Regenerative energy

Bereits mehreren Jahren nutzen wir die Photovoltaikanlage auf dem Dach unseres Kinderhauses, um ein wenig unabhängiger vom ständigen Stromausfall zu sein, mit dem ganz Nepal, aber insbesondere das Kathmandutal zu kämpfen hat. So ist es uns möglich, durch das Einspeisen von  Strom in mehrere Lkw-Batterien, unsere Kühlschränke und andere kleinere Geräte incl. Licht zu betreiben.

Um Warmwasser zu erzeugen und dadurch auch wiederum Energie und Geld zu sparen, verwenden wir auch Solarenergie, auf dem Dach des Kinderhauses.

A parabolic mirror reflects the shafts of sunlight into a matt black pot i n the fireplace. Then the pot absorbs the intensified rays, which makes the content of the pot boil. The power of the solar boiler is about 600 watts. With good sunshine, three litres of water boil within thirty m inutes. Pots of up to twelve litres can be used.

The mirror only needs to be adjusted to the sun every 15 to 25 minutes to fully exploit the energy. The adjustment can easily be done by hand. The fireplace lies within the mirror itself, so burning or blinding yourself can be avoided. For stirring, the reflectors are moved so that the pot is in the shade.

Now the children’s home is equipped with solar boilers which have solar pa nels for automatic adjustment according to the position of the sun. Especially worth mentioning is the fact that the pot which is to be heated is in the kitchen, which means an enormous enhancement of the general comfort.

“Anaerobic digestion is a series of processes in which microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen, used for industrial or domestic purposes to manage waste and/or to release energy.

The digestion process begins with bacterial hydrolysis of the input materials in order to break down insoluble organic polymers such as carbohydrates and make them available for other bacteria. Acidogenic bacteria then convert the sugars and amino acids into carbon dioxide, hydrogen, ammonia, and organic acids. Acetogenic bacteria then convert these resulting organic acids into acetic acid, along with additional ammonia, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide. Finally, methanogens convert these products to methane and carbon dioxide. 

Our biogas powerplant also works this way. Input materials come mostly as waste from big hotels or from the sewage of the children’s home. The use of our biogas powerplant enables u s to save huge amounts of expensive propane gas while cooking. Moreover, the remainders of the digestion can be used as fertilizer for the fields of our farming land.