OREANDA-NEWS. Tata Power, India’s largest integrated power company, reinforced its strong commitment to sustainable growth and environment conservation through a unique effort at its hydro location. A first-ever pilot model of a Carbon Neutral Self Powered Eco-Hut was designed and constructed in India at Walwhan Garden, Lonavala.

The Eco-Hut, made with an investment of Rs10 lakh has zero carbon footprint as compared to a modern house where standard accessories cost about Rs35 lakh and emits 4.2 tonnes of CO2. This initiative successfully demonstrates an integrated eco system of human habitat in harmony with nature, while conserving the environment for tomorrow. The Eco-Hut was inaugurated by Ashok Sethi, chief — operations, Tata Power.

Speaking on the initiative, S Padmanabhan, executive director (operations), Tata Power stated, “We at Tata Power define sustainability as care for customers, communities, people and environment. We are happy that we are continuously contributing towards sustainability and environment conservation. This definitely puts more responsibility on us to achieve more and more around sustainable performance.”

The Carbon-neutral Eco-Hut showcases innovative solutions in an attempt to minimise the impact on the environment through integrated use of modern technologies.

Salient features of the state-of-the-art Carbon Neutral Eco Hut are:

Minimum cement and water required for construction, use of eco-friendly material

Short construction period (about 20 days)

Lighting power supply through Solar PV panels and windmill

Use of energy saving devices such as LED’s, light pipes, energy free mechanical swing based motor, drip/sprinkle irrigation for plants, toilet flush with lowest discharge, underground energy free natural earthen refrigerator, mechanical swing-based washing machine, etc.

Built-in solar water heater and cooker, therefore no consumption of domestic LPG for cooking

Provision of windows for optimum sunlight and cross-ventilation

Around five to six degree centigrade cooler rooms compared to other buildings during summer

Rainwater dependent, no supply from city water supply system or private sources

Recycle/reuse of domestic solid waste (degradable for vermicomposting, metals & plastics for recycling)

Water usage of the Eco hut is only 100 liters per day (recyclable) compared to 400Liters per day of Modern house of 600sq.ft.