If 1.3 Billion Indians Don't Iron Their Clothes For One Day, This Is How Much Energy Can Be Saved
Ironing clothes is something that has become a daily habit of almost all of us because we are 'expected' to look neat and clean at work or school and college.
But is it really necessary to wear ironed clothes day in and day out throughout the year? We must start asking this question as earlier this year India faced an acute coal shortage that almost resulted in a power blackout in the country.
India is still heavily dependent on coal to generate electricity, which among other things is also used to iron our clothes.
So what will happen if the entire 1.3 billion population of India decides to wear non-iron clothes for just one day a year?
This is a challenge Chetan Singh Solanki, a Professor at IIT Bombay wants the entire country to take up.
How much electricity is used to iron clothes??
Prof. Solanki, also known as the Solar Man of India for his advocacy for renewable energy says this will make a huge difference, both in terms of saving energy and reducing carbon emissions.
Electric clothes iron is normally rated between 500 watts to 2000 watts. A 2000-watt electric iron running for 15 minutes every day will consume around 0.5 kWh of electricity in a day, and 15 kWh of electricity in a month.
"Since the clothes are worn in pairs, it is two pieces of clothes that one person will be ironing for a day. It takes 5-7 minutes to iron one piece. This will result in the equivalent of 200 grams of CO2 emission. In other words, the entire country will be emitting 250 million grams of CO2 a day just to iron their clothes," Prof. Solanki said.
"The majority of the electricity in India comes from coal. It is estimated that one unit of electricity results in one kg of CO2 emission. So if we all decide not to iron our clothes for one day, we can save 250 million units of electricity," he added.
Climate correction Day Challenge
The one-day-in-a-year without ironed clothes is part of what Prof. Solanki calls the Climate Correction Day Challenge (CCD Challenge).
As part of this initiative, Prof. Solanki's Energy Swaraj Foundation will be issuing monthly challenges to the general public to create awareness about how they can play small, but vital roles in preventing climate change.
"The whole idea is that we all contribute to climate change, every day. But we do climate correction only once in a year on Earth day or environment day. We wanted to do something to bring sensitivity to people. That is how we came up with this Climate Correction Day Challenge. on the first Wednesday of every month, there will be a new challenge, which will be simple and doable," Prof Solanki explained.
Why small steps are important
According to him, while it is important to take drastic, policy-level steps to prevent climate change it is also important to make grassroots-level changes.
"When we talk about actions to stop climate change it is usually around Paris Agreement, COP, reduction of carbon emission etc. But it is also important that individuals become aware and change their habits. We are appealing to everyone 'take challenge and change, because the climate has already changed'," he said.
Prof Solanki who is on an 11-year-long journey across India to create awareness about climate change is also taking the message of the climate correction day challenge to schools, colleges, and other public forums where he is invited to speak.
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