In the last decade, the telecom industry has grown by leaps and bounds. However, this growth has remained limited to urban areas in many regions, and has been marked by low penetration in majority of semi-urban areas.
Many telecom players are currently contemplating expanding their business operations to class B and C circle cities, where the main impediment is reliable, uninterrupted power supply for the base stations and telecom shelters. It is imperative to reduce energy consumption in these telecom shelters, which incur 30 per cent of their expenses on energy.
Against this backdrop, TERI carried out a study in 2008 for Indus Tower Limited, the world's largest tower infrastructure company, on ways to conserve energy and improve energy efficiency in telecom shelters.
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PCM- Phase change material, BTC unit- Base Trans receivers station
The study completed in 2009 suggested eight crucial steps that could reduce energy consumption of existing shelters by approximately 25%. The prescribed steps included increasing shelter temperature without exceeding the safe limit of operation, introducing DC free cooling unit instead of AC free cooling unit in areas that experience two or more months of below 25º C temperature, combining power interface unit (PIU) and power plant with better efficiency, and maintaining the temperature of the battery at 27º C with the help of battery cooler. Use of battery cooler can increase the life of the battery, thereby reducing the frequency of battery replacement.
Additionally, TERI pointed out the necessity of introducing better power management in the PIU, improving the building envelop of the shelter, introducing soft starter in the air-conditioning unit, and downsizing the generator set for better fuel efficiency.
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To carry out this study, TERI analyzed the existing scenarios and energy consumption patterns in the energy sector. A telecom shelter was constructed at TERI Gram in Gual Pahari. The energy consumption performance of the shelter was tested and its energy-saving potential estimated. This was done with the help of extensive test methodologies and protocol that were specifically developed for the purpose. The process also involved monitoring more than 45 parameters through a remote monitoring system for a period of at least a year. The recommendations for reducing energy consumption and increasing efficiency were developed on the basis of these tests.
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