Sunsafe II 

Partners: Evonet Energy Ltd (Lead), Gamos East Africa, Intelligent Technologies Ltd., Strathmore University, The Institution Of Engineering And Technology

Country: Kenya

Technology: Next generation solar technologies and business models

Stage: Early

Stage: 9

Given unmet electricity needs in Kenya, there is a large market for solar PV systems, even as the grid expands. These systems fall into two categories: component-based solar systems (CBSS) or plug-and-play systems (PPS). Plug-and-play systems are pre-assembled solar home systems (SHS), while CBS is sold as separate components, which are assembled on-site by technicians into SHS.

CBSS is often preferred by consumers due to their load flexibility which allows for higher tiers of electricity access (increased capacity, reliability), more easily than PPS. Unfortunately, limited technical knowledge about the design and installation of solar PV, can render CBSS unreliable or unsafe. This lack of knowledge can result in sub-optimally sized systems or systems sold without key components of system safety and functionality, like charge controllers.

This project addresses the identified knowledge gap by developing a system running on a smartphone that digitizes the selection of CBSS components thus simplifying system sizing in component-based solar photovoltaic systems. It targets electrical retailers and technicians to ensure that the systems they put together for customers are correctly sized and configured, without requiring sizing knowledge.