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Solar Stuff October 2009


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Rear view of the 20W solar panel we purchased at Davis and Shirtliff in Kampala for $135. Specs on the sticker and a small panel removed so we can see the two positive and negative lines for the wiring. Barefoot Power's PowaPak ($135): 5ah battery, 5W solar module, 2 goosehead led lamps, 2 overhead hanging led lamps, 1 cigarette lighter adapter (for charging mobile phones), 4 meters of extension cables
The Chinese 20W solar panel we bought from Davis and Shirtliff (dayliff.com) for $130 WE CARE Solar Suit case: 20w solar module, 8ah battery (w a 55ah battery behind it), charge controller and dc plug in outlets, battery charger, led headlamps, led spotlight, led taplights The nice thing is that the charge controller is fully integrated into the battery case, including a small replaceable fuse (they give you 3 extra fuses) and the sticker with everything nicely labeled. The whole package is sold by a partner company in Kampala called Base Technologies. They even have a salesperson in Mbarara.
Barefoot Power's PowaPak ($135): 5ah battery, 5W solar module, 2 goosehead led lamps, 2 overhead hanging led lamps, 1 cigarette lighter adapter (for charging mobile phones), 4 meters of extension cables. The extension cables include individual on/off switches for each light. Barefoot Power's led lamp next to WE CARE Solar's LED bulb, both are adequate for lighting up a room but the WE CARE light provides enough light for health workers doing consultations at night as well. Alex and his refrigerator!
Alex's WE CARE Solar setup - 2 20W panels in parallel charging a 50ah sealed battery. At the equator, the panels are lying flat. Without the insulation and other components, the frame of the fridge is pretty light... or Alex might just be really really strong! Ah, and I should mention that there was no power while Alex was working on this, so he was running this soldering iron off of an inverter hooked up to a solar system.
   
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Description: WE CARE Solar Kit, Barefoot PowaPak, and Alex building his refrigerator
Location: Mbarara, Uganda