JAN 15 - JULY 15, 2024VOL 02 - ISSUE 02
NEWSLET TER
REFLECTIONS: FROM THE VICE CHANCELLOR’S DESK
Christened ‘1729', after Ramanujan - Hardy number, the Plaksha newsletter is a window into our
thriving, interconnected, and learner centered environment where Plakshans look beyond the
obvious, just like Srinivas Ramanujan did with the seemingly dull number ‘1729'.
Through this newsletter we share the contribution of each member of our vibrant community of
learners, researchers, leaders, innovators and problem solvers to reimagine technology education.
Prof. Rudra Pratap
Founding Vice Chancellor
Plaksha University
01
C O - C R E A T E : T E C H F O R S O C I E T Y
We are delighted to present to you the current
issue of 1729 focused on Co-Create: Tech for
Society. Right from the inception of the univer-
sity, we have created a sharp focus on engaging
with society, both locally and globally, as a
deliberate design principle of all our academic
endeavors at the university.
Global problems, by their very definition,
impact everyone including our campus, our
immediate neighborhood Mohali and the Tri-
City area, the state of Punjab, India, and the
world. While many problems scale linearly with
population and the geographical areas, solu-
tions rarely do. Solution scaling is something
that we need to teach our students to think
about rationally, and attempt pilot solutions
that can be implemented at a local community
level. This, by no means, excludes problems
that may not be global but vexes the local
community. We strongly believe in what one of
the most celebrated poets of India, Kabir Das,
encapsulated in the following couplet:
We are committed
to our promise of
engaging with
society
(There is no point growing tall like a date tree
that doesn’t provide shadow or fruit to a trav-
eler.) This metaphor applies to our pursuit of
technological solutions for the society at large.
We are committed to our promise of engaging
with society and I hope you see its glimpses in
the articles in this issue.
Happy reading!
    , 
   ,    
centralizing storage offers significant advan-
tages, including enhanced diversity of energy
sources, more efficient use of space, and high
efficiency of equipment. Aggregating cooling
requirements with a central cooling system
instead of providing individual air conditioners
at every apartment can play a pivotal role in
decarbonizing the residential energy sector. A
well-designed air conditioning system integrat-
ing energy-efficient equipment, thermal
storage, controls, and renewable energy
sources surpasses the efficacy of individual
building cooling systems.
To comprehensively evaluate the potential of
centralized cooling and heating systems in
Indian residential settings, Indorama Ventures
Center for Clean Energy at Plaksha University is
establishing a first-of-its-kind living laboratory
in South Asia. This cutting-edge research facility
will feature a 1600 TRh thermal storage capac-
ity, equipped with smart microgrid controls and
a renewable energy system. It is designed to
cater to the air conditioning load of a 220-room
hostel at Plaksha, utilising chilled water from
the TES to conduct various experiments.
This living laboratory is being developed with
partial support from the International Finance
Corporation – a member of the World Bank
Group under the TechEmerge Sustainable
Cooling Innovation Program. Plaksha's faculty,
researchers, and students will undertake
interdisciplinary research in collaboration with
industry experts to optimize the design and
operation of thermal storage-based cooling
and heating systems. This would include exper-
iments, modelling and simulations to identify
opportunities for improving energy efficiency,
load management, and overall system perfor-
mance. The testbed will support research
involving behavioural studies, development of
technologies, and application of AI-ML for
improving design and operations of the sys-
tem. We intend to offer the testbed to startups,
manufacturers, and solution providers to
evaluate and demonstrate their technologies in
a field environment.
CAMPUS AS A LIVING LAB FOR THERMAL STORAGE SOLUTIONS
Air conditioning related energy consumption
constitutes a substantial portion of building
energy usage. The demand for air conditioning
in India is on the rise, and it is expected to rise
8x by 2037, as compared to 2017 levels. To align
with climate objectives, reducing energy con-
sumption within the air conditioning sector is
imperative. Shifting from fossil fuel-based
energy to renewable energy is one of the ways
to reduce CO emissions and decarbonize this
2
sector. Photovoltaic (PV) systems play a central
role in this transition, as energy is readily avail-
able during the daytime, making it easier to
decarbonize daytime loads. However, a chal-
lenge arises in employing renewable energy for
the air conditioning energy requirements of
residential buildings, which predominantly occur
during the night. Energy storage, which can
charge during the daytime when clean energy is
available and discharge during nighttime, can
address this issue.
Generally, a PV system with battery storage is
popular for storing excess electricity available in
the daytime. Given the environmental concerns
and high cost of electrical energy storage,
thermal energy storage (TES) emerges as a
promising alternative. TES involves storing both
heat or coolth in the form of sensible or latent
energy. Water is an effective medium for storing
thermal energy due to its high thermal capaci-
tance, latent heat of fusion, heat transfer effi-
ciency, and availability. The advantage of ther-
mal storage lies in its negligible environmental
impact, making it an intriguing possibility for our
energy storage needs.
Implementing TES solutions at individual apart-
ments is challenging due to space availability
and the limited benefits of diversity. Instead,
Prof. Vishal Garg
Dean Research, Plaksha University
Director, Indorama Ventures Center for
Clean Energy
Dr. Aviruch Bhatia
Senior Research Scientist, Plaksha University
02
C O - C R E A T E : T E C H F O R S O C I E T Y
Plaksha Think Tank
Battery
energy storage
Chiller
Ice thermal
storage
Plant room
Electricity
Day time charging
Night time discharging