About The Technology
Currently, the focus is on light-as-a-service, although there are many other ideas in the pipeline. We need three different technologies to make this happen; cheap, efficient rechargeable lighting; a device to convert human muscle-power to electricity; and a system to collect the money. Taiwan is a great place to source these technologies, due to the huge manufacturing base and energetic tech-focused workforce.
Lighting Solutions
This is the easy part!
There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of products already available that may be suitable for our end-customers. We are not promoting our own product, but will buy the best we can get at the cheapest possible price.
The best product is cheap, durable, uses very little electricity, and can be recharged. It must hold enough power that it can be used for several days before recharging, and provide enough light to let people do useful work (or study) when the sun goes down.
The physical light is the important thing for the end-customer, so we will give them as much choice and flexibility as possible by finding the best deals we can for them. But it's not the important thing for us! We're not in the lantern business, we're in the electricity business.
Charging Technology
Estimates vary, but a fit healthy human can produce about 100W of electricity for a short period.
Over a longer period (all day), a steady 50-75W seems more reasonable.
Bicycles and electrical generators are old technology. They have been refined over more than a century and mass-produced to be cheap, efficient, and durable. Combined with modern rechargeable batteries and low-power LED lighting, this is a very cost-efficient and reliable way to deliver power to off-grid communities.
One other company is already using people as a source of energy, and claim that it is a very profitable business. But they're only working in a couple of countries and we think we can do better. Our first and second round of finance are intended to test a variety of different prototype machines, to find out which is most suitable for our entrepreneurs.
Point Of Sale
In the long-term, we need to measure how much electricity is produced and track financial transactions.
For the first and second round of trials, we are only testing the basic economics, so the generators will not be metered. But in order to be paid fairly for their work, our entrepreneurs need to know how much electricity they are providing to their customers.
If the trials are successful, we intend to develop/customise a computing solution that enables our entrepreneur partners to measure the electricity they produce, manage their financial relationship with us and their customers, access the internet, and much much more.
A chip on the generator/battery circuit, which is very cheap, needs to communicate with a device. This can be a smartphone, or one of those cheap new tablets that are in development right now. It doesn't need to be a custom-built device with only one purpose, it's a platform for other services in the future.
Why Not Solar?
The question everyone asks!
Solar panels are the technology everyone is talking about. Solar panels get lots of government funding. Solar panels are exciting because they promise something for nothing. Solar panels are great, especially when the sun shines.
Sadly, the sun only shines during the day - when our customers are busy scratching for a living. Solar panels don't work at night, are vulnerable to extreme weather, and have a limited lifespan.
Solar panels are currently more expensive than unskilled labour, and require subsidies to be affordable. Check out the Acumen fund's investment in solar! "With an upfront subsidy from the Indian Ministry for New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and consumer financing options which Orb arranges, low-income customers will pay approximately USD 4 per month over 5 years." Why are we subsidising big companies in rich countries to undercut poor people who need the income?
More importantly, to buy a solar panel means taking out a loan without doing any useful work to earn money. And the loan repayments leave the community. Our goal is to enable our entrepreneurs to earn a good living by providing a useful service to their community, without borrowing a lot of money, and for most of the profit to remain in the community. (Instead of going to foreign banks or oil companies.)
If we find that solar is a more attractive proposition in the future, we are not committed to bike/generators. Our business is electricity, by whatever means, and the key technology is the ability to manage a financial system that makes this possible. But, for a system to work, it is essential that there are people in the communities we serve that can make a living from the business. Field trials of generating technology is only the first step in a long journey, but for now it is the most promising.
Many thanks to my friends who have given me advice about what to do before launching this site. I know it's not perfect, and I'll keep adding to it, keep working, but the important thing is to get the message out there today. If you would like to volunteer to help with graphics, development, marketing, accounting, etc., then please contact me. If not, please send money instead. Your support is appreciated! Thanks.
