There is an ancient Chinese proverb that says, “When the winds of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills.“ i.e. some try to protect themselves and some try to use it to their advantage. This is relevant for all the new disruptive technologies.
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- Computers and IT: In education system brought changes from physical learning to online learning, personalized learning, collaborative learning, Smart classes, and the assessment and feedback system.
- Artificial intelligence (AI) has disrupted many industries by automating tasks previously performed by humans. Chatbots are already being used to automate customer service in many industries, and self-driving cars have the potential to disrupt the transportation industry. With the coming of Chat-GPT, the impact of AI will be felt in many more industries.
- STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) is a new upcoming revolutionary technology in the education system, that will change the teaching and learning of these four subjects in an integrated manner. STEM education is going to disrupt the educational segment, as the learning model is changing to less content and more towards practical aspects- on how to think more critically and solve problems.
- Digitalization shifted storage from physical media to digital content and influenced the music, film, publishing, and retail industry in many ways.
- 3D printing is yet another new upcoming new technology having the potential to disrupt traditional manufacturing industries by enabling the creation of complex, customized products on demand.
New technologies bring a significant impact on our lives in many ways – the environment, quality of life, work efficiency, product quality, our costs, workforce management etc. While it improves the quality of our life, it also results in disruption in many industries.
Those who are wise use the technology to their advantage and reap its benefit and those who try to shy away from the new technologies and do not adapt are wiped out.
The shift towards renewable energy sources like solar and wind power is disrupting the traditional energy industry, which has relied heavily on fossil fuels. The schools may not realize that the solar industry is going to impact the educational industry in major ways.
Schools are unique in many ways they have large, flat roofs, peak daytime load, long holidays, high electricity consumption, and play a crucial role in developing the future generation of society and the country.
Solar energy complements and provides special privileges to Schools, it exactly fulfils these needs that the school has. In fact, like the finger joint used to join two wooden blocks, solar plant exactly fits into the slot of the school requirement.
No establishment has a greater advantage compared to the Schools from Solar Panels.
Here, are the 11 Blunders, the mistakes and the opportunity loss that schools incur by not going solar.
High electricity Bills:
- Suppose you are paying Rs. 50,000/- of electricity per month, solar can reduce it to less than Rs. 10,000 per month. That is a whopping saving of Rs. 40000.
- You can save more than 80% on electricity bills. You can save a whopping savings of Rs. 4.80 lacs per year, Rs. 1.2 crores in 25 years considering the same electricity tariff.
- And the electric tariff is only going to rise up with time making the loss of not going solar even larger than this.
High Generator Fuel Cost:
- The spending on Generator fuel is almost 80% to 120% of the Electricity bills in most of the schools.
- The average school consumes 500 to 600 litres of Diesel every month, which means expenditure on fuel only of Rs 50,000 to Rs. 60,000.
- You can save at least 50% of this cost by going solar. Which means a savings of Rs. 3.0 lakhs per annum and 75.0 lakhs in 25 years, without considering the increasing cost of fuel.
Solar energy generates even on holidays:
- Schools have typically 120 to 140 days of holiday in a year.
- The sun’s rays fall even on these holidays and are wasted each Sunday, each festive holiday and each vocational holiday.
- It could have been harnessed to your advantage to reduce the electricity bills but goes to waste.
Schools’ Peak Daytime Load matches Solar Peak Energy Supply:
- Energy Demand and Solar Generation Sync together: The schools consume more than 80% of energy during the solar peak hours, which means that the energy requirement of the school and the power generation of solar is in perfect sync with each other.
- Abundant Energy can be produced: This abundant solar energy can be utilized best by schools to have a solar power Generator on the unused, unutilized large roof area of the school.
Influence on Public Perception:
- Solar Panels enhance the image of the school in society and help in differentiating your school from others.
- Schools are often held to high standards by the public, and failing to adopt renewable energy can harm their reputation and public perception.
- The positive public perception helps the school in increasing the demand for admissions.
Engrains the awareness of Renewable energy in young minds:
- Solar panels offer an excellent opportunity for your school to teach students about renewable energy and sustainability.
- By installing solar panels on their roofs, your school can show students the practical applications of solar energy and the benefits of renewable energy.
- Seeing solar panels every day engrains the importance of renewable energy in young minds.
Large School roofs mean heated top-floor :
- Most schools have large, flat roofs and these roofs are often unused or underutilized.
- Problem 1: the disadvantage of this is that during summer the classrooms on the top floor get excessively heated having adverse effects on the students- they sweat, their energy depletes, they become lethargic, the extra effort of the teacher is required to keep students focussed and it may even lead to heatstrokes in extreme cases.
- Problem 2: It also leads to high maintenance costs as the unused roofs with large surface area weather faster.
- The benefit of Solar: solar panel converts this unused space and unwanted energy for power generation and nullify both the disadvantages.
Schools can get Long-term savings:
- There are almost nil moving parts in the solar, which means no frictional loss, and a long trouble-free life.
- The solar plants have a long life of 25+ years, which means that schools can enjoy significant energy savings over the lifetime of the system.
- Solar energy is free which means NILrecurring costs on fuels. The cost of grid power and generator fuel goes on increasing with time.
- This translates to trouble-free substantial savings for a long, long time
Energy independence:
- By generating your own electricity, the schools can become more energy independent and reduce reliance on the grid.
- This can help your school save money and ensure that they have a reliable source of energy in case of power outages or other emergencies.
Schools can bring an Environmental impact:
- Schools have a responsibility to reduce the environmental impact, and failing to adopt renewable energy can harm the environment and contribute to climate change.
- By installing solar panels, schools can reduce their carbon footprint and contribute to a cleaner environment.
- They are soundless and hence create nil sound pollution.
Your School can contribute to saving countries’ precious natural resources & Foreign Reserves:
- India is presently producing 60% of its energy from fossil fuels; It has a coal reserve of 111 years only; Petroleum products are the leading import item and account for 29% of total India’s imports; India’s oil import bill doubled to $119 billion in FY 2022.
- Solar Energy is a renewable source of energy and hence it helps India save precious foreign reserves, saves the depleting natural resources and helps to make the environment greener for the future generation.
- It can imbed the thought in the mind of the young ones on the importance of preserving natural resources and going for renewable sources for a cleaner, greener Earth.
To summarize, Solar can reduce School’s high electricity bills, generator fuel bills, and roof maintenance bills, keep the classrooms cool, provide more educational opportunities, create a better image in society which translates to more admissions, create environmental impact, energy independence, and long-term savings and help the country save precious natural resources and foreign exchange.
