A REPORT ON

THE ANALYSIS OF WASTAGE

OF
ELECTRICITY IN BITS HOSTELS

Prepared for

Engineering Services Division, BITS-Pilani

Prepared By

Abhishek Goel 2006A1PS413

Shuchi Shukla 2006A3PS163
Yash Gupta 2006A4PS252
Vineet Gupta 2006A4PS329
Amit Gupta 2006A7PS068

BIRLA INTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE, PILANI

RAJASTHAN-333031
November 13, 2007

i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

A comprehensive report always requires the goodwill, encouragement, guidance and support of
many people. We are deeply indebted to Mrs. Devika to give us an opportunity to prepare a
report on the topic "Wastage of Electricity in BITS Hostels". We thank her for her unflinching
support and guidance.

We also thank the Instructor-in-charge of the course Technical Report Writing (TA C312), Dr.
Sangeeta Sharma, for including the preparation of the report as an afresh evaluative component.

We express our gratitude to the BITS administration for providing us with internet facility round
the clock and a vast library. The books they provided us served as an ideal data source which
helped us throughout in the development of this report.

We also thank particularly S9 unit for providing us printers. The peer group, as reviewers is an
indispensable part of the making of this report. Although we cannot mention all the names, we
found ourselves in anonymous debate with several remarkable thinkers, especially about some of
the important but not so common topics discussed in the report. It would be impossible to refer in
detail to the many persons who have been consulted in the compilation of this work and
elsewhere who have contributed advice, assistance, equipment and skilled services that were
invaluable to the progress of the work. We may be excused for not naming them individually.

2
ABSTRACT

Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani is a homogeneous society consisting of people
from different states of India with varied backgrounds. The population of students residing on
the BITS campus is about 4000. In spite of belonging to highly educated backgrounds the
students on campus waste huge amounts of electricity oblivious of the consequences of this
wastage. The report aims at finding out reasons for such, creating awareness among students and
suggesting measures for optimal use of available electricity. The conclusions are based on
analysis of the survey. The interpretation of data collected clearly reflects the statistics of huge
wastage and the lack of proper attitude among students regarding usage of electricity. The report
also suggests some measures which will help in its optimized utilization and in turn help in
minimizing wastage. The report also includes some of steps which can be taken by institute.

3
TABLE OF CONTENTS

a) Acknowledgement……………………………………………. 2

b) Abstract……………………………………………………….. 3

c) Table of Illustrations…………………………………………. 5

1. Introduction…………………………………………………… 6

2. Energy crisis in India………………………………………..... 8

2.1 Statistics……………………………………………………

2.2 The Crisis………………………………………………....

2.3 The Government’s Role………………………………….

3. Method of Data Collection………………………………….... 11

4. Ideal Energy Consumption…………………………………... 13

5. Energy Consumption Pattern Among Students…………..... 17

6. Energy Consumption Data from Questionnaire………….... 19

7. Actual Monthly Bills from E.S.D. …………………………... 22

8. Comparison between Data from Various Sources………..... 23

9. Students Views on Energy Crisis……………………………. 25

10. Causes………………………………………………………… 26

11. Conclusions…………………………………………………... 28

12. Recommendations…………………………………………… 30

13. Appendix……………………………………………………… 32

14. Bibliography…………………………………………………... 35

4
TABLE OF ILLUSTRATIONS

1. Table 4.1 The

number of single and double seated rooms in each bhavan…

2. Table 4.2 The ideal

electricity bill for each bhavan………………………….

3. Table 5.1 Year wise

expenditure of electricity……………………………….

4. Fig. 5.1 Year wise

comparison of expenditure of electricity……………..

5. Fig 6.1 Usage of

Fans ( from questionnaire)…………………………........

6. Fig 6.2 Usage of

Tube Lights ( from questionnaire ) …............................

7. Table 6.1
Expected bills of various bhavans from questionnaire………….

8. Table 6.2 Year wise

expected billing from questionnaire…………………..

9. Fig. 6.3 Year

wise Expected Monthly Bills (from questionnaire )………

10. Table 7.1 Actual

data from E.S.D. ………………………………………….

11. Table 8.1

Comparison between data from different sources……………..

12. Fig 8.1 Graphical

comparison between data from different sources….

5
1. INTRODUCTION

Electricity is an essential requirement for today’s common man. Technological advancements

have led to its extensive usage even in the remote rural areas of India. But due to ease in
accessibility and use, the wastage of electricity has become a grave concern. Power crisis in
India is scaling new heights with major cities like New Delhi, Kolkata etc. suffering as much as
14 hour power cuts. Many Small Scale Integration (SSI) units may have to shut down due to
power shortage. Power which fuels the economic engine could well become the single biggest
limiting factor as India tries to achieve a consistent 8% growth target. 70% of electricity
generation in India is from thermal power plants, using fossil fuels. The resources for electricity
production, like coal, are depleting at a very fast pace, one of the major reasons being the
careless attitude people have towards the use of electricity.

The management of Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani is concerned about
spreading awareness and generating initiative regarding power crisis among their students. To
address this issue, Dr.L.K.Maheshwari, Vice Chancellor of Birla Institute of Technology and
Science, Pilani has asked Mr.T.Vishwanath, the head of the Engineering Services Division to
prepare a report on the ‘Wastage of electricity in the hostels at BITS, Pilani’. Mr.T.Vishwanath
has consulted our company, Pearson & Co., to conduct a survey and produce a report for the
same.

The method of data collection used in developing this report is survey by the means of a
questionnaire distributed among the students studying in different years. For comparative
analysis, ideal and actual energy consumption values have been acquired from the Engineering
Services Division, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani and the internet.

This report analyses certain important aspects of the energy consumption pattern of students
studying at Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, along with their awareness
regarding the energy crisis issue.

The report signifies the lack of interest and initiative in a section of the educated youth of today
who are not motivated enough to preserve the resources of their own nation. They are even
6
unaware of the consequences of their actions. Hence, there is a need to motivate the youth of our
nation, especially the educated ones, to realize the urgency the enormous problem of power crisis
calls for, and to take effective measures to control wastage. This is necessary for the country’s
progress as it aspires to become a developed state in the near future.

However, there are few limitations which prevent the report from being perfectly accurate in
quantitative terms. Firstly, the survey is restricted to a sample space of 70 students. Besides that,
the common billing system for the whole Meera Bhavan (Girls hostel) makes it difficult to
compare data for girls studying in different years. Lastly, the complex electrical unit to rupee
conversion in billing results in only an approximate comparison between the data collected from
the data collected from the students and the Engineering Services Division at Birla Institute of
Technology and Science, Pilani.

Chapter 2 describes the state of present state of energy crisis in India. The methods of data
collection have been briefly discussed in section 3 of the report. The report deals with the ideal
electricity usage analysis in section 4, followed by year-wise study of electricity expenditure in
section 5. Section 6 and 7 look at data gathered from the Engineering Services Division and the
survey based on questionnaires. Chapter 8 discusses the views of students regarding energy crisis
and the steps that should be taken to prevent it. After analyzing the data collected, the causes of
electricity wastage have been considered in Chapter 9. Chapter 10 and 11 draw attention towards
the conclusion of the analysis, and the recommendations for improving the current situation

2. ENERGY CRISIS IN INDIA

7
Daily we come across news items reading: Cities reeling under 14 hour power cuts; Power crisis
spills onto streets; SSI units may have to shut shop due to power shortage etc. This could well
become the single biggest limiting factor to India achieving a consistent 8% growth target.

2.1 STATISTICS

India has a total installed capacity of about 100,000 MW of which, roughly 70% comes from
Thermal Power Plants. There are three types of generation techniques.

a) Coal Based

b) Gas Based

c) Diesel Based

The next biggest contributor to thermal power supply is Hydro Power Plants, accounting for
nearly 25% of the overall production.

Nuclear and wind based power plants account for a meager 2.5% and 1.5% respectively.

2.2 THE CRISIS

Almost 50% of the coal-based power plants experience critically short supplies.

The situation is ALARMING and needs to be redressed on WAR FOOTINGS.

It is projected that to meet the shortfall between demand and supply, 12MT of coal will have to
be imported every year for the next 2-3 years and figure could rise to 40MT by 2007 if the linked
mines are not developed on war footings.

However, the proposition is a costly one as the price of coal is quite high in the international
market. Due to this, the cost of production of electricity would go up by 10 to 15 paise per unit.
But, here are some facts.

Coal Mining in India was started in the year 1774 in the eastern part of the country in the State of
West Bengal. India now ranks as the third largest coal producer of the World next only to China
and USA.

The total reserves of coal are estimated at about 248 billion tons (as per Coal India Ltd). These
reserves are expected to last for another 243 years.

Then clearly, the main problem is the production of coal and not natural scarcity. But why is the
production not taking off?
8
Following are some of the reasons.

• Government budgetary support to public sector coal companies was 95% till 1990, which
has now come down to 10% of the plan outlay.

• Public sector alone can not meet increasing demand of coal.

• Administered pricing structure has not been remunerative enough to generate surplus
worth investing in.

• Development of new mines is not taken up for reasons of non-viability etc.

So, it is not the scarcity but continuous neglect of the coal sector over the years that have led to
the current situation.

2.3 THE GOVERNMENT’S ROLE

The government is to be put to blame for this situation. It took an ambitious aim of capacity
enhancement without ensuring good health of its primary supplier - Coal India Ltd. Hence a
crisis situation was inevitable.

The industry is in a buoyant stage and the country is galloping towards becoming an economic
superpower. The last thing we want is power to become a limiting factor for this growth.

The only silver lining is that there is growing awareness to move towards alternate sources of
energy (such as solar power, nuclear energy).

The recent assurance by the United States to provide adequate fuel supplies to India’s nuclear
power plants is also expected to boost production and ease the current situation.

We have failed to realize the importance of renewable energy and bio-fuels in our energy mix all
these years. The Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources, set up over 20 years ago, has
failed to play a significant role. First, the government should make it mandatory for housing
societies, government buildings and industrial houses to use solar heating systems. It would
bring down the domestic energy bill and the consumption of conventional energy.

9
Secondly, instead of providing a subsidy on kerosene supplied through the public distribution
system, the government should subsidize solar energy appliances. Third, it should offer attractive
incentives to the individuals and industrial houses supplying electricity generated from wind
power plants or other renewable sources to the power grid.

We need to encourage R&D in this sector to develop cost-effective products. One should realize
that only a miniscule of the total 45,000-MW potential in wind power has been harnessed.
Through proper tax incentives and R&D, we can give a big push to this sector, besides solar
power.

3. METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION

10
As mentioned in the Introduction the questionnaires were distributed among the students.
Besides the objective questions in questionnaires, we also asked for the reasons and methods to
prevent electricity wastage.

i) Bhavan-wise
KRISHNA 5

GANDHI 5
RAM 5
BUDH 5
VISWAKARMA 5
VYAS 5
SHANKAR 5
MALVIYA 5
RANA PRATAP 5
ASHOK 5
BHAGIRATH 5
MEERA 15
------------------
Total 70

ii) Year-wise
FIRST 20

SECOND 20
11
 THIRD 20

FOURTH 10

----------------

Total 70

4. IDEAL ENERGY CONSUMPTION

We considered an ideal model of electricity consumption according to their wattage and duration
of usage. In the following section ideal energy consumption for the month of September has been
discussed –

12
 • Fan is used for maximum 15 hours/day, Tube-light for 8 hours/day and Computers
(wherever applicable) for 5 hours.
• Cost per unit of electricity in B.I.T.S. is Rs.5
• 1 unit of energy = 36,00,000 Joules
• Total Optimal Bill = No of double seated rooms * Cost of fan and Light +
No of single seated rooms * Cost of fan,

light and computers

• In Ashok Bhavan , there are only 1st year students and very few or none have personal
computers.
• Optimum bill / person = Total optimum bill / ( No of single
seated rooms + 2 * no of double seated rooms )

Computer electricity bill is computed for single seated rooms only. From the data collected only
2 or 3% of 1st year students have computers in the double-seated rooms. So, their share for
calculation of average optimal bill has been neglected.

Calculations

Energy consumed by fans (60 W) = 60W * (15 hours)

= 60W * (15 * 3600 seconds)

= 32, 40,000 Joules

= 0.9 units / day

Energy consumed by tube-lights (40 W) = 40W * (8 hours)

= 40W * (8 * 3600 seconds)

= 11, 52,000 Joules

= 0.32 units / day

Energy consumed by computers (200 W) = 200W * (5 hours)

= 200W * (5 * 3600 seconds)

= 36, 00,000 Joules

13
 = 1 unit / day

Cost of using fans / month = Units consumed per day * number of

days in month X cost per unit

= 0.9 * 5 * 30

= Rs. 135

Cost of using tube-lights / month = Units consumed per day *

Number of days in month *

Cost per unit

= 0.32 * 5 * 30

= Rs. 48

Cost of using computers / month = Units consumed per day *

Numbers of days in month *

Cost per unit

= 1 * 5 * 30

= Rs. 150

Table 4.1

THE NUMBER OF SINGLE AND DOUBLE SEATED ROOMS IN EACH BHAVAN

BHAVAN No. of single seated rooms No. of double seated rooms

14
KRISHNA 190 36

GANDHI 190 36

RAM 190 33

BUDH 190 36

VISWAKARMA 192 38

VYAS 190 36

SHANKAR 190 36

MALVIYA 254 -

RANA PRATAP 152 -

ASHOK 152 -

BHAGIRATH 152 -

MEERA 448 222

.

Table 4.2

THE IDEAL ELECTRICITY BILL FOR EACH BHAVAN

BHAVAN Total Ideal Bill (Rs.) Ideal Bill Per Person(Rs.)

15
 KRISHNA 69,858 267

GANDHI 69,858 267

RAM 69,309 271

BUDH 69,858 267

VISWAKARMA 70,890 265

VYAS 69,858 267

SHANKAR 69,858 267

MALVIYA 84,582 333

RANA PRATAP 50,616 333

ASHOK 27,816 183

BHAGIRATH 50,616 333

MEERA 1,89,810 213

5. ENERGY CONSUMPTION PATTERN AMONG STUDENTS:

YEAR WISE ANALYSIS

Separate year wise electricity consumption data was not available with the S.W.D. Hence
without loss of generality we have taken the consumption of the first year students as the actual
per head billing for ASHOK bhavan and the bills of double seated students . In a similar way the
consumption of second year students has been calculated by averaging the billing of
SHANKAR , VYAS and GANDHI bhavans. Further the billing of RAM, BUDH and KRISHNA
16
bhavans was averaged to get the consumption of the third year students. Finally bills of
MALVIYA and BHAGIRATH bhavans were averaged to get the consumption of the fourth year
students. In the end the consumption has been equated to the average expenditure incurred since
they bear a relation of direct proportion.

The following table compares the average consumption of electricity by students of different
years:

Table 5.1

YEAR WISE EXPENDITURE OF ELECTRICITY

YEAR AVERAGE EXPENDITURE* (Rs.)

First 256

Second 342

Third 389

Fourth 425

* Data rounded of for enhancement of readability.

The above table shows that the consumption of electricity increases as the students pass on to higher
classes. Like in the above table from the data collected from E.S.D. its quite clear that electricity usage
of the second year students is higher than that of the first year which again is higher for the third year
students and highest for the students of the final year.

This may be attributed to the fact that first year students do not bring their computers along with them
while mostly all their seniors have either laptops or desktops in their rooms. Also second and third year
have much more work for which they make use of their computers. The fourth year students have time for
leisure which they spend with their desktops playing games and downloading stuff. Also they access the
net more for the purpose of future job prospects and MS/MBA opportunities etc. This explains the rise in
the electricity bills. Also one fine detail everyone is likely to miss is that students progressing into higher
classes become more and more careless and topics like judicious utilization of resources do not appeal to
them any more

17
 450
400
350
300
OPTIMUM 250
MONTHLY BILL 200
Series1
150
100
50
0
1 2 3 4
YEAR

Fig. 5.1 YEAR WISE COMPARISION OF EXPENDITURE OF

ELECTRICITY

6. ENERGY CONSUMPTION DATA FROM QUESTIONNAIRE

This section deals with the data collected from questionnaire:

18
60 55

50

40

30

20
20 15

10 7
3

0 LESS THAN 8 HOURS 8-12 HOURS 12-16 HOURS 16-20 HOURS ABOVE 20 HOURS

Fig. 6.1 Usage of Fans (as per questionnaire)

67
70

60

50

40

30 22

20
10

10
1

0
4-8 HOURS 8-12 HOURS 12-16 HOURS ABOVE 16 HOURS
Fig.
6.2 Usage of tube lights (as per questionnaire)

Table 6.1 THE EXPECTED ELECTRICITY BILL FOR EACH BHAVAN FROM THE
DATA COLLECTED BY QUESTIONNARE

19
BHAVAN Total Ideal Bill (Rs.) Ideal Bill Per Person(Rs.)

KRISHNA 93,738 358

GANDHI 93,738 358

RAM 93,099 364

BUDH 93,738 358

VISWAKARMA 95,070 355

VYAS 93,738 358

SHANKAR 93,738 358

MALVIYA 1,15,062 453

RANA PRATAP 68,856 453

ASHOK 32,376 213

BHAGIRATH 68,856 453

MEERA 2,50,230 281

Table 6.2

YEAR WISE EXPECTED EXPENDITURE ON ELECTRICITY BY DATA FROM

QUESTIONNAIRE

20
 YEAR AVERAGE EXPENDITURE* (Rs.)

First 356

Second 358

Third 360

Fourth 453

* Data rounded of for enhancement of readability

500
450
400
350
300
EXPECTED
250
MONTHLY BILL
200 Series1
150
100
50
0
1 2 3 4
YEAR

Fig. 6.3 Year wise Expected Monthly Bills( from questionnaire )

7. ACTUAL MONTHLY BILL FROM DATA OBTAINED FROM

ENGINEERING SERVICES DIVISION

Following is the statistics of electricity bill of all bhavans for the month of September.

Table 7.1
21
 BHAVAN TOTAL BILL TOTAL BILL PER
PER MONTH BILL(excluding PERSON
mess)

KRISHNA 1,13,985 98,805 447

GANDHI 92,619 80,418 369
RAM 96,635 89,695 385
BUDH 84,836 67,247 334
VISWAKARMA 88,740 68,846 340
VYAS 85,500 75,438 342
SHANKAR 79,128 62,902 314
MALVIYA 1,58,760 1,48,348 378
RANA PRATAP 46,992 37,469 356
ASHOK 37,632 34,941 256
BHAGIRATH 68,912 53,372 472
MEERA 2,40,065 2,24,844 361

The above table gives or rather compares the actual total bills and the bill per head of different
bhavans as collected from the ESD. This is what the students are actually paying to the institute
as their electricity bill.

8. COMPARISON BETWEEN THE DATA FROM VARIOUS

SOURCES
Table 8.1

S.NO BHAVAN OPTIMUM EXPECTED ACTUAL

BILL BILL BILL
1 KRISHNA 267 358 447
22
 2 GANDHI 267 358 369
3 RAM 271 364 385
4 BUDH 267 358 334
5 VISWAKARMA 265 355 340
6 VYAS 267 358 342
7 SHANKAR 267 358 314
8 MALVIYA 333 453 378
9 RANA PRATAP 333 453 356
10 ASHOK 183 213 256
11 BHAGIRATH 333 453 472
12 MEERA 213 281 361

* The optimum bill is the one from that has been using the ideal model chosen. This takes into
account that students use the electrical appliances for a fixed number of hours as laid down by
the E.S.D.

* The expected bill is evaluated from the data collected through questionnaire. This is the value
the students believe their bill should amount to.

* The actual bill is the one provided by metered reading by ESD. This is the amount that the
students are paying as their electricity bill.

Fig. 8.1
GRAPHICAL COMPARISON BETWEEN THE DATA FROM
VARIOUS SOURCES

23
 500
450
400
350
300
MONTHLY
250
BILL
200
150
100
50
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
BHAWANS

Blue colored bars represent the optimal electricity bill.

Red colored bars represent the bill by data from questionnaire
Yellow colored bars represent the actual electricity bill.

** The bhavans are in the same order as given in the table, i.e. 1 for KRISHNA, 2
for GANDHI and so on.

9. STUDENTS’ VIEWS ON ENERGY CRISIS

From the survey, we concluded that almost all the students are very well aware of the energy
crisis which we all are facing. They knew that the price hiking of fuel like petrol, diesel etc. is
the consequences of this energy crisis to a great extent. Analyzing the data, it can be inferred that
most of the students, despite of knowing all facts, are not taking enough care about this. The

24
behavior of getting their lights and computers plugged even when they are not in use is really
common.

On the other hand, many students, realizing the urgent need, are searching for more renewable
resources. They are working on many projects which are based on the idea of saving the world
from energy crisis.

Some students also have a view that the government should take some appreciable steps to
improve the situation. But they also feel that the energy conservation should ground on the
individual’s steps. Everyone should take this as a challenge and should contribute considering it
as their duty.

Considering the most basic level, students feel that the authorities are most liable to improve the
situation by creating policies etc. For ex- In BITS also, the use of cycle by the students highly
encourages the prevention of energy crisis.

10. CAUSES OF WASTAGE

After analyzing the available data, it is evident that electricity wastage by the students of Birla
Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani should be a concern for the authorities of the college.
The careless attitude shown by students at young age can become permanent, if they do not
amend their ways at the right time.

25
The major cause of this unnecessary usage of electricity is lack of initiative among the students.
Though most of them are aware about the energy crisis scenario in our country, and that we are
not perfectly equipped with alternative sources of energy, none of them is particularly concerned
about it. All of them feel that steps should be taken to save energy, but nobody is ready to take
responsibility for generating a drive for immediate action for the same.

The youth of today do not realize the value of money. They are provided with all possible
resources for convenience and luxury without having to work for them. Due to ease of
availability of technology, they are living without any hassles. But they do not understand the
meaning of ‘conservation’, with respect to both personal and national interest. They do not plan
for the better future. They do not realize that the depletion rate of our resources is so high that if
they do not save every possible bit, soon we will be in a handicapped state, with an impossible
aim of becoming a developed nation without any major fuel sources.

In short, there is a lack of urgency in the students’ attitude towards energy conservation.

The common billing system for all residents of Meera Bhavan, and floor wise billing for boys’
hostels has helped in increasing wastage as a student would never realize how much electricity
she/he personally spent.

Besides this, the lack of periodic checks and reminders regarding from the institute regarding
appropriate usage of electricity has also played a role. What is also needed is a constant interest
and encouragement to be shown by the institute concerning this issue of national interest, to
create seriousness in the students. With the help of examples and suggestive measures, firstly
implemented by the professors, the students will be motivated to follow suit.

There is no energy conservation when it comes to corridor and bathroom lights. There is no
system of switching them off when not required. Also, tungsten bulbs and tubelights consume
too much power as compared to the alternative Chloro Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) which are
easily available as the other types.

Another major cause is the permanently switched on laptops and computers. The 24-hour
Internet access is proving to be rather costly, as students do not switch off their laptops and
computers before leaving their rooms, so that they can stay online all day on their messengers.

There is no way of checking if students use high power appliances like steam iron, speakers with
woofers etc. which they are not supposed to use in their rooms. This leads to illegal wastage.

There is also a need for installation of electronic or mechanical systems to shut down power
supply to rooms when they are locked. This can save a lot of electricity wasted due to sheer
laziness on the resident’s part.

Under a strict rule for electricity usage, students could have been habituated to disciplined usage
of electricity.
26
All in all, the cumulative effect of all the above-mentioned factors has led to the present
situation.

11. CONCLUSIONS

Upon reviewing the current situation of fossil fuels in India, it is evident that there is a dire need
for preserving our resources for the future.

On comparison between the data collected from the Engineering Services Division, Birla
Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani, it is clearly visible that the ideal energy
consumption is way below the actual energy consumption by students of all years.

27
It can be seen from the data that the ideal expenditure per person is approximately half the actual
average amount spent by a student staying in a hostel at BITS, Pilani, which is a matter of grave
concern.

It has been observed that there is a general increasing trend in the electricity expenditure per
person as we consider students of higher years.

The electricity consumed by first year students staying in Ashok Bhavan is comparatively near
their optimum and expected expenditures, which shows a greater sense of discipline. This could
be mainly because they have lived disciplined and organized lives at home and are continuing
similar habits.

The actual expenditure for second year students shows a greater deviation from expected and
optimum expenditures. As the students of second year are divided into various bhavans, it is
difficult to get a perfectly accurate picture of the amount of energy consumed by them. However,
it seems that due to an easier time schedule for classes as compared to first year, they tend to
spend a larger amount of time in their rooms explaining a higher expected expenditure. The
deviation though still remains too huge despite this consideration.

The consumption for third year is also extremely high in comparison to the other two values. The
actual consumption values for Krishna Bhavan, which is occupied by third year students, are
second highest among all the hostels. The reasons of this variation are not very clear as the
students have a hectic study schedule. Thus, this difference is highly unacceptable as there is no
clearly visible reason to support it.

The students of fourth year residing in Bhagirath Bhavan have the highest and most shocking
expenditure figures. The students of last semester on campus have very less number of courses
and classes as compared to the other students. They barely have 6-10 classes per week in contrast
to a minimum of 30-32 classes for the rest of the students. Hence, they spend most of their time
in their rooms. This also inculcates general lazy behaviour in general. There is a need for a
slightly fuller time schedule for them, which might involve activities other than usual projects
and courses. The lack of seriousness towards energy conservation has to be done away with.

The data collected from Meera Bhavan though can represent the high deviation from the
optimum bill and the expected bill, it cannot be used for year wise analysis and comparison as
there is a common billing system for all its female residents. The lack of realization though is
visible from the digression from the hostel’s calculated ideal values.

The laptop usage by students of all hostels and years is very excessive of the stipulated amount.
There is a need for strong and stringent measures regarding the internet facilities provided in the
hostels, to curb this casual behaviour.

28
In a nutshell, there is a need to reduce the wastage of electricity consumed by every individual
irrespective of his/her year and hostel. The values have to be near the ideal calculated by the
Engineering Services Division, in order to make a noticeable difference towards conservation of
the fossil fuels used for electricity generation. The institute needs to take the initiative and
generate a drive for the same among students. Any delay in action can be too late for our
country’s best interests and future.

11. RECOMMENDATIONS

The following steps are recommended to reduce wastage of electricity on the campus:

29
• There should be strict instructions to the students from hostel wardens, to keep their fans
and lights off when not in use, failing which, appropriate fines should be imposed on
them.

• Corridor lights should be switched off at night.

• The hostel watchmen should ensure that the lights in the corridors, common rooms and
bathrooms should never be switched on during daytime.

• Students should be encouraged to use CFLs (Chloro Fluorescent Lamps) which are more
economical and efficient lights as compared to conventional bulbs. They consume very
little power but provide bright light. Not only that they have a much longer life spans as
compared to the normal tube lights and incandescent bulbs.

• In fact, CFLs can be provided by the concerned authorities instead of the conventional
neon tubes.

• People on the campus, should make it a point to switch off computers when they are not
in use. Or else if they don’t want to switch them off at least they can keep them in sleep
mode when not in use. Computers in sleep mode consume significantly less amounts of
energy as compared to when left idle.

• Strict action should be taken against the illegal use of heavy electrical gadgets like irons,
room heaters and electric kettles. These gadgets consume huge amount of electricity for
which other people who are not using them also have to pay. Moreover their usage can
lead to tripping of voltage.

• Meters for individual wings should be introduced. It will render more sense to the system
of billing in the institution. This will also help in identifying people who are wasting
electricity.

• LAN service should be provided for a specific period of time

• Sound systems and woofers in hostels should be banned and instead headphones can be
used.

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 • The Institute can provide for organizing awareness programs amongst students.

• Most of the students are already aware of the energy crisis, but they back out when it
comes to taking any initiative. Mainly its’ because they don’t feel motivated enough take
any step in that direction. Students who contribute most towards saving the resources or
creating awareness amongst fellow students should deserve special mention and could be
obliged through healthy incentives.

• The institute already provides every student with the opportunity to do six courses of
his/her choice namely the electives. More of the electives pertaining to renewable energy,
saving energy etc. can be introduced. Maybe a more radical step would be to introduce
these as structured courses compulsory for all so as to increase the awareness among
students.

• Pilani is blessed in the sense that fairly strong wind blows throughout the year. But till
now no step has been taken in this direction of utilizing this renewable source of energy.
Its true that setting up wind mills is an expensive prospect but some initiative needs to be
taken.

These steps if effectively implemented will go a long way in reducing wastage of electricity.
Besides these, general awareness should be generated among the students on the proper use of
resources, as Pilani is hard-pressed in terms of resource availability.

13. APPENDIX
QUESTIONNAIRE PROVIDED TO STUDENTS FOR
SURVEY:

WASTAGE OF ELECTRICITY IN HOSTELS

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NAME:

YEAR:

1) What is the daily usage of following appliances in your room?

A) Fans less than 8 hours

8-12 hours

12-16 hours

16-20 hours

Above 20 hours

B) Tubelights 4-8 hours

8-12 hours

12-16 hours

Above 16 hours

2) How long is your laptop/PC plugged in (power on), in the following modes:

A) Working mode ______hours/day

B) StandBy mode ______hours/day

Don’t own a laptop/PC

3) What other appliances do you use in your room and for how many hours/week?

APPLIANCE HOURS/WEEK

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1 ________________ __________________

2 ________________ __________________

3 ________________ __________________

4) What is the daily usage of lights in the following places in your hostel?

A) Common Room ______hours

B) Bathrooms ______hours

C) Corridors ______hours

5) Do you switch off the following when you go out of your hostel?

A) Room Lights Yes No

B) Room Fans Yes No

C) Common Room Lights Yes No

D) Bathroom Lights Yes No

E) Corridor Lights Yes No

6) Do you switch off the lights and fans when you go out of a room in your house?

Yes No

7) Do you know 70% of the electricity generation in India is from thermal power plants using
fossil fuels?

Yes No

8) Why do you think energy crisis is an issue we should be concerned with, at present?

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 _____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

9) What in your opinion can be done to solve this problem?

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

14. BIBLIOGAPHY

Mohan, Krishna and Sharma, R.C .Business Correspondence and Report

Writing, Third Edition. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company
Limited, 2002

34
< http:// www.energy.gov.on.ca/index.cfm?fuseaction=conservation.tips >

Retrieved on 12.11.2007

< http:// www.bharatpetroleum.com/environment/fuelConservationTips.asp>

Retrieved on 12.11.2007

<http:// www1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/ >

Retrieved on 12.11.2007

<http:// www.dewa.gov.ae/environment/conservation/conservedefault.asp>

Retrieved on 12.11.2007

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