CHANDIGARH:National Science Day in memory of Bharat Ratan Dr CV Raman was celebrated by Tethys Fossil Museum on Monday by organizing an International Webinar on Geothermal System with focus on Thermal Energy Networks by Jay Egg from USA Talking to media person Dr Ritesh Arya President of the Tethys Fossil Museum and Research Center said Bharat Ratan Dr CV Raman with his scientific temperament was able to study the scattering of light using prism and later developed his own spectrograph costing him Rs 200 to win a
Nobel Prize in 1930
Emphasizing this years theme on National Science day “ Integrated Approach in Science and
Technology for sustainable future “ Dr Arya further stated that Dr Raman’s life and his work was a
perfect example of how scientific wisdom coupled with simple instruments and technology could
help to win Noble Nobel prize. “Instruments can be of help but they should not be a hindrance to
our knowledge for achieving our desired goals. In India ‘Jugad’ is a household name which translates
to innovations using local resources by integrating science and local technology available to create
futuristic workable solutions, “ says Dr Arya. His contemporaries Homi Baba (father of Atomic Energy
(Indian Chapter) Vikram Sarabhai ( Father of Rocket and Space Science (india) and Abdul Kalam (the
Missile Man of India were all inspired by CV Raman to make India strong and self reliant in Atomic
Power Space Mission and Missile defense we are proud of today
His concept of Agneyodgara (lava energy - Free Safe Sustainable energy for all) was rated as
top 10 innovations by Guardian in World Future Energy Summit at Abu Dhabi added that choosing
from Light and Universe of CV Raman to geothermal space below the ground on Science day to
show how the future of energy below our feet can reduce the energy bills by upto 40 per cent of the
present consumption by using Thermal Energy Networks and innovations in GSHP technology.
In India he said that geothermal energy has been used since time immemorial and such was
the craze that villages like Tattapani in Himachal and CHumathang in Ladakh all have meaning
related to hot water and have been used for bathing and treating medical ailments.
Puga in Ladakh and Barren island in Andaman have the sole active geysers and active
volcanoes in India. In one sense our southern and northern boundaries were defined by the
geothermal resource. And inspite of the fact that we have 10000 MWe of known geothermal
potential we have still failed to produce 1kW of electric power.
India geothermally can be divided into two parts based on the utilization of the resource
either for cooling or heating. In the Himalayas the system will work effectively for heating but in the
Indo- Gangetic plain and Peninsular India the cooling system will be of great advantage. The beauty
of the geothermal energy network system is that the same system can work effectively to give heat
in winters and cooling in summers unlike ACs.
Dr Ritesh Arya said that there was an urgent need to frame effective geothermal laws in the
country and built futuristic townships, cities, Airports hospitals, commercial and residential spaces in
India with Thermal energy network
While speaking in the Webinar, Jay Egg said that building Community Level Thermal Storage
Energy Network was the best solution to provide cooling and heating solutions using GSHP at
individual, community , industrial Hotels Airports Hospitals commercial and residential spaces in a
very simple and effective way. He explained how GAS pipes were being replaced by Thermal Energy
network using Ground source heat pumps but also building sustainable energy systems which can be
very cost effective and sustainable in the long run. Heat pumps were nothing new and everyone has
been using in our homes in Fridge where we take out heat from the foot / items placed in it and take
it out keeping the system cool.
The GSHP works in same technology and principle where they take out heat from the
buildings and transfer the same in the ground thereby cooling the building in summers and vice
versa when heat is required in winters. Citing examples of New York and California Jay Egg stated
how these states had framed laws to help community based Thermal energy Networks and used
nearby Rivers Ponds lakes or groundwater as HEAT SINKS .Jay concluded his presentation where he
showed how Futuristic cities can be planned using geothermal energy network resource to help
them reduce their energy loads in peak summers and winters and help build future energy cities.
Osheen Gupta concluded the session by thanking Jay Egg for sharing his valuable information
on building sustainable cities using heatpumps and informed about celebrating World Water Day on
22 March 2022 with the UN theme ‘Groundwater – Making the invisible visible’.