IIT-Madras project to supply low-power DC may end outages

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CHENNAI: Ina few days from now, IIT-Madras will begin a project in a few hundred houses in the southern states aimed at eliminating load-shedding forever. IIT-M has developed a method that will let electricity boards provide a small amount of uninterrupted power to every house in the country, enough to run three lights, two fans and a mobile charger. The pilot project, which would go on for a few months, is expected to generate enough data for the power ministry to take a decision on extending the programme to the rest of the country.

It is based on a disarmingly simple idea: run a low-power direct current (DC) line from every sub-station into houses. This will feed into a separate meter, and then on to a set of lights and fans, or other low-power devices such as chargers or TVs. The rest of the house is run on regular alternating current (AC) power that is metered separately.

The 100 watts of power fed into these DC lines is so low the electricity boards will never need to shut this down, except to repair technical fault.Blackouts are thus eliminated at one stroke, or converted to what IIT-M calls 'brownouts'.
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IIT-Madras project to supply low-power DC may end outages - The Economic Times

 

[Manvantaratruti]

Now this is Innovation.

Sounds like a fantastic Idea. It has the potential to provide cheap power to most of India.

 

[SarthakGanguly]

Now that's what is innovation. Once successful, this can be replicated in other countries with a power deficit. This is also environment friendly.

It's called Jugaad!

 

[BCCItheGreat]

Wow..great idea...

 

[liall]

Why not just increase power production so we dont have to do any of this. BUt wait no no. People would do anything to oppose the nuclear plants.

 

[kbd-raaf]

Why not just increase power production so we dont have to do any of this. BUt wait no no. People would do anything to oppose the nuclear plants.

Exactly.

This is 'jugaad'. Innovative indeed.

But it is not a solution!

 

[Manvantaratruti]

Exactly.

This is 'jugaad'. Innovative indeed.

But it is not a solution!

Its is 'a' solution, not 'the' solution.

 

[OrionHunter]

Wouldn't there be a need to convert DC to AC for powering fans, lights and TVs? So you'd need a converter which would cost about Rs 5000/- or so.

It said 100W DC input. That can convert to a max of how much AC output in watts for that price?

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Why not just increase power production so we dont have to do any of this. BUt wait no no. People would do anything to oppose the nuclear plants.

I agree putting a simple band-aid on this instead of tackling it head on is only pushing it further down the stack of priorities which is exactly what you don't want to happen.

 

[Manvantaratruti]

I agree putting a simple band-aid on this instead of tackling it head on is only pushing it further down the stack of priorities which is exactly what you don't want to happen.

They are not mutually exclusive you know.

 

[Rajaraja Chola]

Fully not posted

As a side effect, it could also eliminate the need for inverters. The project is the brainchild of IIT-M Director Bhaskar Ramamurti and electrical engineering professor Ashok Jhunjhunwala. IIT-M had involved the Central human resources and power ministries, the four electricity boards in south India, and some DC equipment manufacturers.

IIT-M has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. The Centre has formed a committee to oversee ..

Says Ramamurti: "It is a simple idea but it required some thought and engineering." Consumers who opt for this scheme will have to spend around Rs 1,000 for a device at home, apart from buying LED bulbs and fans that run on DC power. Jhunjhunwala and his team will meet consumers in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka this week. If they decide to buy into this idea, and agree to spend the money to take part in the project, the IIT-M technical team will start rewiring their houses and tweaking the transforme ..

"It is a critical pilot project," says former power secretary P Umashankar. "I see this as a game-changer for the country." In fact, it was Umashankar who seeded the idea in the minds of the IIT-M professors. Just before retiring, he had attended a conference organised by IIT-M. They had then shown him their work on DC power and solar energy, and told him how it would improve energy efficiency in the country. "Umashankar told us that it will not solve our fundamental problem of blackouts," says