Casestudy: Solar Architecture, India

RABI RASMI ABASAN, KOLKATA

RABI RASMI ABASAN,

KOLKATA
India's first solar housing complex
First green project in India using Building-integrated
photovoltaics (BIPV) technology. This project is executed in
association with West Bengal Renewable Energy
Development Agency (WBREDA).

Introduction
Green buildings are being seen as an emerging business
opportunity in India. The construction industry is estimated to
contribute about 10% of the GDP (gross domestic product). India
Green Building Council (which is part of CIIGodrej Green
Building Council) has undertaken the initiative of promoting the
green building concept in the country. Today, a variety of green
building projects are coming up in the country residential
complexes, exhibition centres, hospitals, educational institutions,
laboratories, IT parks, airports, government buildings, and
corporate offices. Many of these may use technically wellproven
solar technologies in different ways. One of these is the BIPV
(building integrated photovoltaic) application, which is well suited
to such ambiences. Of late, the use of both solar PV and solar
thermal systems in the urban buildings is gaining momentum. A
common practice is to connect solar PV system to the grid.

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Solar Architecture
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India has set out on the

path of harnessing
renewable energy
sources like solar
energy to address the
chronic shortage of
power, energy security
and environmental
concerns. As the
country looks for
solutions to harness
solar energy, in a cost
effective manner, a
Housing Complex in
Kolkata named Rabi
Rashmi Abasan has
used solar technology
which is integrated in
the building architecture
and also connected
with the grid.

THE PV MODULE:
The solar PV technology involves direct conversion of available
solar energy into some useful electrical energy. It can realistically
contribute to greater global sustainability in the medium to long
term. PV is becoming more and more accessible both in urban
and rural areas due to declining costs. One common PV
application today is to connect a PV system with the conventional
grid. This is called grid connected PV. A grid-connected system
works in parallel with the conventional grid network, and offers
the following advantages.
Supplies energy to loads at the point of generation
Exports power when there is excess energy
Allows the import of energy if there is a shortfall
BUILDING INTEGRATED PHOTOVOLTAIC (BIPV):
Recently, there has been a worldwide focus on the architectural
integration of PV modules in the building envelope. Such type of
modules can effectively replace conventional building materials
like roof tiles, shingles, facades, and normal glazing. PV building
materials can be manufactured in a manner that they are quite
similar to the conventional building products, blending well with

Sumitted by:

MANSI BEDI
M.ARCH, IV SEM
BUILDING
SERVICES

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Casestudy: Solar Architecture, India

RABI RASMI ABASAN, KOLKATA

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the surrounding environment. Integration of PV materials means that the costs of the replaced
building products can be thereby improving the economics of the project. Such PV systems are often
termed as BIPV (building integrated photovoltaics).

Project introduction
Rabi Rashmi Abasan (RRA), which in Bengali means 'solar ray-based dwelling', is a housing complex
located on a 1.76-acre plot in New Town, Kolkata, completed in 2008. The complex comprises 25
bungalows and a community centre, built using Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV). BIPV refers
to solar PV modules, architecturally integrated into the roof or the facade of the building, that convert
sunlight into electricity.

RRA was conceived by the then Managing Director of the West Bengal Renewable Energy
Development Authority (WBREDA), Mr. S P Gon Chaudhuri in 2003 but work on it started only in
2006. The final project was an outcome of well coordinated and committed effort of the overall
architect (WBREDA), the building designer (Bengal DCL), the civil contractor (Mackintosh Burn) and
the PV system vendor (SunTechnics India, a subsidiary of Conergy Group of Germany). The West
Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. provided the land at a concession of
20% of the market value.
The total cost of the complex upon completion was Rs. 12 crore out of which Rs. 50 lakh was
contributed by the Government of West Bengal. The street lights and the PV systems in the
community centre were obtained under a subsidy programme of the Government of India (GoI). The
remaining money came from the sale of the houses, which were priced at Rs. 45-48 lakh, somewhat
higher than the cost of houses in the neighbouring areas. This cost included the cost of the 2 kW
BIPV system (about. Rs. 6 lakh). WBREDA took money in advance from the bungalow owners and
the complex was funded using this money. WBREDA has sold 21 of the 25 bungalows through the
lottery system while retaining 4 bungalows.
WBREDA has appointed SunTechnics India for maintaining the solar systems in the complex for a
period of five years from the date of commissioning of the complex after which the residents body is
expected to care for it. Since the maintenance cost required by solar PV systems is typically between

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Casestudy: Solar Architecture, India

RABI RASMI ABASAN, KOLKATA

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0.5-1% of capital cost, this cost is envisaged to be between Rs. 3000-6000 each year for each house
owners system.

Salient features of the project:

The houses and the community centre incorporate solar active and passive architecture. The former
refers to the use of solar applications or appliances and the latter refers to incorporation of
architectural features that make buildings more energy efficient in respect of lighting and cooling.
Such features help keep buildings cool during summer months thereby reducing the daily peak
demand for electricity.

Active solar features

GRID TIE BIPV MODULES

Each house has a rooftop solar
PV system of 2 kW, a backup
battery of 160 Ah and an inverter.
Each house generates about 3000
units of energy a year.
It is
estimated that this energy will
satisfy about 40% of the electricity
needs of the house owner.
The
Rabi
Rashmi
Abasan
residential housing complex has
25 private houses and a
community centre with a net
connected load of 380 kW, of
which 58 kW is supplied using
roof-integrated solar PV.
The built area of each house is
155 m2 and, in addition, there are
2
14 m of terrace. Each cottage has

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Casestudy: Solar Architecture, India

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2 kW of roof-integrated solar PV tiles that use crystalline technology from SunTechnics India, a
subsidiary of the Conergy Group, which developed the project in partnership with WBREDA.

The installation, valued at approximately 600,000 overall, consists of 26 photovoltaic systems

comprising 464 units of Conergy's C125W solar modules, which were individually customized in
various geometric shapes to fit the roof profiles of each building.
BIPV as compared to roof top PV
replaces the
conventional
building
material and reduces the life cycle cost of
BIPV. BIPV systems can either be
interfaced with the available utility grid or
they may be designed as stand-alone, offgrid systems. In this complex, the BIPV is
grid interactive (see Box 1). The house
owner can therefore use the solar power
to meet own needs or sell the power to the
grid or both, besides drawing power from
the grid as and when necessary. The
house owner has to pay for the net energy
consumed from the grid on the basis of net monthly metering (see Box 2) as per the regulations
issued by the West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission (WBERC).
Grid-integrated or stand-alone roof top PV provides a two-fold advantage to a utility: as all captive
plants, it replaces, at the point of electricity use, the highest-cost grid supply (as most utilities are in
deficit and have to purchase power at market prices), and it allows savings on account of
transmission and distribution (T&D) losses (as power is produced at the point of use). Given a T&D

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loss level of 28% and price market to meet peak demand at Rs. 6/kWh, a back-of-the-envelope
calculation shows that self-consumption of power from a 2 kW PV system by 25 houses would lead to
maximum savings of about Rs. 6.4 lakh per annum for the utility. Solar power is also non-polluting
and has no fuel cost.

If roof top PV is grid connected, it provides an additional advantage of allowing distribution utilities to
meet their obligations of purchasing renewable energy (RE) based power as mandated under the
Electricity Act 2003. As compared to regular solar PV projects, roof top also allows for savings in land.

The installations generate 2.4 MWh of power annually. The energy is fed to the grid using net
metering and will be purchased by WBSEDCL. Consumers pay the cost of any net energy consumed
through the local distribution grid. In the event of a grid failure, in addition to the system inverter, a
backup battery of 160 Ah is provided.
Within the housing complex there is a community
centre for recreational activities and public functions.
It has an 8 kWp solar PV system including 2 kWp of
BIPV on the windows. Each of the eight windows
incorporates 125 Wp transparent PV. There is also a
6 kWp grid-connected roof-top system which is again
operated on a net metering basis. The electricity
generated by this installation offsets the power drawn
from the grid for applications such as pumping,

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Casestudy: Solar Architecture, India

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garden lights and the internal lighting, fans and

other night-time power demands.
SOLAR WATER HEATING SYSTEM
In addition, each housing unit has a 107-litre solar
water heating system (SWHS) which meets 15%
of the hot water needs. The swimming pool in this
centre of the community hall is connected to a
large SWHS.
SOLAR LIGHTING
There are 17 standalone street lights also
operating on solar PV and obtained under a government
subsidy programme. The streetlights are unique in the
sense that batteries are placed on the top with a proper
nicely designed colourful fabricated pole.

Passive solar features

About 25% of the total commercial energy in India is spent

on lighting, air-conditioning and ventilation, and so on. The
Rabi Rashmi complex incorporates several features specific
to solar passive architecture.
PLANNING OF EACH UNIT
This keeps houses cool during summer months, and also
reduces the daily peak demand. A unique feature is the use
of solar chimney. A small lily pool in the southern side with
proper ducting arrangements has been kept in the building
for smooth flow of hot air in and out of the building. The
south-facing solar passive architecture is designed such
that during the summer months, hot air within the building
rises due to convection and is expelled through ducts in a
'turret' at the top of the building. The pond surrounding the dwelling allows a cool breeze to circulate
and a simple fan is sufficient to keep the room comfortable to live in. Temperatures in Kolkata
(Calcutta) city reach a summer maximum of up to 42C. The temperature varies between 12C and
14C in winters and does not go below 10C, while humidity in summers is usually around 85%..
Natural lighting has been arranged in all rooms as far as possible.
INSULATED WALLS AND WINDOWS
Thermal comfort of the buildings is enhanced through insulation on the south-, west-, and east-side
walls of each individual unit in the housing complex. The insulation material used here is extruded
polystyrene block of 50-mm thickness inside walls that are 250 mm thick. Doubleglazed windows
have also been provided in the openings on such walls to exercise radiant energy control in the
buildings. Doubleglazing has been done maintaining complete vacuum inside.

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Casestudy: Solar Architecture, India

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INTELLIGENT WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM

The housing complex has also been provided with energy-efficient hydro pneumatic pumping
arrangement to supply pressurized water. This intelligent system design based on auto-start/autooff
mode and installed centrally is expected to match the end user requirements fully. The underlying
idea is to do away with the conventional individual household pumping arrangement and thus save
some energy in the process. The system comprises a pumpmotor set, micro processor/controllerbased control unit, pressure gauge, pressure transmitter, pressure tank, and different control valves.
There is also an emergency tank for each house.
CLEAN RIDE: ELECTRIC VEHICLE
Two battery-powered vehicles will be
available to the residents to commute
within the surrounding areas. The basic
idea is to showcase the green spirit of
the complex in every possible manner.

Econom y of BIPV S ystem

According to WBREDA, buyers of the
houses were convinced with the
proposition of saving Rs. 5-7/kWh (the
highest slab tariff) on the total electricity
bill. However, a quick analysis indicates
that the cost of generation for BIPV of
capacity 2 kW would be about Rs.
14.15/kWh without subsidies (see Box
3). Savings due to self-consumption,
sale of carbon credits and energy
efficiency leave a gap of Rs. 3.15/kWh
which is the implicit net cost to a home
owner. This is based on the capital cost
of PV prevailing today, which is lower
than the RRA purchase cost in 2006.
Greater reduction in the costs of PV
panels would further improve the
commercial viability of BIPV.

Conclusion
The Kolkata New Town development of
Rabi Rashmi Abasan is a landmark
project in Indian infrastructure. Using
solar passive architecture as part of a
new housing concept, such projects are
particularly conducive to the region's
prevailing climatic conditions.
It has showcased the benefits of solar
PV that will inspire other builders and
those corporate players that have a
commitment to using renewable energy
technology and energy efficiency

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measures. Indeed, some of the country's leading building companies,

such as DLF Builders, Siddha group and MRMGF, have shown
considerable interest in setting up mega-scale projects using roofintegrated solar PV as an integral component. Rajesh Bhat, chief
executive of SunTechnics India explains: 'Using building-integrated
photovoltaic (BIPV) elements, buildings can maximize their energy
efficiency by saving 0.5 kg of carbon emissions for every kilowatt hour
of solar power produced. Green buildings are thus highly advantageous
for consumers and real estate developers in large capital cities. In
addition to reaping the benefits of energy cost reductions, green
buildings are also interesting architectural applications as they are
highly distinctive and innovative.'

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RERERENCES:
Building Integrated Photovoltaics in
Rabi Rasmi Abasan, IDFC, Policy
Quarterly, December 2009

S P Gon Choudhury, Rabi rasmi

Abasan, AkshayUrja, Volume 1,
Issue 6, May-June2008

http://www.greensolutionsmag.com/
back_issues/GSM-Oct08/gf.html

http://www.ecofriend.com/entry/rabi
-rashmi-abasan-india-s-first-solarpowered-colony/

http://www.downtoearth.org.in/node
/5072

http://www.eai.in/club/users/aathmi
ka/blogs/1314

http://urbanarchitecture.in/2008/08/r
abi-rashmi-abasan-indias-firstgreen-housing-projectcompleted.html

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