Next time you honk, remember that you are not only creating environmental chaos, you are also wasting important money. If calculations by Mumbai-based electrical engineer SK Patel, governing council member of Lions Clubs International, are to be believed, we can save upto INR 245 crores per year just by not honking. The calculation works on an estimate and the actual figure may differ by some margin. Patel’s calculations are based on the total number of vehicles on the roads multiplied with the average number of times a person honks and the electrical energy or diesel that goes into charging car batteries.
Here is how he worked out the calculations.
- Total number of vehicle running in India = 72.7 crore*
- Average wattage consumption of a car horn = 75 watts
- Average time a horn is pressed = 1.5 seconds
- Electrical units consumed by a horn every time = 0.00003125
- Average number of honks per hour = six times
- Vehicle’s average time on the road = eight hours a day
- Power consumed by honking per day (74,70,00,000 vehicles x 0.00003125 units per click x 6 times per hour x 8 hours a day) = 11,20,500 units.
- Average cost of electricity = INR 6 per unit
- Total electric power wasted (11,20,500 units x INR 6) = INR 67.23 lakh
- This adds up to a wastage (INR 67,23,000 x 365 days) = INR 245 crore per year
*The number of vehicles is derived from a World Bank-funded ministry of road transport and highways survey.
The actual number may not be INR 245 crore considering the fact that different vehicles ply for different number of hours every day. Moreover, different vehicles have different voltages for the horn. But we are sure not honking will definitely help you save some money while reducing noise pollution.
What do you have to say about the calculation? Let us know your views through the comments section below.
Source: Times of India