Going Green
Shree Swaminarayan Temple Willesden has installed solar panels on the flat roof of our Gujarati School extension. This system has 18kWp (Kilowatt Peak) - kWp means the maximum power output the panels can achieve in optimum conditions. The temple has several activities running throughout the week that means a regular large consumption of power. The installation of the solar panels means that the temple can now play its part in preserving the environment by producing its own energy, in a bid to help the future generation.
This plant was opened and started by H.H. 1008 Acharya Shree Koshalendraprasadji Maharaj on 22nd August 2011 on the auspicious day of Janmastami. Maharajshree was specifically chosen to officially open the green energy source at the temple because conserving the environment is a topic very close to his heart. So much so, that in 2011, his father H.H. Nivrut Acharya Shree Tejendraprasadji Maharaj opened a unique museum in Ahmedabad that houses artefacts that have been locked away for hundreds of years. This museum was also designed to be environmentally friendly.
Currently our solar plant is generating electricity at roughly 64.5kWh per day. This figure will fluctuate due to the amount of daylight time reducing over the winter periods and increase during the spring and summer periods. Since the installation of the solar panels we have generated about 10,000kWh of energy. The amount of energy we have created also benefits the environment as we would have pumped around 7000kg of CO2 pollution into the atmosphere, had we not installed the solar panels.
Some quick facts about our installation:
- 39 - Solar panels installed on the roof
- 150 - Slabs of paving used to hold down the solar panels
- 80 - Man hours required to install and connect the panels
- 2 - Power units installed to convert the solar energy into electricity
Our installation also has a portal that is publicly available for all to see. You can see exactly how much energy the mandir is generating on a daily basis and even by the hour from our exclusive web portal. (http://tinyurl.com/solarwillesden)
This is free energy provided to us by Maharaj. We should be harnessing the power of Suryanarayan Dev and making this world a better place for us all and our future generations to enjoy.
To see pictures of the opening of the solar panels please click here
