Solar Panels

The breaker that protects the battery from the solar panel (above), the car battery, and the AC/DC converter.

The solar panel sits on the very top of the house. 

A typical Rwandan (and African) outlet I use to charge my electronics.

A store in Musanze that sells various sizes of solar panels.  They range from 20W to 150W output.

             Rwanda has an initiative with foreign companies to bring electricity to all Rwandans within the next two years.  A good portion of Rwanda has electricity, and many of the Peace Corps volunteers live in these villages with electricity.  However, several of the volunteers (including me) live in an area with no electricity.  So how do we charge phones and cut our hair?  Solar panels.

            There is a huge movement in Africa currently to supply solar panels to villages.  Several newspapers and magazines have run articles on this rural trend.  The reason is simple: it is the only direct way to get electricity in your village without having to wait years for the government to run power lines to your village.  People that have solar panels enjoy a business venture where they can run bars and restaurants, charging stations for phones and car batteries, and barber shops. 

            Only the church, one business in my village, and me have solar panels in a six mile radius.  So how does the solar panel work?  First, I have a 100 Watt solar panel installed in the top of my house.  This panel should face to the south to gain more electricity, but due to the constraints of my house it sits at the top laying flat.  The panel connects to a wire that runs to a charge regulator that protects the car battery from overcharging.  The battery is the stored electricity for the house.  If the battery is not charged, then there is no electricity.  The battery has a DC current, so the battery connects to an AC/DC converter which makes all of the electricity into an AC current.  All electricity in your house runs on an AC current, so we need to convert the power to AC in order to charge all your electrical components. 

            Now that I have an AC output, I need to wire the house for lights, switches, and outlets.  Once the house is wired, I flip a switch on the AC/DC converter and I have electricity.  However, electricity in Africa is 220V compared to 110V in America.  This can cause American electrical components to not work, or worse, overload and be permanently damaged.  In order to get American electrical components to charge, I have an Africa to America converter that connects to the African two cylinder prong outlet and change the voltage from 220 to 110. 

            This can be quite an operation and take a lot of time.  Here is a quick rundown on what it costs to get electricity to your house:

100W solar panel:                  $350

Car battery:                             $100

Regulator:                               $50

AC/DC converter:                 $50

Electrical wire:                       $25

Lights, switches, outlets:      $40

Installation of solar panel:   $40

Wiring the house:                  $60

Total:                                      $715

It’s expensive, but considering that I can now charge anything, not cook in the dark, and invite people over at night is more than worth the cost for two years.