Rooftop solar: ‘No power bill and a great place for rooftop garden’

For about a year now, the seven-member Mehta family in Mayur Vihar Phase-I’s Pocket-I have not paid a penny toward electricity bills.

For about a year now, the Mehta’s in Mayur Vihar Phase-I’s Pocket-I have not paid a penny toward electricity bills in Delhi. In fact, the household with seven members has even received money from the discom despite consuming electricity.

The Mehtas have converted the area under the solar panels into a greenhouse. Raj K Raj/HT)

All thanks to a decision taken by the family in April last year to harness solar power and installed a 5kW solar photovoltaic system on their rooftop.

“Since then, our power bills, which used to be between ₹4,000- ₹8,000 per month, have become zero. I have not paid a single rupee despite using two-three air-conditioners in the summer at night. In fact, in March, ₹1,400 was credited to my BSES account for a few solar power units that went unused,” said Amit Mehta, 46, an IT professional and owner of the house.

Contrary to popular belief, installing the rooftop solar system did not eat up any terrace space for the Mehta’s. They installed the panels on the pillars of their terrace, thus creating a roof.

“As the solar panels have been installed at a height, the shaded space can also be turned into a greenhouse. I have set up a lot of plants under the solar panels,” he added.

Mehta installed a 5kW solar PV system at a total cost of ₹2.25 lakh. It has just been a year and he has already recovered 50% of the cost. “This is the second year since we installed rooftop solar and we are certain of recovering the total cost by April 2023,” Mehta said.