Our New Place in Gurgaon

I live in Gurgaon, just outside of Delhi. We now rent the ground floor of a three family house. It features two bedrooms, two baths (one with a bathtub!) a large living and dining area, kitchen, enclosed patio space in the front and back, plus a storeroom, which we may convert to an office. We’re having a lot of issues straightening out the electricity.

As Americans, we use a lot more electricity than the typical Indian. We have two televisions with satellite TV boxes, two ACs in our bedrooms, and wireless broadband with three computers. Typically each of our bedrooms in the States would have a TV, cable box, plus a computer, game station, DVD player and whatever. Our house would also have a whole house AC, with dishwasher, refrigerator, vacuum cleaners, and washer and dryer as well. Typical new home construction in the U.S. requires 200 amps.

Here in Delhi, our panel is probably one fourth of that, for three families in one house. Most families in our colony here have a refrigerator, but no AC, no microwave, maybe one computer… the amount of energy we consume is considered shocking to a standard family here. I feel guilty sometimes, but need my connections to home. There are certain things I will give up in order to live in a “developing country”, but broadband internet, refrigerator, two TVs, one DVD player, three computers, and AC in two bedrooms are absolutely compulsory for me to live comfortably.
Another issue is water. In our sector, the electrical grid type is called “agricultural” and is primarily used for pumping water. Twice a day, a siren goes off, reminding us to turn the pump on. Our house has a tank on the roof and a pump in the backyard that has to be turned on in order to get water into the tank. We have to do it to ensure we have enough water for the day.
Being fully conscious of our use of electricity and water makes us more mindful of just how much we waste, and it has changed the way we use these resources for the better.