Conserving energy the IIT-B way
The Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) is going green. From vermiculture pits to low-flow showers and taps, the engineering institute has introduced several measures to conserve resources.
The Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) is going green. From vermiculture pits to low-flow showers and taps, the engineering institute has introduced several measures to conserve resources.
This is part of their Green Campus Initiative, which aims at making the institute sustainable.
The 550-acre campus is probably one of the first educational institutions to attempt to create an environmentally sustainable campus in such a large way.
Sustainability would mean relying on the resources generated within the campus.
Last week, the institute started its first vermicuture pit, which will cater to 24 families and convert all their wet garbage into usable manure. Unlike traditional vermiculture pits, this one uses deep-burrowing indigenous worms, which are easier to maintain and do not emit a foul smell.
"With this technology, vermiculture can be carried out in any sized vermibed, even an earthen pot. It will be a boon to apply this technology at grassroot levels across India," said Aparna Inamdar, who has been developing this technology since 1993.
Taking a cue from the faculty, even students are bringing in green technology on campus. Techfest, the annual technology festival, is making infrastructural changes on campus to save energy and water.
They will install eco-friendly showerheads and pressure-reducing inserts in taps in hostels. The amount of water saved every day could fulfill the drinking water requirements of more than 3000 families for an entire week.
"Green technology is the need of the hour. This is the first time we are focusing on green technology on campus. We have conducted water and energy audits and come up with solutions for the campus," said Neeraj Kookada, media manager of Techfest.
Techfest has even taken the Energy General Championship to the next level and made it an inter-IIT competition.
The overall electricity bills of participating institutes will be compared for three months and the institute with the maximum decline in per capita consumption will be declared the winner.