For the last two years, Mayank Chaudary, a resident of Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, has been using on-grid solar panels to generate power in his home. The 400 sq ft and two-storey house has three rooms, a kitchen, and a garden, all of which are powered by these panels on his terrace.
“Solar panels are not too expensive, and are in fact one of the best ways to invest and give good returns,” he tells The Better India. “The two solar panels in my home produce 6,500 watts of energy. My family and I run all our appliances, including three air conditioners and kitchen appliances, using solar energy.”
Eight solar plates are placed on the first panel, and 12 on the other. Mayank says on the first panel, each plate generates around 325 watts, which gives a total of 2,600 watts of power. The second panel generates a total of 3,900 watts.
No maintenance cost
“As there is no battery inside the on-grid solar panel, no maintenance cost is required. The most significant advantage of solar power is that it’s available continuously for years at end. The panels have a 25-year warranty, and my inverter has a seven-year warranty too,” Mayank says.
The solar set cost him Rs 3.5 lakh. “We also got a subsidy of Rs 30,000 from the UP government, and a subsidy of Rs 87,750 from the Central government,” the 31-year-old says.
It took only five days to set up the plant. The net metre was installed by the electricity board and allows energy to be stored inside the electric grid.
“When your solar panels produce more electricity than you need, the energy is sent to the grid in exchange for credits. During the night, or other times when the panels are under production, the inverter pulls energy from the grid and uses these credits to offset the cost of that energy,” Mayank says.
In the past two years, Mayank has saved over Rs 1 lakh by using the solar panels. “My electricity bill would go up to Rs 10,000 earlier, but now, I don’t have to pay a single penny,” he says, adding that the clean energy is environment-friendly and does not cause pollution. “It also provides security from short circuits, lightning showers and voltage fluctuations,” he adds.
“To improve the productivity of the plant, one can regularly clean the solar panel with a clean cloth. My friends and relatives have also installed solar panels in their homes now, which makes me proud,” he says.
(Edited by Divya Sethu)
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