Integrated Renewable Solar Matrix for Identifying Renewable Mix for Sustainable Habitats

It is evident that renewables are the future face of energy, particularly solar. However, solar energy is not easily harnessed, particularly in the built-environment, as issues pertaining to dust, cloud-cover, maintenance cycles, co-generation, building-integration, and life-cycle energy and costing are yet to be understood in an integrated manner. The primary source of energy on earth has always been the sun, viz., agricultural produce (and meat), bio-fuels, firewood, coal and oil. Biomass (agriculture and firewood) is still a renewable alternative in addition to solar PV and thermal technologies. The built-environment expends nearly 40% of global primary energy. The current paper discusses an integrated renewable-solar matrix for various solar energy technologies, both vernacular and modern. The matrix is based on a model that integrates various socio-technical environmental parameters that determine sustainable harnessing of solar energy for a given household energy-demand configuration. The matrix has been tested for an urban and rural built-environment scenario in India. The proposed matrix is based on critical factors that have been considered for various stakeholders thereby making it a generic one. Further, the matrix will guide policy makers, scientific investigators and investors in unraveling the problem of energy crisis and pave a way towards sustainability.