The energy consumption of common facilities at Nyati Windchimes is quite high due to heavy running loads of a RO plant (since all water is delivered by tankers), a 24/7 running sewage treatment plant, 10 elevators spread across 5 buildings, swimming pool filtration, and street lighting, and the average monthly electricity bills were in the range of Rs. 3.5 lacs.
After initially hesitating to invest in solar, the residents agreed in 2017 to begin with a 20 KW system. Following that, two more phases with 15KW and 8KW systems were implemented, bringing the total installed capacity to 45 KW.
"The total investment in the three phases was around Rs. 31.0 lacs, and the estimated payback is around 44.5 years because our per unit grid tariff was at the highest slab of Rs. 15/unit due to consumption of over 1000 units/month on each of the metres," says Chairman Avinash Kapoor.
Net metering has enabled them to reap the benefits of the lighting load as well. However, prior to implementation, the managing committee conducted a study of hour-by-hour daily consumption on each metre in order to properly size the system. This was done to prevent an excess generation from being fed into the grid prior to the installation of net metres (which takes many months). On this metre, we also shifted some day loads so that all of the generations was consumed.
The solar generation has assisted them in lowering the consumption slab on the MSEB metres, which has contributed to a reduction in the bill amount.
The primary requirement for rooftop solar systems is monthly cleaning of the solar panels to maintain generation efficiency, as well as checking cabling terminations (which may become corroded due to weather elements) and the invertor's health.
Nyati Windchimes a Green Society:
Green solar power generation has also aided Nyati Windchimes in its efforts to become a more environmentally conscious society.
Aside from that, a team of volunteers from Nyati Windchimes led by Shyam Khante and Kaushal Gupta has created a Miyawaki forest on both sides of the road leading the society to reduce the environmental impact. This effort has been entirely voluntary, and it has been ongoing for the past five years, with approximately 7000 trees planted in the area.
Windchimes STP treated water has been arranged to be used to grow these plants. The forest is now self-sustaining, with many birds calling it home. Windchimes has also placed several nests for small birds on their trees in order to increase the sparrow population.
