Search

This paper aims to investigate the implication of present and future bioclimatic potential of passive heating and cooling design strategies for climate change scenarios of five locations covering all climate zones of India. Weather data for future climate change were developed for A2 (medium-high) scenario of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for four time slices, namely TMY (Typical Meteorological Year), 2020, 2050 and 2080. A case study residential building was used for calibration and validation of the bioclimatic potential using EnergyPlus simulation. Results show a strong correlation between the annual bioclimatic summer and winter discomfort hours and the corresponding annual cooling and heating energy load for the changing climate scenarios. Results also show an overall increase in annual cooling energy load, over and above the base case, ranging from 18% to 89% among the five cities in 2020; 32% to 132% in 2050 and 58% to 184% in 2080 if residential buildings continue to be operated in the same manner as it is done today without passive strategies. The use of passive strategies may reduce the annual cooling load by about 50%– 60% in residential buildings in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across diverse geographies, mini-grids have been employed to provide energy access to off-grid and rural communities. In India, amid the government push to expand grid infrastructure, concerns have been raised about the viability of mini-grid business models that are largely run by private companies. While the role of mini-grids in previously un-electrified areas has been studied extensively, there exists limited empirical evidence regarding their uptake in grid-connected regions. In this paper, we analyze adoption and use of mini-grids among rural communities living in grid-electrified villages. The findings are based on the primary data of 2648 households and 544 non-farm enterprises from 54 villages in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in India. Our results suggest that despite the presence of central-grid infrastructure, users adopt mini-grid in regions which lack reliable power supply. The mini-grid uptake was found to be relatively higher among non-farm enterprises, which, unlike households, have not received adequate policy attention and support. However, mini-grids were being used only for meeting basic lighting and cooling loads in most cases, primarily due to affordability concerns. Based on our findings, we argue that grid-interactive mini-grids could be used to serve rural enterprises as they value reliable power supply. Yet, the current low levels of electricity demand among non-farm rural enterprises suggest that growth in electricity demand and in turn enterprise productivity would require complementary services and infrastructure. • Insights from a survey of 54 villages having both central grid and solar mini-grid. • Mini-grid use among non-farm enterprises is significant, but low among rural households. • Lack of reliable grid-power supply in surveyed villages is a key driver of mini-grid use. • Rural enterprises currently have low electricity demand. • Mini-grid connections primarily used to meet basic lighting and cooling energy demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Refrigeration plays a vital role in ensuring quality and safety of seafood. In a tropical country like India, the seafood industry has a relatively larger cooling load throughout the supply chain due to higher temperature differences between ambient and chilled seafood. The cooling demands in a seafood processing plant are typically at four different temperature levels. Supply of chilled water at 2 °C, ice at − 5 °C, cold storage maintained at − 25 °C, and a plate or blast freezer at − 40 °C. Commonly, a multi-evaporator multi-stage refrigeration system with refrigerants like R22, R404A, or NH3 are used in India. However, R22 and R404A have harmful effects on the environment due to their high global warming potential. This study proposed an all-natural multi-evaporator CO2–NH3 cascade refrigeration system (CRS). For comparison, the refrigeration demands in a surimi (seafood) processing and storage plant located in Mumbai were utilized. The study revealed that CO2–NH3 CRS has the highest COP and the lowest annual energy consumption followed by conventional NH3 system. CO2–NH3 CRS exhibited 6.2%, 12.3% and 3.2% less energy consumption compared to R22, R404A, and NH3 systems, respectively. Similarly, CO2–NH3 CRS also showed the lowest total equivalent warming impact which is 26.8%, 44.3% and 3.2% less compared to R22, R404A, and NH3 systems, respectively. Furthermore, CO2–NH3 CRS also presented relatively better results in terms of annual cost rate and life cycle cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The solar heat gain is a significant factor to be considered while designing sustainable Heating Ventilation and Air-Conditioning system for the working rooms in the future. By installing photovoltaics on rooftop, building can be insulated from heat and the cooling load requirement for the rooms can be reduced significantly. Advantages of building applied photovoltaic systems for building insulation are justified by means of measurements and modeling. Thermal and air quality measurements outside and inside rooms of similar area, under different types of PV arrays are observed and the phenomenon of solar heat gain is studied. The experiment was conducted in Perundurai, Tamil Nadu, India, in the months of February and March of 2019. Thermal infrared imaging data for room ceilings showed a reduction of up to 2.5°C under PV array compared to those with open roof. Computer simulations indicated significant differences in temperature, between ceilings covered by PV array and ceilings with open rooftop. The relative humidity inside the rooms covered by PV arrays is 10% higher as compared to rooms with open rooftop. Due to the installed 100 kWe solar photovoltaic plant, emission of nearly 100 kg CO2 is reduced per day. There is a reduction in 28.5% CO2 inside the room with elevated PV panels at the roof top compared to room without PV panels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]