Winner: Ameetsinh Vaghela
We are a family of 4 – me, my wife Nimishaba, my son Adityasinh, 19 (Engineering Student) and my daughter Aditiba 25 (studying in UK). I had been a professional cricketer and have developed a hobby to make small changes in daily life which can make a big impact on climate change. Currently I am launching a start up to covert my hobby in to profession.
To share small initiatives with society that can make great impact on environment. Our nation had been sustainable for centuries. Our seasonal festivals, our traditional lifestyle, our food habits etc always coincided with regional environment. There might be thousands like me who would be responsible to environment & practicing a change. This initiative dedicated to all such initiators. To share small initiatives with society we took part in the challenge.
Biggest benefit is of course money but bigger than money is impression on individuals. As we know real power lies with common man. Changes in individual are far more effective than any incentives or policies by any Institutes or Organizations.
I saved –
- Energy: savings by CFL, LED, Solar Power, Energy Star Appliances and Timer based Water pumping, ISO guideline wiring. This saves 45% of energy annually. Energy saved is energy produced.
- Water: Daily 30 liters of drinking water from rain water storage tank = 9000 liter fresh water. Less pressure on central pumping system, low flow shower head saves 15% shower water annually, dual flush flushing water tank saves 10% of annual flushing needs.
Runners Up: Manoj Jain
I am Manoj Jain ( Age 50 yrs) from Bhiwani working as Project Officer (RE) in the Renewable Energy Department , Govt of Haryana for the last 27 years. I am also implementing a Rural Sanitation programme in Bhiwani. Beyond the construction & usage of toilets , my main emphasis is on Solid Waste Management in rural areas.
I am of the view that sanitation & energy are both interlinked. I am working on “ Sanitizing India with Rural Energization “ to meet the partial local energy demand in rural areas through Biogas generation & converting it to electricity from 100% biogas engine.
This concept will not keep the villages clean , but will partially fulfill rural energy needs in terms of electricity . I have set up a pilot project in village Behal.
When I came to know about the challenge, I knew I have found the right platform to prove myself practically. The biggest benefit from the Energy Challenge is that I have got “SELF SATISFACTION”. The value of resources cannot be compared with money. The estimated savings that I have received during the challenge period is estimated Rs. 2000 – 2200 plus tension free uninterrupted & regular electric supply.
During the challenge period, I have convinced a lot of people in my area to adopt the RE & EE equipments. I have also convinced the people of our street to name the street as “ URJA MARG”.
Runners Up: Binoy Kamath
I am a 42 year old BE Graduate and a working Professional with 20 years of Industrial experience. My hobbies are travelling, reading, sports and technology. I have been an enthusiast in Energy Conservation for past 3 years and implemented few measures as a hobby in my house.
Mission Energy is a wonderful initiative bringing together various Energy conservation ideas on a common platform. With a special interest in Energy initiatives, I found ME challenge a wonderful opportunity to benchmark my ideas and implement in a competitive environment.
I measured the results during the challenge period and I got 15% saving in the Electricity bills by implementing few ideas like:
- Changing 3 CFL lamps with LED lamps, solar panel and time switch implementation to use Fans and Light during day time. This will also double up as UPS charging for power cuts.
- Implemented Rain Water harvesting for utility use and collected approx. 5000 liters of water during March to May 2014
- Motion Controlled Solar Lamps for Terrace and gardens to minimize the use electricity and mosquito nets to open doors and windows were implemented to ensure that doors and windows are kept open during summer for Air circulation. This resulted in usage of fans at lesser speed or no usage at all.
Runners Up: Sanjeev Jain
We become a part of “NDTV’s Energy Conservation Campaign “and to create awareness among the people about the importance of saving energy and to provide ideas to conserve energy. Everyone knows that saving energy is a good thing, but most people will only be motivated when you just demonstrate just how much energy they are wasting, and just how much potential there is for them for saving. As “energy saved is money saved”, I reduced my energy bill and this has motivated my friends as well.
