Solar installations on rooftop are being considered on a large scale

From smart cities to government institutions architects and consultants are designing buildings to harness the maximum potential of solar energy, says Vikas Arya, Associate Vice President, Product Strategy, Jakson Group.

To what extent has India started capitalizing on the availability of solar power in construction and design?

Since the last decade, there has been an unprecedented growth of Solar PV installation on  rooftops. There are two reasons behind this growth. First of all, it is a clean energy source, and it saves a significant energy cost. Secondly, due to the global commitment towards net-zero emission and a lot of awareness campaigns on green energy, more and more consumers are installing solar and planning it at the design stage itself.

Even on a large scale, smart cities and government institutions are considering solar installations on rooftops. So architects and consultants design buildings to harness the maximum potential of solar energy.

At Jakson, we come across customers from residential/industrial/institutional customers asking for design requirements to install solar PV panels in their setup.

Unlike western countries, DIY solar kits and giving power back to the grid in contemporary Indian homes is still a far cry. Why is it so? What can be done?

Solar projects are being installed by different EPC players based on the specific customer requirement & site location. And due to no prior planning in building design, there are different alignments of a roof, building height & layouts.  Hence the customer needs customized designed layouts and an expert partner who can study, design, and install solar panels. 

Due to the easy availability of manpower at a competitive cost here in India, DIY kits are still not popular in India. However, it is getting traction and will likely pick up once the standardization of systems is done.

What are some design, material, and product mandates for utilizing solar power in living, commercial, office, and retail spaces?

Here are the important pointers to keep in mind for the effective use of solar power in living, commercial, office, and retail spaces:

• Sanctioned load 
• Running load (Units consumed per day & month)
• Availability of shadow-free space 
• Height of building 
• Type of roof with geographical location 
• Local discom policy for net metering 
• Cost of power from Discom 

For a novice who would like to utilize solar power to cut energy bills? What advice do you have? What factors are to be kept in mind for selecting the right solutions, and what are these solutions?

 We would advise customers who are likely to consider solar power as an option  to review the following factors:  

• Monthly Electricity Consumption 
• Sanctioned Load from Discom against each other
• Availability of free Rooftop shadow space
• Selection of right product & installation partner
• Availability of Funds (Capital/Loan from Bank/Third Party Finance) 

Based on the above inputs we advise a customer on what capacity of the solar system is optimum.  Many a time, space is constrained or sometimes monthly consumption is not very high  or consumers could  have multiple connections in the same building, hence it would be advisable to review the above points before considering Solar Solutions.

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