Understanding the Real Deal Behind Power Conversion This CleanTech IoT startup is developing smart power solutions
By Aastha Singal •
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India's power sector is currently undergoing a radical change with the government envisioning running the economy on green energy resources. Solar especially has been touted as the power solution that has the capability of bringing about a change in the way India consumes power. National Solar Mission that aims to achieve 100 GW of solar energy by 2022 has fueled various smart initiatives.
Owing to the growing solar industry in India, solar inverter market has witnessed an increased adoption and acceptance by the masses. A solar inverter comprises an inverter and solar PWM/MPPT charge controller which it ensures the consumption is via solar energy. The solar inverter market in India is projected to grow at a CAGR over 25 per cent during 2018-2024.
Revolutionizing Solar Inverters
Predominantly in India, the solar inverter market is divided into two parts; one is the grid-tied inverter where whatever the inverter generates is fed to the grid. The second part is the off-grid motors, also known as solar inverters where whatever the motor generates is stored in the batteries for consumption during power cuts.
However, these solutions work better in developed economies. They might not work in the Indian market that experiences irregular power-cuts between 30 minutes to 3 hours. For solving all pains associated with traditional solar inverters, cleantech-IoT startup ThingsCloud founded by Amruth Puttappa along with Anusheel Nahar in 2015 has developed grid interactive inverters.
The smart grid tie inverters can feed excess power to the grid and store back-up power in the batteries which can be used during power outages. Interesting fact: the inverter can also predict the power demands and supply, automating the store and sell decision. "We have AI-machine learning algorithms that are constantly learning over it… It optimizes the entire power generation and consumption," Puttappa told Entrepreneur India.
Changing the Course of Power Conversion
ThingsCloud is fundamentally changing the way power conversion works. Power conversion has been there for close to 100 years but has not seen the disruption. "We have developed different power-conversion products like solar & grid-tied motors that convert the clean energy into electricity in a different way," Puttappa said.
With more power stability coming up, Indians have more scope of excess power. In that order, customers are wasting 20-30 per cent of the power generated from solar, which is a huge loss, Puttappa expressed. ThingsCloud offers a mobile app to receive regular insights about the usage pattern that helps customers in ascertaining how the power can be utilized optimally.
With over 20 patents IP filed around this innovative technology, ThingsCloud has grown 400 per cent with revenues of INR 3 crore in the last year by installing over 1000 inverters across India in states such as Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Delhi. The startup was incubated under NASSCOM's 10000 Startups initiative.
