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Project
Proposal: Alternative to Batteries
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Full description of problem/need |
There are two daily power cuts of
four hours each in Pabal and the surrounding
villages. Many of Pabal's inhabitants
use 12 volt batteries to supply their
energy needs during power cuts. These
batteries are expensive and often only
last one year. Once batteries have ceased
to hold enough charge they must be replaced,
which is expensive, and although they
are often passed on to someone with
lower charge requirement, they are still
eventually thrown away. Thus there are
two main needs: 1) a cheaper method
of supplying electrical energy during
power cuts and 2) a method of increasing
the life of lead acid batteries.
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| How will the local community use the
proposed solution? |
One Pabal resident
has asked a local electrician to make
him a system that switches on a diesel
generator just before his battery discharges
below 50%. He hopes that this will help
his batteries to last longer, but Sanjay
is a relatively rich man in Pabal and
can afford to invest in a diesel generator
while most people cannot. Because of
the likely cost of a system to prolong
the useful life of lead acid batteries,
it may not be that an alternative power
source would be a more suitable option.
An alternative power source could cater
for one household or several or the
entire community; it could supplement
or even replace the existing system.
The way that the community uses the
proposed solution would very much depend
on the scale of the solution.
Vigyan Ashram has used batteries in
the past in conjunction with solar cells
as a more environmentally friendly and
more reliable alternative to state-provided
electricity. However it was found that
that the batteries had to be replaced
every year at a cost of Rs. 8000. Since
using solar cells only saves Vigyan
Ashram Rs. 4000 per year on electricity,
it is cheaper not to use solar cells.
If an alternative to batteries could
be made more cheaply than the current
cost of batteries or is batteries could
be made longer lasting, these solar
cells could be of use to Vigyan Ashram.
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| Estimate of the economic
benefit anticipated and plans for training
of the local community? What are the
major impacts on such a project? |
| A cost-effective
alternative to batteries would reduce
the amount of money and time spent yearly
on buying replacement batteries in Pabal.
Hopefully no training will be necessary
for the manufacture or use of the
solution. However if necessary Vigyan
Ashram may be able to provide training;
if not then training should be organized
through an EWB placement.
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| Full description of the local situation
(e.g. social, economic, geographical,
political) |
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Most people use hand-held torches for
lighting outside and use an inverter
to connect a 12V battery to a tube light
for lighting inside their homes. Telephone
booth operators use 12V, 1.4A rechargeable
batteries to allow people to use phones
during power cuts; these batteries generally
last two to three years and cost about
Rs. 700. The rechargeable 12V batteries
used in torches cost Rs. 250 and last
between one and two years. The 12V,
32A rechargeable batteries used by Vigyan
Ashram currently last just over one
year and cost Rs. 8000.
When electricity is available, many
people use it to heat water for bathing.
Several people own fridges, such as
pharmacists (for rabies vaccinations
and assorted other pharmaceuticals)
and a lady who distributes pasteurized,
homogenized cows' milk in factory-sealed
bags. The local schools and some other
people use computers. Tailors use
sewing machines that have been modified
to run off an electric motor in addition
to the normal foot paddle. The launderer
uses an electric iron but has a coal-fired
iron that he uses during power cuts.
The people most affected by power
cuts are the students studying computing
at the junior college and Vigyan Ashram.
Most other people can work around
the power cuts since they have alternative
technologies (using batteries or attaching
rabies vaccines to a freezer pack)
or behaviors (having a bath a bit
earlier or later in the day). The
power cuts do however limit the potential
for rural industry or information
technology development. These type
of businesses tend to avoid rural
areas and instead focus around Mumbai
because it has constant electricity.
Vigyan Ashram have noticed that power
cuts in general conform to a regular
pattern, but there are often exceptions
and occasionally there is no power
for many days (there was no power
from 1st - 15th July 2005). The general
pattern is:
Monday 0900 - 1300, 1700 - 2100
Tuesday 1100 - 1500, 1900 - 2300
Wednesday 0500 - 0900, 1300 - 1700
Thursday 0700 - 1100, 1500 - 1900
Friday 0900 - 1300, 1700 - 2100
Saturday 1100 - 1500, 1900 - 2300
Sunday 0700 - 1100, 1500 - 2100
There are also occasional power surges.
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| Full description of relevant infrastructure
available locally and/or internationally |
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People charge their batteries both
by leaving them constantly attached
to the mains or by connecting them
when charging is required.
When batteries no longer hold enough
charge to be useful people tend to give
the battery to anyone who can find a
use for it. It is possible to get batteries
re-conditioned in Pabal, but since the
cost is almost the same as the cost
of a new battery, few people do this.
Batteries, like all waste, are disposed
of in one of several locations around
Pabal, and then are probably scavenged. |
