Rural PV Lighting: Opportunity Lost?
Rural PV Lighting: Opportunity Lost?
The private-sector-based development of rural markets for PV lighting is a market worth exploring, writes guest author Robert van der Plas. He reports from a recent marketing test in Africa assessing the ability and willingness of rural households to pay for lighting improvements. The results pose a challenge to manufacturers of PV lighting equipment.
A Case for Lower Taxes
Billion Lack Electricity
Tabel
Rural households in Africa generally use kerosene wick lamps, hurricane lanterns, or candles to 'satisfy' their lighting demand. Such lamps produce no more than 10-15 lumen for the locally made wick lanterns or 40-50 lumen for the imported hurricane lanterns. Light in these households is used mainly to see contours and prevent people from bumping into each other or into furniture, and is not bright enough for reading, studying or doing other productive tasks. Dry-cell batteries are often used for radios and flashlights. In addition, car batteries are often used to power appliances such as small black and white TVs, radios, and cassette recorders, as well as lamps.
The combined cost of candles, kerosene, and dry cell batteries is often substantial. ESMAP/ World Bank surveys indicate that rural households in Africa often spend as much as US$10 per month on fuel and batteries.
PV equipment could offer substantial quality-of-life improvements and cost savings. However, rural markets have largely been neglected by equipment manufacturers and distributors, and the various donor programs are generally focused on larger PV systems. Instead, consumers seem to be willing to buy equipment component by component, even without support, if the right products are available. For instance, a household may start out with a car battery and a few lamps, adding on a PV module if and when their financial situation allows. A recently completed test marketing program in Kenya and Niger by the World BankÕs ESMAP program clearly demonstrates that rural people are willing to invest in solar PV lighting if equipment that meets their needs is made available on local markets.
SOLAR LANTERNS
| Solar lanterns could be regarded as the first step up the modern lighting ladder: Even the simplest units will provide superior lighting services compared with those offered by candles, kerosene lamps, and electric lamps operated by car batteries. In the ESMAP program, low-cost lanterns were offered for sale in rural areas, with a 6-month, unconditional money-back guarantee. A total of 320 (six different models) lanterns were placed in five stores in Kenya, and about half a year later four of the most promising models were also placed in five stores (200 in total) in Niger. Local NGOs managed the projects by keeping in contact with storeowners and households. |  |
USER FEEDBACK
|
The ESMAP surveys showed that the perceived ideal solar lantern is durable, has a high luminous flux that is fairly evenly distributed, gives a good quality spectrum light, is able to operate for more than three hours every night, and has readily available spare parts. The light output desired is relatively high: The 200-300 lumen from a 5-Wwatt compact fluorescent (CFL) or a 6-watt tubular fluorescent lamp (TL) is acceptable, whereas the 160-200 lumen from a 4-watt TL is not; a lantern with a 6-watt TL and a modified ballast to reduce electricity consumption (it only consumes 3 watts) was not appreciated because it compromised the light output and quality. |
 |
The two preferred models were sold out in less than three weeks in both countries, and they were not necessarily the cheapest ones available.
Most solar lanterns were unacceptable from a strictly technical point of view. They lacked low-voltage disconnects and had light bulbs or electronic ballasts of poor quality. Many lamps showed blackening at an early stage. The main reason given for returning lanterns (18%) was technical failure, resulting in unsatisfactory performance.
|
The absence of low-voltage disconnects is likely to result in premature battery failure, and poor quality ballasts will reduce the lifetime of fluorescent tubes. Such lanterns are used daily, often in a hot and humid environment, and continually carried around the household, putting stress on the physical strength of the housing and its components. Still, most of these hurdles can be overcome if replacement parts are available. The fact that lanterns were made available in rural villages was greatly appreciated. Although solar modules are readily available in all cities and most large to medium-sized towns in Kenya (in Niger in the capital only), solar lanterns are not available outside the cities. |  |
| About 23% of the responses to a survey questionnaire (multiple responses were allowed) indicated the desire to power a radio with the solar kit. Others wanted more hours of light, more lumens, and/or better quality light (40%). One of the ways to do this is to add a second module to the solar lantern and modify the housing so that a socket for a radio connector can be installed. Since the batteries of most solar lanterns included in the tests are over-designed, this is technically possible. The better the user understands the functioning of the lantern, the longer is its expected life. With the present technology, people have no way of telling how much energy was stored or how much they have already used. Simple feedback indicators could help improve user understanding, and thus the likelihood of extending the life of the lantern. |  |
SOLAR HOME SYSTEMS
ESMAP also surveyed a random sample of 410 actual users of solar electric systems in Kenya with the aim of collecting information on trends in the development of solar electricity, the actual state of the equipment, and long-term views on solar electricity. Such information can offer good insight into how the market for PV systems operates when it is demand-driven.
Hardly anyone buys a complete solar home kit; instead, most people will buy several components over time. However, often the components that they would like to purchase are not available in their neighborhood. By the time that people think about buying a solar module, most already have a car battery that they use to power a small black and white TV and several lamps.
Furthermore, in many cases they are uninterested in or cannot afford the type of equipment carried by PV retailers/distributors which generally consists of complete kits or large and expensive components.
Distributors/retailers perceive the rural market as being small and not worth developing. Thus they tend to concentrate on large modules (40 watt and up) or complete system kits. One cannot blame them since many donor-financed projects promote precisely this type of equipment and place relatively large orders from time to time.
It is clear that retailers do not deliver what people want. As a consequence, low-cost Ñ and often low-quality Ñ equipment is starting to be manufactured locally, especially light fixtures and ballasts for fluorescent lamps. The survey in Kenya showed that for every imported fluorescent lamp fixture, at least one locally manufactured fixture is sold.
Amorphous or thin film modules have become increasingly popular in the country and have now overtaken poly- or mono-crystalline modules. Amorphous modules are low-wattage and fairly cheap; thus they fit in well with people's expenditure patterns.
The survey revealed that one specific brand of such modules tended to fail too soon, whereas other brands generally performed well. The arithmetic average of the module size (over the whole sample) was 26 watts of peak power. The single largest module size that appeared most frequently was 12 watt peak. About half of the lamps were incandescents, one quarter were imported tubular fluorescents, and the remainder were fluorescents with locally manufactured luminaires.
Of the people with a solar system surveyed in Kenya, 44% had purchased it to power several appliances (TV, radio, and lights), 28% used it to power lights only, and 24% used it exclusively to power their TV.
SIZE AND NEEDS DON'T MATCH
The study also focused on characterizing how users perceive their solar electric systems. The fact that 19% had a problem with the battery and 13% wanted more power suggests that the systems are typically under-designed and over-used. Eight percent reported a problem with lamps or appliances, reflecting the poor quality of the locally made, cheap fluorescent luminaires available from small shops in rural towns.
Only 10% of the systems had a charge controller, and in 18% of these the controller had been by-passed. From the cash-constrained point of view of a consumer, the decision not to use a controller is justified. First, the charge controller costs close to US$100 (largely due to import duty and VAT), or about the cost of a 12-watt module. Second, there is little need to protect systems below 20 watts against over-charging since under-sized systems do not overcharge. Finally, consumers do not see the benefits of charge controllers and thus tend to leave them out of their configurations.
Most households claim that they maintain their batteries, and over 30% say they keep distilled water at home. More than 90% of systems are powered by an ordinary car or lorry battery or by Ôsolar batteriesÕ (car batteries with thicker flat-plates). Analogous to the case with PV modules, a smaller battery better fits household expenditure patterns and should be developed. A small panel will only be able to fully charge a large battery if the load is not switched on for several days in a row, which is an unlikely occurrence. The battery is likely to be operated in such a way that it fluctuates around the completely discharged state, only storing the energy of one day's worth of sunshine. This type of practice tends to reduce battery life. It would be much better if the battery were fully charged every day.
The solar home systems powered several lamps: The smallest systems (with a 12-watt module) had an average of three lamps, and the largest systems (more than 45 watts) had seven lamps. Roughly half of the lamps were incandescents in the 1- to 10-watt range ($1-2) and were used in spaces where light is needed sparingly from time to time. Such lamps are only a fraction of the cost of fluorescent lamps and can provide useful service (cf. the case of a toilet with and without a 1-watt incandescent lamp). The TL-type lamps were most popular, largely because they cost much less than CFL lamps. Of the fluorescent luminaires used in the survey sample, about 50% were imported ($25-$35) and 50% were locally made. The latter fixtures show extremely crude workmanship, with hand-wound induction spools and a minimum of electronics. Early blackening is a major problem, but cheap fluorescent replacement bulbs can be found in many small rural shops. The emerging pattern is clear Ñ people want to have a lamp in every room, but cost is a major concern.
Savings on kerosene, dry cells, and battery charging reported by households with a solar home system amounted to about $10 per month. In rural areas, this is a considerable amount of money, and it seems to match most energy expenditures (other than for cooking) people reported they had before a solar electric system was installed. Savings realized with solar electric systems are higher than those obtained with solar lanterns, consistent with the fact that the latter provide more services.
SUGGESTION FOR ACTION
The enabling policy considerations that should be systematically addressed include removal of high import tariffs and excise taxes in order to ensure that solar equipment is not unduly burdened, including solar lanterns and components of solar home systems.
Manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers should listen more carefully to the suggestions offered by rural people and try to improve the supply of solar electric equipment accordingly. The potential market in developing countries is enormous, but only for the right type of equipment. A recent market study in Kenya shows that current targets for cash sales are roughly 1.4 million lanterns and 0.9 million small solar home systems which would still leave about 40% of the rural population, or 1.6 million households, without any electricity at all. The potential market is very large indeed.
Robert van der Plas
The author is energy planner at the World Bank's Energy, Mining and Telecommunications Dept.
The Joint UNDP/World Bank Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme (ESMAP) is a special global technical assistance program run by the World Bank's Energy, Mining and Telecommunications Dept. ESMAP provides advice to governments on sustainable energy development. The article is an update based on a paper published in the Right Light 4 Proceedings.
Further information can also be found at www.worldbank.org/html/ fpd/energy/ruralenergy.htm
N.B. This article reflects the views and opinions of the author and does not in any way reflect the views of the World Bank Group.