: Scientist’s Solar Hamam Keeps 1200 Himalayan Families Warm In The Bitter Cold #IndiaNEWS #Himachal Pradesh In cities, access to boiling water to meet daily requirements is just a switch away. But

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Scientist’s Solar Hamam Keeps 1200 Himalayan Families Warm In The Bitter Cold #IndiaNEWS #Himachal Pradesh
In cities, access to boiling water to meet daily requirements is just a switch away. But when you live 2,000 metres above sea level, the situation is entirely different.
In the Himalayan region, residents need warm water through the day to bring down temperatures to even bearable levels. As Dhaneshwari Devi, a resident of Maigal village, explains, “At any given time, the water temperature is between 7 and 12 degrees Celsius. We need warm water not just for chores and bathing, but also to feed the cows, cook, and even to drink through the day. �
In the remotest parts of the area, little to no electricity is available to heat the water. With this, villagers are left to fend for themselves, and resort to chopping down forest trees and using them as fuelwood.
The practice raises environmental concerns and exposes residents to harmful gases throughout the day, affecting their physical health.
For this, scientist Dr Lal Singh has developed the Solar Hamam, which has brought much needed respite to the residents of Maigal. The villagers have been able to freely access warm water, reducing their fuel requirements by 40%.
Women carrying fuelwood and water heating in a pot.
The device is a wooden frame that houses an absorber sheet made from galvanised iron insulated with styrofoam in the rear. A customised aluminium alloy water coil with 18 litres capacity is fixed on the sun-facing side. The absorber sheet and water coil are coated with market available black paint. The paint, blended with a unique material before application, enhances the ability to absorb solar energy.
A 3. 5 mm window glass fits on the sun-facing side. Operating the device requires water to be poured from the top left end of the pipe. And about 15 minutes later, warm water of about 80 degrees Celsius is released from the bottom right-hand side of the exit. The water heats while passing through the alloy pipe heated by the sun.
Face to face with an uphill battle
Before the innovation, Dr Lal spent years researching and analysing issues in rural areas, and conceiving a grassroots innovation.
The botanist and founder director of the Himalayan Research Group (HRG), Shimla, says that at first, his quest to help residents of Maigal did not arise from the need for warm water.
“We [members of HRG] were a bunch of researchers who completed our academics in 1992. We wanted to implement scientific knowledge from research in rural and geographically difficult areas of the Himalayas,� he tells The Better India.
Here, he conducted workshops on livelihood generation and women empowerment, roping in scientists, environmentalists, and experts in respective fields.
But he noticed how the meetings would always end on a filthy note.

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