Off-grid electricity: For comfort but not for work
Off-grid electricity: For comfort but not for work
复制标题
离网电力：为了舒适而不是为了工作
作者：
A. Rubino
非洲离网太阳能光伏（PV）解决方案的采用正在改善基本能源的获取，并显示出可观的销量。该市场的大部分 (95%) 都是小型解决方案，只能为一两个 LED 灯泡供电并为手机充电。剩下的市场以太阳能家用系统（SHS）为代表，该系统由更大的太阳能光伏发电和外部电池组成，允许用户为最多五个灯泡和几部手机供电。然而，由发展机构和捐助计划推动的能源获取项目往往忽视非洲农村家庭的需求和要求。文献还对人们的优先事项提供了很少的了解，这些优先事项可能与资助机构的优先事项不同，后者通常关注环境和健康问题，而不是家庭的需求。斯坦福大学的 Ognen Stojanovski、Mark Thurber 和 Frank Wolak 分析了在乌干达和肯尼亚两个农村社区进行的一项原始调查的结果，以准确探索 SHS 的使用模式。研究人员使用了分别在乌干达和肯尼亚两个销售点进行的 375 名和 190 名客户访谈的数据。这些访谈是在购买时、安装时以及购买后三到六个月内对 SHS 的新业主进行的。证据表明，SHS 的采用立即导致几乎完全从煤油灯转向现代、高质量的照明系统。此外，采用 SHS 后，这两个国家的户外移动充电量大幅下降，减少了 70% 以上。然而，调查显示创收活动的用电量没有增加。这主要是由于现有库存电器（包括缝纫机、笔记本电脑甚至电视和收音机）与 SHS 系统不兼容。这些好坏参半的结果似乎挑战了离网光伏发电可能直接为采用者带来额外收入流的假设，并且没有证据表明 SHS 除了改善家庭舒适度之外是有效的。总而言之，这些发现提供了一个重要的迹象，即提高光伏渗透率的努力可能仍会受到与系统设计相关的障碍以及无法操作现有设备的影响。 ❐
The adoption of off-grid solar photovoltaic (PV) solutions in Africa is improving basic energy access, showing noteworthy sales volumes. The majority of this market (95%) is represented by small-scale solutions that can only power one or two LED bulbs and recharge a mobile phone. The remaining market is represented by solar home systems (SHSs) consisting of larger solar PV and an external battery that allows users to power up to five bulbs and several mobile phones. However, energy access projects, driven by development agencies and donor programmes, often overlook the needs and requirements of rural households in Africa. The literature also provides scarce understanding of populations’ priorities that might diverge from those of sponsoring institutions that often focus on environmental and health concerns rather than households’ requirements. Ognen Stojanovski, Mark Thurber and Frank Wolak from Stanford University analyse the results of an original survey conducted in two rural communities in Uganda and Kenya to explore precisely the usage patterns of SHSs. The researchers use data from 375 and 190 customer interviews conducted at two sales points, in Uganda and Kenya, respectively. The interviews were conducted with new owners of SHSs at the time of purchase, the time of installation and three to six months after purchase. The evidence shows that SHS adoption immediately gives rise to an almost complete switch from kerosene lamps towards modern, high-quality lighting systems. In addition, out-of-the-house mobile charging fell dramatically in both countries with a reduction of over 70% after SHS adoption. However, the survey shows no increase in electricity usage for income-generating activities. This is mainly due to the incompatibility of the existing stock of appliances, including sewing machines, laptops and even TVs and radios, with SHS systems. These mixed results seem to challenge the assumption that off-grid PV might directly generate additional income streams for adopters and finds no evidence that SHSs are effective, aside from improving domestic comfort. Taken altogether these findings provide an important indication that efforts to increase PV penetration might still suffer from obstacles related to system design and an inability to operate existing appliances. ❐