit: Attached to a rechargable battery that gets charged when you walk
POWER WALK
This mobile charger is truly mobile. Six COEP students have built a device that can charge your cellphone battery while you take a walk
ARUNDHATI RANADE
Now your regular 20-minute morning walk can also help in recharging your cellphone battery. Don’t miss a step. It’s true! A team of six students from College of Engineering, Pune (COEP) has made this possible for those who are always on the run. Isha Nag, Aditya Nanavaty, Rushikesh Pande, Shachi Pande (all third-year production engineering students) and Sarvesh Patil, Tejas Narasimhan (second year students from the same stream) teamed up for the venture. The portable walk-in charger that they have made works on energy produced while you walk and within 20 minutes your cellphone battery could get fully charged.
WINNERS ALL
Their device bagged the first prize in the recently-concluded Tech Fest at IIT Bombay. Tejas said, “Our task at Techfest was to construct a device which uses only renewable sources of energy to produce at least 3 watts of electric power. And it was for this that we got the prize.” But even before giving in their entry for this national competition, the team was working on manufacturing an easy-to-use portable charger which uses alternative source of energy.
THE DEVICE
The device they made comprises a small spring coil attached to belts. This compact device has a single casing enclosing all necessary components along with the charging circuit with an output power of around 3.5 W. A brief walk of 20 minutes (not necessarily a constant walk) could give you a fully-charged mobile battery.
PATENT IN THE PIPELINE
The COEP team has already applied for a patent for their walk-in charger. “We have applied for the provisional patent now. During the Mumbai Techfest, some venture capitalists such as DGlight and Mellagro approached us and expressed interest in our device,” Isha said. When asked if they are ready for its commercial launch, the team expressed full confidence. According to them, the production cost of the charger is around Rs 250. “With a much more attractive and portable design on a commercial level, it could be available for Rs 350 as per our calculations,” she added.
DESIGN DETAILS
While talking about the device’s manufacturing details, Shachi and Rushikesh said, “The spring design was the crucial part of the device. We tried the device with a tin outer cover earlier. But it took whole of last week to design it to make it more attractive.” They did all the experimentation in COEP’s workshop. “The material was provided by the college which supported us throughout the venture,” they said.
CHARGE-ON!
A single pencil cell costs about Rs. 7. A walk ‘n’ charge device would generate as much energy as a AA battery in 21 minutes. If it is used for one hour daily, it would recover its cost in less than 12 days A 20 minute walk charges your cell phone for a day’s usage. It can fit in your pocket Not only mobile but could be used to charge other electronic devices such as i-pods, PMPs, GPS devices, Digital cameras The spring has a guarantee of eight years!
FUNDAMENTALS
Basic principle behind the device is similar to that of a generator or a dynamo.
A DYNAMO In simplest terms, a dynamo is an electric motor run in reverse, instead of spending energy, it saves energy. A dynamo uses magnets spinning in a metal coil to spin a shaft.The spinning shaft in turn, causes the same magnets to rotate in the coil.This generates an electric current.
WALK ‘N’ CHARGE The mobile charger uses the oscillatory movement of your legs.This is converted into rotations by a pulley onto the shaft. Repositioning of the shaft and pulley is done with the use of a prestressed coil spring.
HOW DOES IT WORK? 1 Dynamo: Captures the rhythmic movement of both legs and turns it into a rotary motion
2 Retractable string: Can be pulled out from the device to connect both legs
3 Circuit: Attached to a rechargable battery that gets charged when you walk
Thursday, January 29, 2009
An excerpt from Pune Mirror's 28th January edition about CNG rickshaws in Pune
IT’S GOING GREEN
CNG rickshaws may soon ply city streets. The good news is lowered levels of pollution. But the number of hitches — administrative or otherwise — present a bumpy road ahead
After the Pune Mahanagar Parivan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) CNG buses, the city will soon see CNG auto rickshaws plying on the road helping reduce the pollution in the city. India’s capital Delhi has already set an example by converting public transport on CNG. The city started getting CNG supply just before the Common Wealth Youth Games (CYG). So far, the CNG supply is limited to PMPML buses but now the CNG pipeline work has been completed and its supply is expected to start for other vehicles in a few days time. So, the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) has taken an initiative to make full use of the fuel’s availability and is taking steps to convert most of the auto rickshaws to CNG vehicles. In this regard, the authorities may want to take some tips from the nation’s capital, which has converted public transport to CNG to reduce the pollution. Delhi was once named one of the 10 most polluted cities in the world. Nearly 70 per cent of the pollution was due to vehicles. The pollution level in Delhi was five times higher than the acceptable standards of World Health Organisation (WHO). But then aggressive steps were taken to curtail the pollution. In 1998, CNG buses were introduced in Delhi. In the following year, in 1999, there was an amendment in the Motor Vehicles Act to include CNG. Soon after, in 2002, the decision of converting all the public transport buses to CNG was taken. The result of this decision is now for the world to see. Like Delhi, the city of Pune has also introduced PMPML’s CNG buses in its first phase. Once the city starts getting regular supply of CNG, it will be interesting to see the authorities go about converting public transport vehicles into CNG vehicles. Baba Shinde, an RTA member said, “The work of laying pipelines is over and in a few days time, the city will start getting CNG supply for other vehicles too. It is the right time to encourage auto rickshaw drivers to convert their vehicles into CNG. The Supreme Court had set up the Bhurelal committee for traffic discipline and a pollution-free environment. The committee had suggested the conversion of auto rickshaws that are 15 years old to either LPG or CNG. At the time, the city did not have a CNG supply. So, it was decided that such rickshaws would be converted to LPG. So far, nearly 10,000 rickshaws have been converted to LPG. Now that the city is getting CNG supply, more rickshaws will be converted to that (CNG) mode.” Shinde said, “Once the CNG supply is regularised, RTA will get a list of fuel station from where the CNG supply will be available for the vehicles. Then Regional Transport Office will finalise the authorised CNG kit for the auto rickshaws and the authorised suppliers for these kits. After the finalisation of the kit and the dealers, RTA can ask for the list from the auto rickshaw drivers for conversion.” When LPG kit was introduced, many rickshaw drivers had opposed it because LPG is an explosive gas. But Shinde said, “This time, there will not be any complaints from the rickshaw drivers as CNG is not explosive and is quite safe. Apart from that, CNG is much cheaper than petrol and LPG, so many rickshaw drivers may turn to CNG as there will be a greater margin.” He also said that once more than 50 per cent auto rickshaws are converted to CNG, the fares of the rickshaws can be reduced because CNG is cheaper than petrol.” When Vivek Velankar, president of Sajag Nagarik Manch was asked about the conversion of the rickshaws to CNG, he said, “Delhi has already set up an example by converting all their public transport to CNG. Conversion to CNG will obviously be helpful for all the Puneites as it can reduce pollution considerably. “But I think that before converting the rickshaws, all the PMPML buses should be converted to CNG to set an example for rickshaw drivers,” Velankar went on to add.
THE PLAN FOR IMPLEMENTATION
City will get CNG supply at six different locations in the city
RTO will finalise the authorised CNG kit and will also finalise the authorised dealers to provide these kits
RTA will review the auto rickshaw service and ask for applications from the rickshaw drivers to convert their rickshaws to CNG
According to the number of applications, the RTA will decide how to convert the rickshaws to CNG
CNG rickshaws may soon ply city streets. The good news is lowered levels of pollution. But the number of hitches — administrative or otherwise — present a bumpy road ahead
After the Pune Mahanagar Parivan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) CNG buses, the city will soon see CNG auto rickshaws plying on the road helping reduce the pollution in the city. India’s capital Delhi has already set an example by converting public transport on CNG. The city started getting CNG supply just before the Common Wealth Youth Games (CYG). So far, the CNG supply is limited to PMPML buses but now the CNG pipeline work has been completed and its supply is expected to start for other vehicles in a few days time. So, the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) has taken an initiative to make full use of the fuel’s availability and is taking steps to convert most of the auto rickshaws to CNG vehicles. In this regard, the authorities may want to take some tips from the nation’s capital, which has converted public transport to CNG to reduce the pollution. Delhi was once named one of the 10 most polluted cities in the world. Nearly 70 per cent of the pollution was due to vehicles. The pollution level in Delhi was five times higher than the acceptable standards of World Health Organisation (WHO). But then aggressive steps were taken to curtail the pollution. In 1998, CNG buses were introduced in Delhi. In the following year, in 1999, there was an amendment in the Motor Vehicles Act to include CNG. Soon after, in 2002, the decision of converting all the public transport buses to CNG was taken. The result of this decision is now for the world to see. Like Delhi, the city of Pune has also introduced PMPML’s CNG buses in its first phase. Once the city starts getting regular supply of CNG, it will be interesting to see the authorities go about converting public transport vehicles into CNG vehicles. Baba Shinde, an RTA member said, “The work of laying pipelines is over and in a few days time, the city will start getting CNG supply for other vehicles too. It is the right time to encourage auto rickshaw drivers to convert their vehicles into CNG. The Supreme Court had set up the Bhurelal committee for traffic discipline and a pollution-free environment. The committee had suggested the conversion of auto rickshaws that are 15 years old to either LPG or CNG. At the time, the city did not have a CNG supply. So, it was decided that such rickshaws would be converted to LPG. So far, nearly 10,000 rickshaws have been converted to LPG. Now that the city is getting CNG supply, more rickshaws will be converted to that (CNG) mode.” Shinde said, “Once the CNG supply is regularised, RTA will get a list of fuel station from where the CNG supply will be available for the vehicles. Then Regional Transport Office will finalise the authorised CNG kit for the auto rickshaws and the authorised suppliers for these kits. After the finalisation of the kit and the dealers, RTA can ask for the list from the auto rickshaw drivers for conversion.” When LPG kit was introduced, many rickshaw drivers had opposed it because LPG is an explosive gas. But Shinde said, “This time, there will not be any complaints from the rickshaw drivers as CNG is not explosive and is quite safe. Apart from that, CNG is much cheaper than petrol and LPG, so many rickshaw drivers may turn to CNG as there will be a greater margin.” He also said that once more than 50 per cent auto rickshaws are converted to CNG, the fares of the rickshaws can be reduced because CNG is cheaper than petrol.” When Vivek Velankar, president of Sajag Nagarik Manch was asked about the conversion of the rickshaws to CNG, he said, “Delhi has already set up an example by converting all their public transport to CNG. Conversion to CNG will obviously be helpful for all the Puneites as it can reduce pollution considerably. “But I think that before converting the rickshaws, all the PMPML buses should be converted to CNG to set an example for rickshaw drivers,” Velankar went on to add.
THE PLAN FOR IMPLEMENTATION
City will get CNG supply at six different locations in the city
RTO will finalise the authorised CNG kit and will also finalise the authorised dealers to provide these kits
RTA will review the auto rickshaw service and ask for applications from the rickshaw drivers to convert their rickshaws to CNG
According to the number of applications, the RTA will decide how to convert the rickshaws to CNG
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