A school in Kerala has designated Wednesdays as “No Ironing Day”, encouraging around 4,000 students and staff to attend classes in wrinkled clothes in a bid to save energy and raise awareness about the importance of reducing power consumption.

Darunnajath Higher Secondary School at Mannarkkad in Palakkad district launched the programme on June 12 before breaking for the Eid holidays. With classes set to resume on Wednesday, the campus will buzz with students, teachers and non-teaching staff dressed in wrinkled clothes.

Located near the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) office, the school’s Social Club collaborated with KSEB officials to devise the programme. “Since we are located opposite the KSEB office we already knew some of the officials there. We took their inputs in finalising the programme to save energy and create awareness about the need to consume power,” Social Club coordinator
C.K. Riyaz told The Telegraph on Tuesday.

The initiative encourages students to attend classes wearing wrinkled clothes, symbolising a conscious effort to save energy while ironing. Students have been provided with handbooks to track energy savings at home, involving their families in the awareness campaign.

“Though there is information available on how to save energy, there can’t be anything better than directly involving children in the initiative. That way, they learn early and become examples for their family members to follow,” said Riyaz.

The top 10 domestic energy-saving examples by students, as entered in the handbook and supported by the monthly power bills, would be rewarded with prizes.

“We have already given an orientation to the school staff about ways to save energy. But it is the inclusion of children in this programme that has come as an eye-opener to all of us mainly because of the interest all of them have shown,” said Riyaz.

In rolling out the programme, the Social Club has come out with its projections to save energy with the help of KSEB officials.

“Almost everyone, including students, iron their clothes every day for about 15 minutes each. An iron of 1,500 watt consumes 1.5 units of power in 15 minutes. If you take 4,000 students and staff, it translates to about 6,000 units per day,” Riyaz said.

On average, a domestic consumer pays ₹5.37 per unit of power consumed. The students and their parents are also being encouraged to iron their week’s clothes in one day. “Instead of ironing every day, we are encouraging them to iron all their clothes in one day, perhaps a Sunday,” he said.

By ironing clothes once a week instead of daily, participants aim to reduce both energy consumption and associated carbon emissions. This effort is particularly relevant in India, where coal-fired power plants remain a major source of electricity despite Kerala’s reliance on hydro and nuclear power.

The initiative has garnered interest beyond the school, with other educational institutions expressing enthusiasm to adopt similar measures. DHSS, known for achieving 100 per cent results in board exams, continues to set an example in environmental stewardship, inspiring neighbouring institutions to emulate their ‘No Ironing Day’ initiative.

“Our own arts and science college (also in Palakkad) is among the institutions that have shown interest in replicating the ‘No Ironing Day’ programme,” Riyaz said.