The Scholars' Avenue

IIT Kharagpur took a major step towards heightened environmental consciousness with the completion of its first Energy Audit. A joint initiative by AIESEC and Ecozen Solutions, a nascent startup by KGP students, the Audit, which lasted four months from January to April 2010, is the first independent student-run non-credit Energy Audit initiative in India. The Audit was carried out by students of IIT KGP (selected via an online test formulated by Ecozen) and two foreign AIESEC interns with under the mentorship of Prof. N.K. Kishore and Prof. P. Bajpai from the Electrical Engineering department. The primary objective of the Audit was to account for the energy being spent in the campus and to suggest corrections and changes that would lead to a greener campus.

The project, conceived by AIESEC and Ecozen as part of AIESEC’s ‘Go Green’ campaign and to be presented at AIESEC’s Green Business Summit in August was funded jointly by AIESEC, Kgp chapter and the institute. Ecozen Solutions was responsible for providing technical proficiency to ensure project planning and execution. The audit was supported and recognized by various institutions of repute like IEEE, ASHRAE and TERI. TERI and Siemens also pitched in by offering technical internships to participants of the audit.

There were various aspects of the audit, ranging from Electrical to Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) and Fossil Fuels consumption. Different teams, under the technical supervision of senior Ecozen members, worked painstakingly to assess the status quo by taking regular meter readings, accessing records and talking to on-site personnel. Thereafter, ways to optimize energy consumption were researched and tested. The effort culminated in a presentation to the top brass of the institute, including the Director, the Dean, SA and the Dean, AAIR. The final presentation showcased a complete view of the energy balance on campus. It also identified areas of wastage and outlined proposals for implementation of corrective measures. Possible savings by implementation of these plans are twofold- reduction in CO₂ emission and cut-downs in energy bills.

The proposals suggested by the Audit team were diverse. Technical changes were proposed, as were publicity and awareness drives. A competition among halls of residence, assigning consumption targets to departments and launching an aggressive go-green campaign were purported as behavioural changes. Changes in lighting systems across the institute were examined and found to save considerable electricity.  In addition, renovation of the outdated cooling systems in the old building and a biogas plant to utilize kitchen waste and save LPG were suggested. These investments projected short payback periods and significant annual savings for the institute, while decreasing energy consumption and increasing initiative among the IIT community. A synopsis of the report may be read by clicking here.

Prof. Acharya was impressed by the work done by the team and felicitated every participant of the audit by presenting the men with Institute ties and the women with coffee mugs.  He also promised the full support of the Institute in implementing the proposals of the report. With the director’s blessings, the Ecozen team is now working hard to convert the recommendations into working models and realize the anticipated gains.