The first home with a windmill

Harendra Shah’s home in Juhu has a lot of visitors – mostly college students who come there to understand how the seven-storey building uses non-conventional energy.

Harendra Shah’s home in Juhu has a lot of visitors – mostly college students who come there to understand how the seven-storey building uses non-conventional energy.

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Dolat Bungalow, where Shah and his two brothers reside, is one of the first buildings in the city to install a hybrid system (a windmill with solar panels) to generate electricity. Although the building is 20 years old, the Shah’s decided to adopt non-conventional sources of energy only in 2002.

“We have solar water heaters with a 1,000 litre capacity that can supply hot water to 18 bathrooms,” said Harendra, whose family owns a stockbroking firm. “More than 50 institutes have come home to understand the functioning of these systems.

Next week, 60 students from KJ Somaiya College will be visiting our bungalow.”

The Shah’s have already recovered the Rs. 5 lakh they spent on the hybrid system.

“Government subsidies also reduced the cost by half. We have even replicated this model in our farmhouse in Murbad,” added Shah, who is an electrical engineer. Apart from the hybrid system, Dolat Bungalow has solar lamps and a rainwater harvesting system.