ICTworks by Inveneo

Many people believe that solar power is too expensive to use for powering computer installations in remote or rural areas that are without a connection to the AC grid. However, there have been two recent developments that have significantly lowered the cost of solar.

1. The power consumption requirement of low-cost computers and peripherals has come down considerably.
2. The cost of solar panels has dropped dramatically, with some panels selling in the US for as much at 70% less than typical 2008 prices.

If you are thinking about deploying computers in remote rural locations or in countries with erratic grid power, the cost of reliable, long-term, low-maintenance power has never been lower.

Inveneo Solar Power Deployment Guide

The Inveneo Solar Power Deployment Guide will show you how to specify, design and build your own small-scale self-contained solar power system. The guide’s purpose is not to make you a world-class expert on solar technology. Rather, we will take a "hands-on" approach, emphasizing a step-by-step method to designing and building truly practical solar systems.

As there are a large number of "tricks of the trade" involved when installing a solar system, we do not usually recommend a do-it-yourself approach for beginners. It is better to work with an experienced solar installer, especially if you have never worked with solar or other power systems before.

After reading this guide, you should be able to estimate the size, level of complexity and cost of small to medium- sized PC installations, and you will understand the basic theory and practice. This guide is focused on completely battery-operated PC and network installations. It does not discuss battery backup systems for generator- or AC- grid-powered locations.

More Information

If you would like to read a high-level summary on the viability and usefulness of solar power systems, you can refer to the Intel Corporation paper, "Solar Power for PC Deployments: Enabling ICT Beyond the Grid". We have also developed a list of Solar Power Resources for Designing PV Systems in Rural Computer Projects

Technology for converting solar energy to electricity was first introduced over 130 years ago, and it has been used to power PCs for more than 20 years. However, until recently it has been prohibitively expensive to use solar energy to power PCs in areas where the electric grid is not available. Energy-hungry PCs simply put too much demand on the limited generation capabilities of the solar panels.

A few years ago, a typical desktop PC using a processor such as the Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 2.8Ghz supporting Hyper-Threading technology consumed about 80W to 100W. A 15" CRT monitor consumed an additional 70W to 100W, so a complete PC desktop system used 150W to 200W.

By comparison, a modern netbook based on an Intel® Atom processor with a 10” screen consumes just 12W to 15W total. A laptop using an Intel® Celeron® M ultra low voltage (ULV) processor with a larger 13" wide screen display can consume as little as 20W to 25W. New power-efficient desktop designs offer similar improvements.

The Inveneo Computing Station, for example, is based on the Intel® Atom™ processor D410 and consumes about 15W. Coupled with the Inveneo energy efficient LCD display, the entire system consumes only about 22W. Thus, a modern PC can provide a rich experience while consuming 90% less power of a typical desktop system of just a few years ago.

Yet even as computers have become much more energy efficient in recent years, many people still perceive solar energy as being too expensive for PC deployments. In this paper we will explain the technological changes that have made solar power cost feasible for PC deployments, and provide an overview of how to design for a solar powered PC deployment.

The objective of Solar Power for PC Deployments: Enabling ICT Beyond the Grid is not to replace the need for an experienced solar installer; rather, it is to provide basic knowledge to help the reader prepare a budget for a solar deployment, and to be able to effectively communicate the requirements to an installer.

More Information

The Inveneo Solar Power Deployment Guide is a how-to guide to specify, design and build a small-scale self-contained solar power system, emphasizing a "hands-on" approach with step-by-step methods to designing and building truly practical solar systems. We have also developed a list of Solar Power Resources for Designing PV Systems in Rural Computer Projects.

There are two recent developments that have significantly lowered the cost of solar power systems for powering computer installations in remote or rural areas:

1. The power consumption requirement of low-cost computers and peripherals has come down considerably.
2. The cost of solar panels has dropped dramatically, with some panels selling in the US for as much at 70% less than typical 2008 prices.

If you are thinking about deploying computers in remote rural locations or in countries with erratic grid power, the cost of reliable, long-term, low-maintenance power has never been lower. To help you, we have developed these solar power resources ICT projects:

White Papers and How-to Guides:

1. Solar Power for PC Deployments: Enabling ICT Beyond the Grid provides basic knowledge to help the reader prepare a budget for a solar deployment, and to be able to effectively communicate the requirements to an installer.
2. Inveneo Solar Power Deployment Guide is a how-to guide to specify, design and build a small-scale self-contained solar power system, emphasizing a "hands-on" approach with step-by-step methods to designing and building truly practical solar systems.
3. Off-Grid Solar Power Solutions Webinar is an interactive discussion of solar power options with Bernd Nordhausen of Intel and Bob Marsh of Inveneo that combines the two resources listed above

Insolation Maps:

Planet Earth
Central & North Africa
North-West Africa
North-East Africa
Southern Africa
Northern part of South America
Southern part of South America
Central America & Caribbean
All of Africa, insolation in kW/m2/day

Miscellaneous technical information:

Ohm's Law and Power tutorial
Grounding/Earthing#1
Grounding/Earthing#2
Batteries, how to estimate state of charge
Wire size tables for different system voltages
Power consumption of typical appliances and equipment (use with caution)

Sample Solar Panel data sheets:

Sunwize 130W poly-crystalline
Sharp 80W poly-crystalline
Sharp 115W-128W thin-film panels
SolarWorld 230W mono-crystalline for 24V or higher systems

Solar power is a needed skill in electricity-starved West Africa. Yet there is also high unemployment. Energy For Opportunity is trying to solve both of these problems through its dedicated skills training activities, including University-based solar electricity courses.

The the video above, you can see how EFO teaches students through real-life implementations of small-scale solar projects in rural communities in Sierra Leone. The specific project in the documentary involved the installation of solar electricity at four sites: a school, a health clinic, a community centre and a hospital in the villages of Kamakwie and Kamalo.

Students from the local Government Technical Institute (GTI) and National Power Authority (NPA) were involved in this project as a part of the courses they take at their respect institutes, which EFO helps to facilitate.

If you find EFO as interesting and impactful as I do, then support them today!

At the Africa Energy Awards 2010, the Barefoot Solar Engineers of Malawi won the Best Rural Electrification Project category, highlighting their positive impact on rural communities.

But they don't need a fancy award ceremony in South Africa to confirm their life-changing program that starts with a short training at the Barefoot College in India. Just watch this video:

As Clement Nyirenda explains, they are improving living conditions in many ways already:

The installation of solar electricity in these households has contributed greatly to the improvement of people’s livelihoods. The day for most of these households no longer ends at dusk, but like all of us privileged to have electricity, they now have a choice. School-going children are now able to study and do their homework even at night.

Availability of solar electricity has also enabled the households to save money, which they used to spend on buying other sources of lighting e.g. paraffin, candles. The money thus saved will go a long way in enabling the households to access the various other important needs for their households.

The fact that women, who used to be ordinary mothers in the village, are in the forefront of changing their communities shows that gender dynamics have changed in the villages.This will be a source of inspiration for many young Malawian women who are engaging in career paths that traditionally associated with men.

We've highlighted the Barefoot Solar Engineer program before. I can only hope it expands across Malawi and other countries in Africa too.