Gangtok/Delhi: The Sikkim government will be deploying an innovative room heating system that does not require electricity to operate.
In northern Sikkim, the night temperature falls to as low as -40°C, while in Gangtok the temperature falls to 0 to 2°C. Hence, conventional ‘heaters’ are required for over 200 days a year to keep buildings warm across this region.
The innovative room heating system uses a combination of solar and ‘thermal energy storage’ to maintain room temperature in the range of 15 to 25°C throughout the day and night by harnessing the sun’s energy during the day, storing the heat from this energy and releasing it during the night.
In order to improve energy efficiency as well as drive the adoption of renewable energy sources, the state government has chosen this innovative and indigenously developed system. The system has been developed by Pluss Advanced Technologies, with support from the Ministry of Science & Technology.
Sikkim’s Power Department building has 300 rooms and the room heating system will be deployed in 15 rooms initially and would be scaled up on positive feedback from users.
The deployment of this system has been sanctioned by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency under the program, ‘Strengthening of State Designated Agencies’. This program provides financial assistance with the aim to encourage the efficient use of energy and its conservation at the state level.
This space heating system has also been deployed at the Indian Institute of Technology-Mandi by Pluss Advanced Technologies and has been in use there for several years.
Pemba Lepcha, additional chief engineer-cum-nodal officer, State Designated Agency, Sikkim said, “We are today overwhelmingly dependent on fossil fuels for a comfortable living. This is contributing to the climate change we are facing today. While it is not feasible to limit the use of energy as we strive towards greater economic progress, it is feasible to substitute for cleaner energy sources which not only contribute to conserving our environment but are also energy-efficient and cost-effective.”
Samit Jain, managing director of Pluss Advanced Technologies, said, “We are pleased to partner with the State Designated Agency to substitute fossil fuels with clean energy sources, in step with their endeavour for sustainable economic development. ‘Phase change materials’ is a pioneering technology that makes substitution to cleaner sources of energy viable in heavy energy usage areas, such as heating.”
The room heating system consists of an ‘evacuated tube collector’, which absorbs and transmits solar energy to a ‘heat bank’. The ‘heat bank’ is built using ‘phase change materials’ (PCMs). The phase change materials store the heat from the solar energy and control the temperature inside the room.
The benefits of the system are that it is energy-efficiency as the system can convert over 80% of the sun’s radiation into usable energy; space-efficiency as the ‘evacuated tube collectors’ are placed on the roof and only the ‘heat bank’ is placed inside the room.
Besides, it is environment-friendly as there is no usage of fossil fuel involved, therefore the system is a zero carbon emitting solution.
The system is also cost-effective as there is negligible running or maintenance cost and the system pay-back period is less than two years.
EASTMOJO PREMIUM
Help sustain honest journalism.
Phase change materials are substances that store energy. An example of such a material is water, which changes phase from liquid to solid at 0°C. When solidified water is put in a glass at room temperature, it absorbs heat and changes its phase again while cooling the glass. This phenomenon is repeatable over a substantial number of cycles and can be used to maintain a constant temperature without the need for constant electricity.
Pluss Advanced Technologies has indigenously developed a thermal energy storage system using ‘phase change materials’. This kind of heating is 24×7, fossil fuel free, and electricity-grid independent. Puss has received a patent also for the same.
Also read | Sikkim CM constitutes panel to examine viability of old pension scheme