Biogas-powered heating system gives eco-friendly, cost-effective alternative to the use of electricity or fire wood

Tribune News Service

Vijay Mohan

Chandigarh, August 19

A new biogas-powered floor heating system for extreme cold climates has been developed by Indian engineers which could provide a viable eco-friendly and cost-effective alternative to the use of electricity or fire wood.

The radiant heating system involves supply of grey water to a boiler with an external source. This water is then heated up to 60 degrees Celsius inside the boiler with biogas as an eco-fuel and then transferred to pipes that are laid under the floor of a building.

The pipes carrying the hot water get heated and radiate the heat upwards towards the floor surface. The top of the pipes is covered with materials having high conductivity, while the lower parts have low conductivity material so that the heat is not transferred to the ground. Water is made to circulate between the boiler and the pipes.

A project has been initiated at Thiksey village in Leh in association with the SMEF’s Brick School of Architecture and the Pimpri Chinchwad College of Engineering, according to a statement by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The extremely cold temperatures in and around Leh, which has little green cover, has led people to cut down trees in large numbers to obtain wood for heating during winters. Electricity generation through solar panels is well suited in summers, but during winters inadequate sunlight hampers production of solar power.

“Developed mainly to overcome the extreme cold temperatures of Leh – Ladakh, the innovation will obviate the need to cut down trees in Ladakh, to purchase the wood in bulk for heating bukharis or stoves, and also prevent any greenhouse effect generated due to burning of coal and emitting out carbon on higher level,” the statement said.

It will also do away with the need for installing high energy loads in buildings and incurring heavy costs for heating during the harsh winter months when the temperature can drop to minus 30 degrees Celsius, the statement added.

Radiant floor heating systems currently used in the area use electricity to heat up the water, which leads to increase in the demand load of the building and is also costly for the user. In the new system, electricity has been replaced with biogas for a more sustainable solution to the heating problem, as an abundant amount of cow dung is locally available.

The system can be used in other high altitude parts of the country such as Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, which experience sub-zero temperature and harsh climatic conditions.