Surgery and Healing in the Developing World - Dartmouth-Hitchcock

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86 Surgery and Healing in the Developing World
ampere-hours (which is charge), and the required battery autonomy. The first two
values relate to the array size. The last two values relate to the battery capacity. From
these four values, the appropriate array size and battery size will be calculated. Software
including climate data for various locations is available to help in system sizing.
The customer can leave all of the calculations and design to the system integrator.
Summary
Small photovoltaic systems, on the order of 800-1000 watts, are becoming quite
popular for electrification of remote health care facilities. This is attributable to their
proven high reliability, independence from the challenging logistics and cost of fuel,
safety, lack of pollution and noise, and reasonable price. These systems can provide
both DC and AC power for lighting and all kinds of small medical appliances. As of
the year 2004, there are hundreds of remote clinics that are completely electrified
with photovoltaic technology, and thousands of clinics that have PV powered vaccine
refrigerators. The technology is steadily evolving in terms of an increasing warranty
lifetime for modules and a decreasing cost per watt ratio for complete systems.
In the last few years, the market has seen more and more products specifically designed
for use with PV systems and more companies to sell and install systems.
While most photovoltaic modules are manufactured in the developed countries,
manufacturers have representatives in developing countries who can perform the
actual installation of a system. Much installation is done by companies that specialize
in system design and equipment integration. After installation, the easy required
maintenance consists mostly of battery hydration. Current trends predict a continuing
expansion of PV deployment for remote health care. This interesting semiconductor
technology is proving to be of great assistance in providing electricity-dependent medical
services in remote areas of the developing world
Biography of Jeffrey Mazer
Jeffrey A. Mazer, Ph.D., is a semiconductor engineer with particular interest in
photovoltaic devices and systems. He has published a tutorial book on crystalline
photovoltaics with Kluwer Academic Publishers (1996). His email address is
pv-engineer@starpower.net.
References
1. Rural Energy and Development: Improving Energy Supplies for 2 Billion People.
World Bank, July 1996.
2. Solar Energy and Rural Health Care, WHO Fact Sheet no. 132. Geneva: World
Health Organization, 1996. Available at http://www.who.int/inf-fs/en/fact132.html.
3. World Health Report. Geneva: World Health Organization, 1997. Available at
http://www.who.int/whr/1997/whr-e.htm.
4. Maps of incident solar radiation for various parts of the world can be otained from
the Center for Renewable Energy Resources at the National Renewable Energy
Laboratory, 1617 Cole Boulevard, Golden, Colorado 80401, USA.
5. Shepperd LW, Richards EH. Solar photovoltaics for development applications.
Sandia National Laboratories publication SAND93-1642, 1993. Available from
National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia 22161, USA.
6. Jimenez AC, Olson K. Renewable energy for rural health clinics. National Renewable
Energy Laboratory, September 1998.
7. Product Information Sheets. Order no. WHO/EPI/LHIS/97.01. Geneva: World
Health Organization. Available at http://www.who.int/gpv-documents/DoxGen/
H6PIS.htm.