Indian Railways has been taking various eco-friendly initiatives to improve the environment and reduce its carbon footprint. In one such unique initiative, Southern Railways’ Goldenrock workshop has installed a Parabolic Solar Concentrator based water heating system in place of existing electrical heaters, which is first-of-its-kind in the Indian Railways network. This Parabolic Solar Concentrator-based water heating system will supply hot water for soaking and cleaning of various railway components such as bogie frames, engine blocks, brake rigging components, axle boxes of various rolling stock, according to a press release issued by the Southern Railway Zone.
The solar concentrator comprises six parabolic mirror reflectors of 16 metre sq area, called Scheffler concentrator. This focuses on the radiation of the sun on six separate receivers placed in front of them at a fixed height. Receivers and pipelines are interconnected for the circulation of water from a storage tank, which is based on the Thermosyphon principle. The Parabolic Solar Concentrator-based water heating system is capable of heating the water up to 82 degrees C, required for various processes.
