The Multi Functional
Rural Fuel Platform's electricity generator
The Multi Functional Rural
Fuel Platform is fitted with an electric generator and driven by the MFRFP's
diesel engine. This electric generator enables a local village community to
provide power for a small scale village electrification system.
Rechargeable
Lanterns
We envision implementing
a system where villages can have access to small, battery or capacitor powered lanterns that they
can then use
to light their homes.
These rechargeable LED lanterns
will be recharged by the MFRFP's electric alternator in a "sandal based grid".
No wires needed
in the "sandal energy grid"
In a "sandal based grid", the
lanterns would be charged on the MFRFP Platform during the day, then distributed out to
village dwellings to be used that evening. In the morning, the lanterns would be
taken back to the MFRFP to be recharged, ready for use that following evening.
120
or 240 volt electrification systems are expensive and require a great deal of
cabling and equipment. 12 volt systems suffer from voltage drops when wires runs
are over 20ft in length, so are not suitable for village grid systems.
The "sandal based energy
grid" removes the need for hard wiring. Once the battery has been discharged on
the
battery or capacitor powered LED lanterns,
the villagers can deliver their discharged lanterns
back to the MFRFP charging station for recharge.
This wireless "sandal
energy grid" system has a number of advantages:
1. There is no wiring installation with its attendant problems,
expense,
reliability
issues, risk of misuse and misappropriation.
2. The lantern's battery or capacitor is fully enclosed and cannot be accessed to use for other inappropriate purposes.
3. The lantern's
portability means that it
can
be used anywhere in the house and away from the house in community
activities.
4. There are no problems arising from non-use if the light is stored in the house.
5. The lantern is clearly the responsibility of the home owner.
6. Repairs can be effected if required by bringing the entire lantern to a technician.
Rural Electrification
Rural
electrification is essential to aid the process of uplifting the rural poor out of the poverty trap
as electricity provides access to power leverage and convenience of life we take
for granted in the developed world.
Enabling access to low cost lighting
solutions is one of the easiest ways to transform the standard of living of some
of the neediest people on earth.
To tackle this problem, we
envision equipping each village home with low power usage, WLED
lanterns, recharged by the Multi Functional Rural Fuel Platform's electric
generator.
The number of lanterns used per household will depend on
what the home owner needs or on how many lanterns they can afford.
Multi Functional Rural Fuel
Platform Generator / Charger connection
The
MFRFP is connected to regulators in the town community
building, each regulator has wired connections to support the
charging of lanterns and other
batteries or storage mediums simultaneously.
The regulators should also
be connected in parallel
to a number of larger, lead acid storage batteries which can provide backup power in
case the MFRFP is not running and act as the village battery bank. These 12
volt batteries in the battery bank should last up to 3 weeks before requiring a
recharge, with an average daily use of 4 to 5 hours.
Renting Lanterns
provides a Micro Enterprise opportunity
A
recharging facility creates a micro-enterprise opportunity for an
enterprising villager to go round and collect the lanterns every day,
returning them fully charged in the evening, earning a small fee from each home owner.
A
solar lantern might cost somewhere in the region of $25.00. In
communities that do not have lighting, it is likely that $25 is a
huge amount out of the household budget if the villagers are in the $1
per day income bracket as one lantern represents 10% of annual income.
Rechargeable lanterns can be recharged
from the MFRFP Platform's recharging stations. Eliminating the expense of adding a
solar panel to each of the the lanterns enables the lanterns much more
affordable than the equivalent solar powered units.
If
home owners are still to poor to even afford purchasing a low cost lantern, a micro enterprise
could rent the lantern to the home owner. The home owner could then
offset the cost of kerosene purchases with the rental payments on the
lantern, thereby reducing their cost of lighting or pay for the recharge with
oil seeds harvested.
The "Sandal
Grid" micro enterprise is a win-win for the rural village
The villagers get a better lighting system
for a lower cost and the lighting entrepreneurs now have a small business
opportunity where by they can economically supports themselves.
Next ->
Why Focus so
much on Lighting?
Lack of
access to modern lighting services hinders development and helps ensure the
poverty trap is inescapable. Among the poorest of the
poor, lighting is often the most expensive item among their energy uses.
If you look at the world
light map below, it becomes clear what a distinct North / South bias there is in
the amount of light enjoyed by the economically developed northern hemisphere
when compared to the developing south.
The
composite satellite photo
highlights the fact that two billion people are without electricity and another
two billion have inadequate or unreliable power. This means that two thirds of
the Earth's population does not have the energy advantages that the fortunate
one-third currently enjoys, nor the same quality of life that such advantages
offer.
Just by looking at this
composite satellite photo, it becomes obvious that one of the best uses of a
village level electrification project is to provide lighting for poor, rural
communities so that they too can enjoy the benefits of artificial light to
illuminate their evenings.
Fuel based
lighting consumes a huge amount of house hold income.
Fuel-based lighting can account for up to 50% of all energy expenses and up to
30% of total household income. Fuel based lighting consumes a large share of
scarce income but provides little in return. The low quality of the lighting
provided by fuel-based devices poorly supports productive or income-generating
activity. It also reduces educational performance, as children lack the
opportunity to study without eye strain in the evenings. Further, indoor
pollution from fuel burning leads to health problems.
Access to modern lighting products can break this cycle. Modern lighting
technologies have lower ownership costs than fuel-based lighting, do not
generate indoor pollution, and can support small scale income generating
activities, fostering an improving cycle of development and poverty reduction.
Displacing
Fuel based lighting
Kerosene
lamps currently used all over the developing world are very expensive
to fuel and smoky to use, endangering children and adult health alike.
Some communities use localized lamps like the Nepal Ghee lamps which burn clarified butter,
but this is an important food
source for the people and forces them to make a terrible choice.
Displacing
fuel based lighting systems with the
rechargeable LED lanterns means that each household can have access to lighting.
If the household has a fuel
based lighting system, the rechargeable LED lanterns will be much safer and
clean burning. The household will also save money using the rechargeable LED's
by not spending so much of their disposable income on other, fuel-based lighting
systems.
LED's
provide more light
LED Lights provide superior lighting than
kerosene or other fuel based lighting.
A great example is the single solar powered
LED lantern shown in the photo providing better lighting than
3 kerosene powered lanterns.
Photo care of United
Nations Development
Programme
- Afghanistan
Rural
Lighting can help improve education levels
Village scale lighting
schemes are essential to aid education efforts.
Kids can go to school all day, but cannot do home work if they do not have
light to work with in the evenings.
Most school children in subsistence
agriculture communities have work to do during the day light hours,
fetching water, finding firewood, looking after animals or their younger
siblings. Hence the opportunity to read is usually only during periods of
darkness and the availability of light therefore
plays a critical role in the education process.
Photo care of United
Nations Development Programme - Afghanistan
A great example of the effect of lighting comes from
The Light the World Foundation
that has provided over 100 homes in a village in
Afghanistan with WLED (White
Light Emitting Diode) lamps. This initiative has proved that light that has transformed
the fortunes of the villagers of Karez Kalan in the Mazar-e-Sharif
region.
Light Comparison Table LED's vs Kerosene and Incandescent
illumination
(Information care of Light
Up the World Foundation
-
http://www.lutw.org)
|
Lamp Type
|
Homemade Kerosene
|
Incandescent
|
Compact Fluorescent
|
WLED
|
|
Efficiency
(Lumens/watt)
|
0.03
|
5 - 18
|
30 - 79
|
25 - 50
|
|
Rated Life (Hours)
|
Supply of Kerosene
|
1000
|
6500 - 15,000
|
50,000
|
|
Durability
|
Fragile & Dangerous
|
Very Fragile
|
Very Fragile
|
Durable
|
|
Power Consumption
|
0.04 - 0.06 liters/hour
|
5W
|
4W
|
1W
|
|
CCT °K
|
~ 1800°
|
2652°
|
4200°
|
5000°
|
|
CRI
|
~ 80
|
98
|
62
|
82
|
|
$ After 50,000 hours
|
$1,251
|
$175
|
$75
|
$20
|
Radio Power Connection
The Afghan Bedmoschk Solar
Center has added an excellent additional feature to their solar lanterns.
This lantern has a power
outlet that a radio can be plugged into so that a radio can be powered by the Lantern's
batteries.
Other Lantern and
Electrification Design Considerations
The lantern's housing should
be fitted with a hook for hanging up from a ceiling and have a sufficient base
to enable it to stand on a table or any other flat surface around the home. The switch is a standard
light switch should be over specified for its job and should prove robust in
use.
A person
needs to be found in the village who was both interested and capable of looking
after the installation. To provide guidance to this person an operating
manual needs to be provided that covered the basic steps of what might be
needed e.g. the stripping of a wire to replace a lug terminal, and
checking on the acid levels in the main storage batteries etc.
The village should instigated a number of rules, such as a nominal
fee levied each time a battery is charged. This provides a
fund to pay for the eventual extension or replacement of the system.
The village should also check that the lights are being used in the
approved
fashion, that the plastic protection over the bulbs is in place to
stop them from becoming coated with soot and the lanterns are cleaned
regularly.
Carbon emissions
As an interesting aside, fuel-based
lighting in the developing world is a source of 244 Million tons of carbon dioxide
emissions to the atmosphere each year, or 58% of the CO2 emissions from
residential electric lighting.
WLED lighting
powered by renewable energy replaces fuel-based lighting thus reducing
greenhouse gas emissions responsible for climate change. LUTW (Light up the
World Foundation) estimates
that by replacing kerosene lamps with modern lighting technology
reduces CO2 emissions by approximately 130 kg per household.
Other
Electricity Links
Battery Links
Cheap Batteries -
http://www.cheapbatteries.com
Deeya Energy (novel cells) -
http://www.deeyaenergy.com
Everfast Chargers -
http://www.everfast.com.hk
Pure Energy rechargeable Battery -
http://www.pureenergybattery.com
Recharge Batteries through USB port -
http://www.usbcell.com
Varta 15min recharge -
http://www.en.varta-consumer.com
Electrification Links
Altersystems -
http://www.altersystems.com
Barefoot Power -
http://www.barefootpower.com
Off grid magazine -
http://www.homepower.com
Single Wire Earth Return -
http://www.ruralpower.org
Skybuilt Energy Integration -
http://www.skybuilt.com
UNDP Solar Lanterns in Afghanistan -
http://www.undp.org.af/media_room/feature_stories/fs_solar_energy.htm
Solar -
http://www.kamworks.com
Generators
AuraGen - Solid Cast Rotor -
http://www.aurasystems.com
Brushless Alternator / Starter -
http://ecycle.com
Capacitor Charging systems -
http://www.ivusenergy.com
Infinia Sterling Engines -
http://www.infiniacorp.com
Iqbal Quadir (Gramen Phone) -
http://www.emergencebioenergy.com
Inflatable balloon wind turbine -
http://www.magenn.com
Nano Dynamics - Propane Fuel Cell -
http://www.nanodynamics.com
Illumination Links
Capacitor Powered Lights -
http://www.lightningflashlights.com
Green Empowerment -
http://www.greenempowerment.org
Every kind of bulb on-line -
http://www.bulbs.com
Light Up the World Foundation -
http://www.lutw.org
Trips to install village lighting systems -
http://www.luxtreks.com
Intermediate Technology Consultant's (ITC) Solar Lantern -
http://itcltd.com/glowstar/
IFC LED Initiative (International Finance Corp (World Bank) -
http://www.ifc.org/led
Portable Light Project -
http://www.caup.umich.edu/portablelight/
Sollatek Glowstar -
http://www.glowstar.net
Switch Manufacture China -
http://www.switchcn.com
Spectro Labs (Boeing's Solar Division) -
http://www.spectrolab.com
Solux Solar Lanterns -
http://www.kenital.com
Solux Solar Lantern business project -
http://www.solux.org
LED
Links
Alan Chen's suggestions for WLED applications -
http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/EETD-diode-lighting.html
AccuLux Rechargeable LED -
http://www.acculux.de
Acculux review -
http://ledmuseum.home.att.net/acculux.htm
Best Hong Kong LED's -
http://www.besthongkong.com
Cardo Optics Plastic LED Lens mnf -
http://www.carclo-optics.co.uk
Chinese LED's -
http://www.hebeiltd.com.cn/?p=led.diode
Cecol LED's -
http://www.cecol.com
Celsia LED Nano Tech Cooling -
http://www.celsiatechnologies.com
Cree LED's (Durham, NC & WiMax) -
http://www.cree.com
DLight - Low Cost Sustainable Lighting -
http://www.dlightdesign.com
DOE - Solid State Light Research -
http://www.netl.doe.gov/ssl/
Don Klipstein's Web Site -
http://members.misty.com/don/index.html
ETG LED Lamps -
http://www.etgtech.com
Flashlight News -
http://www.flashlightnews.org
Flashlight Reviews -
http://www.flashlightreviews.com
Nitepalm -
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/nitepalm_fieldlamp.htm
GBL Emergency LED's -
http://www.gbl-led.com
Golden Gadgets -
http://www.goldengadgets.com
Ignite Innovations manf Solar powered WLED lanterns -
http://www.igniteinnovations.com
Korean Display Technology Photo
Luminescent Film -
http://www.kdtdisplay.com
LED Central - LED Portal -
http://www.ledcentral.com
LED Center - LED Portal -
http://led.linear1.org
LED Museum -
http://ledmuseum.home.att.net
LED Magazine -
http://ledsmagazine.com
LED Market Place -
http://www.ledmarketplace.com
LED Light Fixtures (Raleigh, NC) -
http://www.ledlightingfixtures.com
LED Professional -
http://www.led-professional.com
LED Wholesaler -
http://www.ledtronics.com
Lemnis
Lighting 40watt LED -
http://www.lemnislighting.com
Light Design Software -
http://www.lighting-technologies.com
Lynk Labs AC/LED's -
http://www.lynklabs.com
Lite Light - Small LED on a 9v battery -
http://www.lite-light.net
Lighting Components Corp -
http://www.lc-led.com
Lighting Science Group (Dallas, TX) -
http://www.lsgc.com
Lumex LED's -
http://www.lumex.com
Mellert Rechargeable LED -
http://www.mellert.de
NeoPac Lighting -
http://www.neopac-lighting.com
Next Generation Lighting Alliance -
http://www.nglia.org
Nichia LED's -
http://www.nichia.com
OptiLED - LED Lamps -
http://www.optiled.biz
Osram LED's -
http://www.osram-os.com
Peak LED Solutions -
http://www.peakledsolutions.net
PolyBrite
Unbreakable Directional Polymers-
-
http://www.polybrite.com
PolyBrite (Westinghouse Website) -
http://www.w-led.com
Westinghouse Nanoluxs LED Web site-
http://www.westinghouselightbulbs.com/nanoluxled/index.html
Phillips Lumileds on-line -
http://www.lumiledsfuture.com
Phillips Lumileds LED's -
http://www.lumileds.com
Solar Airport Lighting -
http://www.solarairportlights.com
Solid State Light Portal -
http://www.solidstatelighting.net
Swiss Solar Rechargeable LED Light -
http://www.skylight-swiss.com
Sylvania LED's -
http://www.sylvanialed.ca
Sylvania Main Page -
http://www.sylvania.com
Sun Brite LED -
http://www.sunbriteleds.com
Stanford Project on WLED lanterns -
http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/headlines/led_lamps.shtml
TerLep Lamps (OMNI Directional Lens) -
http://www.terleplamp.com
Toyoda-Gosei LED's -
http://www.toyoda-gosei.com
Manufacturing
Chi-Ming (LED Manf China) -
http://www.chi-ming.com
Golden Moon (LED Manf China) -
http://www.goldenmoon-led.com
Hwan Chyun (Bat Charger Manf China -
http://www.ph-charger.com.tw
LED Light Bulb (LED Manf China) -
http://www.ledlightbulb.net
LED Specialists (Prototype manf) -
http://www.ledspecialists.com
Lotus
QJM (LED Manf China) -
http://www.lotusqjm.com
Lucky Light LED
(Manf China) -
http://www.lucky-light.com
Kena Industry -
(LED Manf China)
-
Http://www.knled.com
Manufacturers Portal -
http://www.manufacturers.com.tw/electronics/Led-Manufacturer.html
Mason LED (Manf China) -
http://www.mason-led.com
Rapid Prototyping -
http://www.stratasys.com
Urethane Soy System - Soy Plastic -
http://www.soyoyl.com
Soy based Plastic -
http://www.soyworkscorporation.com
Terra Lux (Prototypers, Boulder, CO) -
http://www.terralux.biz
Yajiayu Electronics (LED Manf China) -
http://www.yajiayu.com
YILIU Electronics (LED Manf Chaina) -
http://www.yl-led.com
Product Testing
Met Labs (UL and Met Testing) -
http://www.metlabs.com
SGS
(UL and Met Testing)
-
http://www.sgs.com
UL
Under Writers Laboratory -
http://www.ul.com
