Meet these Chennai residents serving as ‘spokespersons’ for sustainable energy

Even as Wels in Austria hosted World Sustainable Energy Days 2026 last week, The Hindu Downtown picked the brains of quiet influencers in Chennai Bhuvana Raj and Saravanan Palanichami whose philosophy of sustainable energy use in their home settings is rubbing off on neighbours and friends

There is a pleasant monotony to how Bhuvana Raj’s electricity bill reads for most part of the year. For nearly ten months annually, every billing cycle, the needle stays at zero (discounting the small regular fee).

A sustainability practitioner and zero waste consultant, Bhuvana installed a rooftop solar system at her home in Thalambur, off OMR, in 2018, when residential solar adoption in Chennai Metropolitan Area was yet to shine brightly. 

Although the initial estimate suggested a 2 kW system would suffice, the family chose to plan ahead. “The estimate given for our house was 2 kW. But we decided to add one more unit, thinking that our consumption would increase in the future and we should be able to offset that as well. So we went in for a 3 kW system in 2018 itself,” she says. The system cost about ₹1.5 lakh after subsidy. 

“I am not exactly sure when it broke even, but I think it was around four years after installation,” she adds. 

Only during peak summer, when air conditioner use increases, does the family pay anything at all. “Only during April and May, when consumption increases because of AC usage, do we pay an amount for consumption.” And this amount is still one of ridiculously small numbers. 

“Recently, they started charging a network fee of around ₹300 plus, so that is the only regular fee we are paying now,” she explains. “Not worrying about electricity bills, especially when others pay ₹10,000 or ₹12,000 during summer, is very reassuring,” she says.