A webinar session on ‘Energy Audit and Management’ was delivered to the students of the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering of Assam Don Bosco University (ADBU) by Prof. Izael Pereira Da Silva from the Strathmore University, Kenya on 10 May 2019. This skype session of one-hour duration was attended by 32 students and the faculty members of the department at Azara campus.
Prof. Da Silva is currently the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University as well as an Energy Auditor. He also acts as an advisor to the companies for energy auditing.
Prof. Da Silva informed that Strathmore University is famous for giving importance to Renewable Energy and efficiency optimization. The University is planning to establish a school of engineering in the current year itself. He added, Strathmore Energy research consists of the following:
- Research
- Consultancy
- Training
He explained the importance of training for every student. According to Prof. Da Silva, unless a University provides industry related training to students, it does not serve its purpose. The Regulatory body in Kenya is called the Energy Regulatory Commission. He follows the guidelines of that regulatory authority for the energy auditing. He also mentioned about NITA, which is the International accreditation process for Energy audit certification in Kenya.
The Germans gave the university $130 to build a laboratory to do testing of solar panels etc. He explained the similarities between SU and ADBU, i.e., both the universities want to provide the students with a good platform to build good professionals. Also, the universities are committed to working in the field of energy-saving and the use of renewable energy.
The University of Strathmore is a zero-carbon emission university. It generates 26 MW and sells excess to the KPCL (Kenya Power Corporation Limited). It is an independent power system, 12 cents to a dollar for the energy. From Govt. of France, a program called Sunref provided the money for the solar PV panels in the year 2014 (1.3 million dollar or 230,000 euros) to set up. He also mentioned that the students were also engaged in the design and development in installing the solar plants in the University.
In an open discussion, he suggested that rooftop installation is the best method in practice. He advised the students to do 'Energy Auditing' in ADBU by measuring how much energy is used per year. The reading should be taken for a whole week. The different types of equipment must be identified in order to select the best equipment for saving energy.
The resource person ended with a very pleasant note about the enthusiastic students of ADBU, and Assistant Professor Bikramjit Goswami thanked Prof. Da Silva for his valuable time and all the important information about renewable energy and energy auditing which will be beneficial for all of the participants.
Prof. Da Silva ended quoting “Being good in the profession is being a good Human”.
