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moatis1
I am a 3rd year integrated Engineering Student. For our 3rd year project we decided to make a portable generator to power laptops that were previously donated to an isolated off grid village in Nepal (for educational purposes). The laptops are currently sitting in rice bags and not being used because there is no way to charge them.
We are making the product mainly for charity that donated the laptops, but the university project course has an entrepreneurial aspect to it, so we have to think of ways of making this product "marketable" or scale-able, so that it can be applicable for other charities. (not exclusively tailored for this specific situation, but useful in general). So during the design and brainstorming phase, we are reaching out to other charities, subject matter experts, potential customers, and any possible relevant stakeholder to ask for their input. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
The device we are making must be portable, and relatively simple and easy to fix and use (so users can fix it themselves in case of damage). The villagers themselves also may not sacrifice a huge portion of their busy survival life to spend on setting up power, as they are yet to "see" the full benefits of education and are trapped in a poverty subsistence life. So any solution has to fit into the lifestyle of subsistence farmers who spend the whole day ploughing land with ox and other beasts, cutting and collecting firewood, collecting water from a river which is 3 km away...etc.
At night the villagers are usually around a camp fire inside their homes. The area gets around 6-8 hours of direct sunlight from sep-may, and the monsoon season is Jun-Aug. The water does freeze during winter, as the location is in the himalayas. During the Monsoon season, the children do not attend school, or do much of anything actually, except stay at home, so ideally, we want them to be using the laptops during this time. However the main goal for now is to have them be able to use the laptops during school time for at least an hour/day. The laptops are divided between two villages that are a day's hike away. There are no roads anywhere and walking distances are large. (so installing large hydro system will be expensive and hard)
As a minimum, the total amount of energy generated must be enough to power 20 laptops for 90 min 5 days a week. we are aiming at 1.5kWh of power. Ideally we want the villagers to be able to charge their laptops everyday 365 days a year so we will likely have to store power. Whether the power is generated by one device and used directly or by several devices collecting and storing small amounts of energy is still to be determined. (would love some input on this) The prototype must not cost more than $500. (university funding available to us)
The forms of energy we can use range from microhydro, mechanical energy (of animals, or somehow harnessing the energy of walking from humans), solar ,or wind (both harder to fix). Other less orthodox ideas are using the fire pits that are created nightly, or the rain during monsoon season. There is no geothermal, and gas or diesel are not available (we also prefer sustainability). Also it will probably cost too much for us as students to travel to Nepal and set up a hydro generator if it involves having to change the landscape, install pipes...etc.Any suggestions, comments, or ideas would be greatly appreciated.
We are making the product mainly for charity that donated the laptops, but the university project course has an entrepreneurial aspect to it, so we have to think of ways of making this product "marketable" or scale-able, so that it can be applicable for other charities. (not exclusively tailored for this specific situation, but useful in general). So during the design and brainstorming phase, we are reaching out to other charities, subject matter experts, potential customers, and any possible relevant stakeholder to ask for their input. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
The device we are making must be portable, and relatively simple and easy to fix and use (so users can fix it themselves in case of damage). The villagers themselves also may not sacrifice a huge portion of their busy survival life to spend on setting up power, as they are yet to "see" the full benefits of education and are trapped in a poverty subsistence life. So any solution has to fit into the lifestyle of subsistence farmers who spend the whole day ploughing land with ox and other beasts, cutting and collecting firewood, collecting water from a river which is 3 km away...etc.
At night the villagers are usually around a camp fire inside their homes. The area gets around 6-8 hours of direct sunlight from sep-may, and the monsoon season is Jun-Aug. The water does freeze during winter, as the location is in the himalayas. During the Monsoon season, the children do not attend school, or do much of anything actually, except stay at home, so ideally, we want them to be using the laptops during this time. However the main goal for now is to have them be able to use the laptops during school time for at least an hour/day. The laptops are divided between two villages that are a day's hike away. There are no roads anywhere and walking distances are large. (so installing large hydro system will be expensive and hard)
As a minimum, the total amount of energy generated must be enough to power 20 laptops for 90 min 5 days a week. we are aiming at 1.5kWh of power. Ideally we want the villagers to be able to charge their laptops everyday 365 days a year so we will likely have to store power. Whether the power is generated by one device and used directly or by several devices collecting and storing small amounts of energy is still to be determined. (would love some input on this) The prototype must not cost more than $500. (university funding available to us)
The forms of energy we can use range from microhydro, mechanical energy (of animals, or somehow harnessing the energy of walking from humans), solar ,or wind (both harder to fix). Other less orthodox ideas are using the fire pits that are created nightly, or the rain during monsoon season. There is no geothermal, and gas or diesel are not available (we also prefer sustainability). Also it will probably cost too much for us as students to travel to Nepal and set up a hydro generator if it involves having to change the landscape, install pipes...etc.Any suggestions, comments, or ideas would be greatly appreciated.
- What are some of the ways people in remote communities produce electricity? Any innovate or unorthodox solutions you know of?
- How do you think we can tailor this device to solve the specific needs of the community mentioned and also be useful to other charities or even to camping enthusiasts?
- Do you use any similar devices ? What bothers you about them?
- What are some of the challenges of producing power in an off grid community that you can think of?
- What improvements would you like to see in your current power generators?
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