Developing a smart solar energy platform for families and fleet operators

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The number of people without access to electricity in Africa dropped from almost 860 million in 2018 to 770 million in 2019 (IEA et al., 2021). However, without more sustained efforts, it is predicted that 650 million people will still live without access to electricity in 2030, despite universal access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable electricity by 2030 being a key Sustainable Development Goal (United Nations, 2015). Grid expansion is necessary, but unconnected individuals remain difficult to reach as they're mainly rural, poor and marginalised. Not only this, but those connected via off-grid solar technology are facing issues with the lifespan of their systems. A study carried out in Kenya found that Nearly one-fifth of solar products stopped working within 18 months despite a 25-year predicted lifespan, with the majority of these products, being kept unfixed in the home (Cross and Murray,2018). Therefore, presenting issues with the maintenance and lifespan of current solar home systems.Solar Home Systems are stand-alone units that include a photovoltaic panel (electricity generator), a battery and charge controller (energy storage and distribution), and electrical appliances (the energy load), providing at a minimum "Tier 1" electricity access for task lighting and phone charging (ESMAP, 2015). Solar panels with 1 -- 10 W output can be used to power lights to replace kerosene lamps in households. However, deployed solar panel systems have high failure rates (Feron, 2016); for example, reported failure rates of 65% in Laos (IRENA, 2014). These high failure rates result from a lack of maintenance or after-sales service, and harsh operating conditions (Van Diessen, 2008).With funding from Innovate UK, Open Energy Labs (UK SME), Fam Studios (UK Innovation agency), will develop a MVP smartphone application/hardware to support remote/rural users to control, monitor, maintain and expand the functionality of a Solar Home System (SHS). Whilst also developing a strategy to support HE/FE students to become fleet entrepreneurs that can maintain/repair any type/brand of SHS. Thereby directly lowering the barrier to the uptake of renewable energy technology in Rwanda and sub-Saharan Africa; namely, lowering the skill level required for people to design, install, operate, manage, and maintain household systems. We will assess the feasibility of this innovation during this project with the aim of developing an alpha prototype to use for further testing.