It is said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. In August 2010 I took the first step in using solar energy at my house in Nairobi.
My motivation was to find an alternative power source during the electricity power outages which occur at least once every two weeks in Nairobi. In the past 6 months the duration of the electricity outages, provided by the Kenya Power and Lighting Company Limited, have been as short as a few minutes and as long as 14 hours.
I purchased two kits at Nakumatt. An Energizer lamp whose battery is recharged using electricity and a solar kit from Sunlite which included a solar panel (approximately 9 inches by 6 inches) an LED lamp, a battery pack and Nokia (and Motorola) cell phone charger adapters.
I have hung the solar panel on the inside of a window that receives direct sunlight for at least 8 hours a day. This solar panel charges the battery and in the evening I move it and connect it to the lamp. We use it as a night light when there is electricity, and as one of lamps during electricity power outages. Sunlite say the lifespan of the solar panel is 15 years, the battery is 2 years and the LED light last for more than 50,000 hours.
The Sunlite LED light is not as bright as I would have hoped for, I estimate it is as bright as a standard 25W bulb. That said I am thrilled that I use one less electric bulb every evening and my goal is to gradually transition to the use of solar energy for more than 50% of the needs in the house I live in.
I have used the battery once to charge my cell phone. Someone via twitter said I should be careful to ensure that this does not adversely affect the life of the cellphone battery.
The next step is to buy another solar kit from ToughStuff, also available at Nakumatt. I will then begin the search for a larger solar kit that could serve as a backup power source for the radio, TV, DVD, DSTV decoder and a computer.
My motivation was to find an alternative power source during the electricity power outages which occur at least once every two weeks in Nairobi. In the past 6 months the duration of the electricity outages, provided by the Kenya Power and Lighting Company Limited, have been as short as a few minutes and as long as 14 hours.
I purchased two kits at Nakumatt. An Energizer lamp whose battery is recharged using electricity and a solar kit from Sunlite which included a solar panel (approximately 9 inches by 6 inches) an LED lamp, a battery pack and Nokia (and Motorola) cell phone charger adapters.
I have hung the solar panel on the inside of a window that receives direct sunlight for at least 8 hours a day. This solar panel charges the battery and in the evening I move it and connect it to the lamp. We use it as a night light when there is electricity, and as one of lamps during electricity power outages. Sunlite say the lifespan of the solar panel is 15 years, the battery is 2 years and the LED light last for more than 50,000 hours.
The Sunlite LED light is not as bright as I would have hoped for, I estimate it is as bright as a standard 25W bulb. That said I am thrilled that I use one less electric bulb every evening and my goal is to gradually transition to the use of solar energy for more than 50% of the needs in the house I live in.
I have used the battery once to charge my cell phone. Someone via twitter said I should be careful to ensure that this does not adversely affect the life of the cellphone battery.
The next step is to buy another solar kit from ToughStuff, also available at Nakumatt. I will then begin the search for a larger solar kit that could serve as a backup power source for the radio, TV, DVD, DSTV decoder and a computer.
Very helpful stuff Alex. I've been researching in very similar lines to see how to use more renewable energy and I must say this is a good start!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
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