BMS Institute of Technology, set up in 2002, is located in the quiet township of Avalahalli, Bangalore. Spread over an area of 84984 sq. meters, the college boasts of a sprawling campus with 2200+ students. This number comes with its demands. Electricity, water, food and wifi, are just some of the basic necessities of the modern student and faculty. While the college is furnished with state of the art equipment and infrastructure, we, the Earthian project group, have found it wanting on the ecological front.
In our assessment of the college over the past month and a half, we have come to the conclusion, that although there is scope for change to greener and eco-friendlier ways, the actual act, requires high short term expenditure from the management and dedication on behalf of its stakeholders. Benjamin Franklin once said, “there are three types of people in the world; those that are immovable, those that are movable, and those that move.” The college is ‘movable’, lacking however that stimulus from those who ‘move’. Given below is a detailed account of our survey.
Energy consumption
(A). Electricity Consumption:
The annual electricity consumption of the college with the present tube lights and non-energy star rated appliances is 543140 kwH. The diesel consumption, primarily as fuel for transport is 91kL and the cooking gas, LPG consumption amounts to 24760 kgs per annum. The electricity consumption breakup for the college on an annual basis is as follows: bank -- 5.03%, canteen -- 2.7%, hostel A -- 27.2%, hostel B -- 4.8%, ‘college primary’ -- 60.27%. The ‘college primary’ includes 3 buildings - the main building, the BSN block, and the administrative block. As we can see, the ‘college primary’ consumes the highest quantity of power. This power is drawn by labs, street lights, water pumps, fans, tube lights, and by miscellaneous power outlets.
To move the immovable, we need an unstoppable force. To change the mindset of the college into one based on ecology and the zeal of being eco-friendly is a glacial process. While waiting for the winds of change, we can take cover behind technological advances and financial saving to reduce our energy usage. Blue LED’s, the subject of a recent Nobel prize, make possible the white LED bulbs that are replacing Thomas Edison’s incandescent bulb as the light source of the 21st century. They are theoretically 80% more efficient than the ordinary CFL lighting. Based upon a conservative estimate of 45% greater efficiency, replacing CFL lighting with LED lighting along with the replacement of street lamps with induction lamps would result in a 25% reduction in the electricity consumption. Another avenue to reduce the carbon footprint of the college involves integrating the various load components into a Centralized Building Management System to intelligently switch off non-critical loads, when they are not in use. Strides towards the usage and installment of renewable resource systems with a primary focus on solar energy and wind energy are nascent to our idea of a eco-college. Localised renewable energy systems and generators although expensive would go a long way to develop energy self sufficiency and nullify the carbon footprint of the college, especially considering that the power received by the college via the national power grid comes largely from coal powered plants.
(B). LPG
24760 kgs per annum is jointly consumed by the canteen and the hostel mess. The cooking equipment that we use in our kitchens can be electrified. The gas stove can be replaced by an electric stove. The electric supply for the refrigerator and electric stoves as well as the lights and ventilation fans could also be made renewable. One option could be to place solar panels on top of the canteen to partly supply the power.
(C). Diesel
The college currently utilises buses that were manufactured nearly 12 years ago. They consume most of the 91 kL of the college’s diesel quota. The buses of the college require to be updated to the same technology as that of the new eco friendly buses from KSRTC which use a higher percentage of ethanol as the chief mix in the fuel.This is part of KSRTC’s ongoing exercise to reduce the carbon emissions of their buses by 70 percent and to reduce their fuel consumption via an enhancement in fuel efficiency.
Water consumption
The water consumption of the college is 73180 kL per annum from municipal sources. The maximum wastage occurs in the watering of the 48282 sq mt. green cover present in the campus. The lawns are watered via hoses, the end result: water accumulating in stagnant puddles. A good deal of this water is lost to evaporation. This wastage can be nearly completely eliminated by implementing a drip irrigation system. The water lost to evaporation will not occur, the small quantities of water released periodically by the drip irrigation system can easily percolate and be absorbed by the soil. We additionally already have a filtration system to clean up the water collected from the sinks, kitchens, and restrooms so that it can be utilised to water the green cover, once it has been adequately cleaned. Finally, to reduce the college’s impact on the local water table and its consumption of the scant amount of fresh water left worldwide, there is a great deal of potential to harvest rainwater. To capitalise on the 40982.992 kL of rainwater runoff potential which meets about 78.06% of the college’s water needs, a rainwater harvesting system is required to be setup.
One is the lowest unit of a billion, when the unit is reluctant to change, how can we expect the billion to change. The unit can fabricate a ripple, which the ‘billion’ transforms into an earthquake. BMSIT releases 762.13 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually a meagre 0.000037939 percent of india’s total. The college has a per capita carbon dioxide emission intensity of 0.214866, 0.000013429% of india’s total. Considering the number of colleges in india, adequately accounting for lower and higher consumption and emission rates, the sum total of their impact results in a 4 to 5 significant figure bump in the seemingly lean percentages. The reduction possible in the 762.13 tonnes of carbon dioxide is absolutely replicable, scintillating a glow of hope for a ecological tomorrow. India’s emissions grew by 5.1% between 2012 and 2014, which can be attributed to the growth and aspiration of the country to become a first world country and the status that comes with it. However, the growth of a nation economically and in terms of the standard of living should not trump our now very desperate need for a greener country. The implementation of the ideas present in this assessment throughout the country, colleges and commercial establishments alike, can bring about drastic reductions in the ecological impact of the nation. The butterfly effect set in motion through example is truly unfathomable. All that is needed is the unstoppable force by those that move.
In our assessment of the college over the past month and a half, we have come to the conclusion, that although there is scope for change to greener and eco-friendlier ways, the actual act, requires high short term expenditure from the management and dedication on behalf of its stakeholders. Benjamin Franklin once said, “there are three types of people in the world; those that are immovable, those that are movable, and those that move.” The college is ‘movable’, lacking however that stimulus from those who ‘move’. Given below is a detailed account of our survey.
Energy consumption
(A). Electricity Consumption:
The annual electricity consumption of the college with the present tube lights and non-energy star rated appliances is 543140 kwH. The diesel consumption, primarily as fuel for transport is 91kL and the cooking gas, LPG consumption amounts to 24760 kgs per annum. The electricity consumption breakup for the college on an annual basis is as follows: bank -- 5.03%, canteen -- 2.7%, hostel A -- 27.2%, hostel B -- 4.8%, ‘college primary’ -- 60.27%. The ‘college primary’ includes 3 buildings - the main building, the BSN block, and the administrative block. As we can see, the ‘college primary’ consumes the highest quantity of power. This power is drawn by labs, street lights, water pumps, fans, tube lights, and by miscellaneous power outlets.
To move the immovable, we need an unstoppable force. To change the mindset of the college into one based on ecology and the zeal of being eco-friendly is a glacial process. While waiting for the winds of change, we can take cover behind technological advances and financial saving to reduce our energy usage. Blue LED’s, the subject of a recent Nobel prize, make possible the white LED bulbs that are replacing Thomas Edison’s incandescent bulb as the light source of the 21st century. They are theoretically 80% more efficient than the ordinary CFL lighting. Based upon a conservative estimate of 45% greater efficiency, replacing CFL lighting with LED lighting along with the replacement of street lamps with induction lamps would result in a 25% reduction in the electricity consumption. Another avenue to reduce the carbon footprint of the college involves integrating the various load components into a Centralized Building Management System to intelligently switch off non-critical loads, when they are not in use. Strides towards the usage and installment of renewable resource systems with a primary focus on solar energy and wind energy are nascent to our idea of a eco-college. Localised renewable energy systems and generators although expensive would go a long way to develop energy self sufficiency and nullify the carbon footprint of the college, especially considering that the power received by the college via the national power grid comes largely from coal powered plants.
(B). LPG
24760 kgs per annum is jointly consumed by the canteen and the hostel mess. The cooking equipment that we use in our kitchens can be electrified. The gas stove can be replaced by an electric stove. The electric supply for the refrigerator and electric stoves as well as the lights and ventilation fans could also be made renewable. One option could be to place solar panels on top of the canteen to partly supply the power.
(C). Diesel
The college currently utilises buses that were manufactured nearly 12 years ago. They consume most of the 91 kL of the college’s diesel quota. The buses of the college require to be updated to the same technology as that of the new eco friendly buses from KSRTC which use a higher percentage of ethanol as the chief mix in the fuel.This is part of KSRTC’s ongoing exercise to reduce the carbon emissions of their buses by 70 percent and to reduce their fuel consumption via an enhancement in fuel efficiency.
Water consumption
The water consumption of the college is 73180 kL per annum from municipal sources. The maximum wastage occurs in the watering of the 48282 sq mt. green cover present in the campus. The lawns are watered via hoses, the end result: water accumulating in stagnant puddles. A good deal of this water is lost to evaporation. This wastage can be nearly completely eliminated by implementing a drip irrigation system. The water lost to evaporation will not occur, the small quantities of water released periodically by the drip irrigation system can easily percolate and be absorbed by the soil. We additionally already have a filtration system to clean up the water collected from the sinks, kitchens, and restrooms so that it can be utilised to water the green cover, once it has been adequately cleaned. Finally, to reduce the college’s impact on the local water table and its consumption of the scant amount of fresh water left worldwide, there is a great deal of potential to harvest rainwater. To capitalise on the 40982.992 kL of rainwater runoff potential which meets about 78.06% of the college’s water needs, a rainwater harvesting system is required to be setup.
One is the lowest unit of a billion, when the unit is reluctant to change, how can we expect the billion to change. The unit can fabricate a ripple, which the ‘billion’ transforms into an earthquake. BMSIT releases 762.13 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually a meagre 0.000037939 percent of india’s total. The college has a per capita carbon dioxide emission intensity of 0.214866, 0.000013429% of india’s total. Considering the number of colleges in india, adequately accounting for lower and higher consumption and emission rates, the sum total of their impact results in a 4 to 5 significant figure bump in the seemingly lean percentages. The reduction possible in the 762.13 tonnes of carbon dioxide is absolutely replicable, scintillating a glow of hope for a ecological tomorrow. India’s emissions grew by 5.1% between 2012 and 2014, which can be attributed to the growth and aspiration of the country to become a first world country and the status that comes with it. However, the growth of a nation economically and in terms of the standard of living should not trump our now very desperate need for a greener country. The implementation of the ideas present in this assessment throughout the country, colleges and commercial establishments alike, can bring about drastic reductions in the ecological impact of the nation. The butterfly effect set in motion through example is truly unfathomable. All that is needed is the unstoppable force by those that move.