Potential energy savings from heat retention/storage through insulated systems in households

Introduction

Heat retention is an old-age technology and simple, operating on the principle of thermal (heat) insulation to retain heat in a container. Some of the basic and most important applications in the households include cooking (for instance simmering rice), keeping food warm or storage of hot water.

Heat retention has a big potential for cost effective conservation of fuel/electricity consumption. In addition, this technology is very essential for harnessing energy from renewable sources such as solar energy (solar cooking) and biomass which are fluctuating or limited in nature. However, materials for heat insulation and system design have to be optimized in order to perform within the expectations of the users.

Some materials for insulation include: unused old blankets/clothes, sheep wool, hay, rice straw, feathers, cotton, cardboard and other locally available materials.

Source: http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Heat-retention_cooking

Some interesting results

In this article, the results of a simple experiment of insulating plastic bottle containing one litre of hot water using pillow material (nicely wrapped around the bottle) are presented in the graph below.

The results indicate that boiled water (at about 90 degrees centigrade) can be maintained at temperatures of at least 50 degrees centigrade (desired temperature for domestic hot water) for over 8 hours under insulated conditions. Therefore, this means that the temperature loss rate is roughly 5 degrees centigrade per hour from simple and easily set up system. Note that the system was not optimized for operation and therefore better results can be achieved if the system is designed and optimised properly.

Conclusion

Heat retention systems complement boilers and cookers and they are very simple and cheap. They also have a big potential for saving energy (both electricity and thermal) in households. They can eliminate or minimise the use of energy guzzlers such as microwaves and electric kettles as well. Look, babies and kids can enjoy warm food all day long without warming!!  

Save energy, Store energy, Save the world (3S)!!

How does a biogas plant work?

Degradation of the battery of your portable electronic gadgets or equipments

Almost all portable electronics equipment or gadgets (such as laptops, ipads and cell phones) produced now days use rechargeable batteries referred to as lithium-ion batteries (LIB). Lithium-ion batteries as the name suggests, discharges by moving lithium ions from the negative to the positive electrodes and vice versa for charging.   The shift to lithium ion batteries is due to high energy density, high voltages per cell, and better charging/discharging characteristics among other advantages.

Although these batteries have good performance, they degrade and the rate of degradation is dependent on conditions of operation and how they are handled by the users.

I did a small experiment with my laptop battery by monitoring the capacity of the battery during a 10 month period. The results indicated that the capacity of the battery had reduced by 33%. The battery used to discharge in 165 minutes in October 2010 but the time reduced to 110 minutes in July 2011. This means if the rate of degradation remains constant, the battery has a lifetime of about 3 years and can only meet the expectation of the user for about one year (assuming the standby time is at least 2 hours). The graph below illustrates the results. Note that the results have been fitted linearly for demonstration purposes. The characteristics are not linear in a real situation.

Some of the factors that enhance the degradation of the battery include:

·         Overcharging

·         Deep discharging

·         Overheating of the battery

·         Defective battery charger (for instance may provide high voltages to the battery)

It is important to note that the battery degrades even if is not in use. So do not underutilize your battery. Also the rate of discharge depends on the intensity of the gadget use. However, some tips to lengthen the life of your gadget’s battery include but not limited to:

·         Avoid overcharging the battery (for instance by leaving it charging overnight)

·         Avoid deep discharging the battery i.e. do not use the battery until it is completely empty.

·         If the gadget has a battery management system, e.g. laptop:

o       Ensure that low battery limit is 20% to avoid deep discharge

o       Optimise you gadget use (e.g. by hibernating it when not in use, dimming the display e.t.c)

·         Make sure the battery is not overheated. For instance, a fan under the laptop may save you a great deal.

·         Regularly check you battery charger to ensure that it is not defective and that the rated specifications (e.g. voltage) are correct and not exceed.

Take care of your battery and it will serve you better!!

Hydroelectric power plant greenhouse gases

Hydroelectric Reservoir GHG Emissions

More PowerPoint presentations from Walter

Use of “Jikos - Kenyan wood/charcoal cook stoves” as an alternative energy supply for mobile phone and battery charging in rural areas

Introduction

As the rural electrification rate in Kenya is very low, access to electricity to most rural households is a dream. This therefore means that accessing services such as mobile phone or battery charging which is of significant importance to the rural people is challenging. This is because of the difficulty in logistics for instance travelling for long distance in search of these services. In addition, these services are expensive to the rural folks whose income is less than a dollar per day (for example Kshs. 20 for charging a cell phone).

Despite these challenges, a number of players have introduced several technologies to provide these services to the rural folks in a reliable and cheap manner. These include the use of bicycles dynamo to charge phones, introduction of solar home systems in the rural areas and use of diesel electricity generators. However, access to these technologies is still very low and costly to most rural people (especially the solar home systems and diesel generators).

Case to consider

In rural Kenya, biomass accounts for about 90% of the primary energy needs primarily for cooking and heating. The biomass energy is mainly from firewood or charcoal through the use of traditional cooking stoves (three stone fire) or improved cook stoves (for example the Kenya Ceramic Jiko). The traditional cook stoves are however inefficient hence dissemination of efficient improved cook stoves should be up scaled in rural areas.

The improved cook stoves can also be enhanced through addition of low cost thermoelectric generators for generation of power (although small scale). The thermoelectric generators operate by converting the heat energy in the cook stove (during cooking) into electricity which could be used to charge mobile phones as well as batteries for lighting or powering radios/television sets (see illustration below).

The thermoelectric generator is a thermopile comprising a set of several units of semiconductors connected in parallel. Each semiconductor is made of two different materials similar to a thermocouple.  It operates on the principle of Thermoelectric effect (Seeback Effect) where temperature differences within the materials of the semiconductor results to electric voltage. The temperature differences in this case are created during the operation of the cook stove.  The power generated by the generator depends on the size of the thermopile i.e. the number of units making the thermopile and so is the cost.

 

The initial cost of an improved stove integrated with a thermoelectric generator will definitely be high for the rural folks. However, if compared to the current costs of mobile phone and battery charging as well as lighting, this technology is way cheaper in the long run. In addition, there are a number of benefits such as efficient utilization of fuel, reduced indoor pollution and reliable electricity supply for phone and battery charging and lighting.

Furthermore, due to fuel efficiency and providing alternative electricity in rural areas, this technology is effective for reduction of greenhouse gases hence an attractive technology for the clean development mechanism (CDM).

Chang’aa stoves (Alcohol/ethanol stoves)

Introduction
Kenya’s electrification rate is very low (at about 20% country wide, 51% in urban area and 4% in rural areas). As a result, majority of Kenyans (about 68%) rely on biomass (wood fuel and charcoal) for primary energy needs. This for sure has impact on our environment as a result of deforestation and carbon emissions due to unsustainable management of our forest cover (NB: Kenya has a forest cover of about 2% as opposed to the required 10% or more ).

Access to clean energy to most of vulnerable Kenyans is therefore a dream. This adds to the bigger basket of other socio-economic and health problems affecting our society. The question is: Will we ever reduce the burden of this basket? The answer to this question is absolutely YES. However, it requires our commitment and hard work. Furthermore, the solutions are with us and we should therefore not rely on anybody to bail us out.

Case to consider “a case of Chang’aa stove”

Ethanol or alcohol stoves have been developed and implemented in other parts of world for example in India (which should be one of our first role models in development). Such stoves have a big potential of mitigating the twin problem of drinking as well as clean cooking for those who are not accessing electricity or cannot afford LPG. In addition, ethanol stoves do not require high grade ethanol in order to operate and they are easy to operate. The only problem is the high unit cost which can surely be lowered down in case they are produced in mass.

Kenya has been grappling with myriad of problems regarding illicit brew for a very long time and unfortunately the problems mainly affect the poor who also lack clean energy services among other basic services.

Production of chang'aa - dirty and illegal

One way of mitigating this problem is finding a way of diverting the illicit alcohol (Chang’aa) from the people. This may be possible through the introduction of Chang’aa stoves which on one hand will reduce the alcohol available to people and on the other hand creating job opportunities (production and selling of stoves and chang’aa fuel in a commercial and civilized manner).

This is a very weird proposal but in my opinion such ideas are required in Kenya. Ideas, though borrowed from elsewhere, are tailored to fit to the society. By the way, they may render Mututho to revise his stringent Mututho rules (i.e. Alcoholic Drinks Control Act 2010 regulations).

Clean and civilized production of Chang'aa

Ethanol stove (source: Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute (NARI))

An overview of Renewable Energy Financial Mechanisms in Kenya

Overview 

In Kenya, biomass accounts for about 68% for the primary energy consumption followed by petroleum at 22%, electricity at 9% and others at less than 1%. Solar energy is also used but mainly for drying. It is important the main source of biomass energy is wood fuel and charcoal which is not sustainable. However, programmes/projects for scaling Renewable Energy Technologies (RETs) up have been formulated and some are being implemented.

For the purpose of this discussion, I will describe the financial mechanisms I am aware of irrespective of the technology. The examples discussed in the paragraphs below will therefore cut across the RETs available in Kenya.

Financial mechanisms to scale up technology innovations 
 

Technology innovations are mainly done at the universities and research centers. Examples of financial mechanisms include but not limited to the following:

• Government budgetary support – the government allocates its research institutes budgets for developing new ideas and to develop and implement incubation programmes. A good example is the Kenya Industrial Research Institute (KIRDI) which is under the Ministry of Industrialization. This is mainly for R&D and in most cases do not reach commercialization stages. The Ministry of Energy also has energy centres accross the country to aid in research and development of alternative energy sources.   

• Innovation funds at the universities – Some Universities, e.g. Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, have set up innovation funds to support research and development of new innovations. The funds are available to the university staff as well as external persons collaborating/linking with university staff. 
   

Financial mechanisms to scale up small and large renewable energy project development 

They include but not limited to the following:

• Small grants programme – A number of small renewable energy projects have benefited from the GEF small grants programme receiving up to US$ 50,000. The projects are small in nature. The challenge with this method is the sustainability and ownership of set up projects.  

• Equity – This is mainly popular in the sugar and tea industries where the companies finance the development of renewable energy projects in house. For example Unilever Tea Kenya Limited which has invested the company funds on hydropower projects with the aim of reducing power costs hence increasing returns. Another example is the Mumias Sugar Company which has financed the cogeneration project involving generation of power using sugar cane bargasse. 

• Long term debt (Bonds) – The Kenya’s leading electrical power generating company, Kenya Electrical Generating Limited (KenGen), launched a 10 year Public Infrastructure Bond Offer (PIBO) in August 2009 in order to raise funds for expanding the capacity of power generation and to reduce the reliance on hydropower by developing and strengthening the mix of generation modes (i.e. hydo, geothermal, wind and thermal). The bonds were listed in the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE). 

• Development loans - A biggest wind energy farm project in Kenya that is expected to generate 300MW has been established in the nothern part of by Lake Turkana Wind Power consortium (LTWP). The financing is partially from the investors and partially from a loan facilitated by the Africa Development Bank (AfDB). The project is estimated to cost around Euro 465 million and AfDB is facilitating about Euro 300 million (about 70% of the estimated costs). 

• Community financing – Some micro-hydro power plants in Kenya  have been majorly financed by the community with technical support from NGOs or the government. A good example is Tungu-Kabiri Community Micro hydropower project where community members raised funds to acquire land, donated construction materials and provided labour as well as providing cash for procuring materials which are not locally available. The community members bought the shares of the micro-enterprise hence boosting community ownership and sustainability of the project. 

• Policy instruments to enhance RET in Kenya – The Ministry of Energy is now implementing feed-in-tarrifs policy for for mini-hydros, wind and biomass resource generated electricity. This has attracted private sector investors particularly in the area of wind energy.
  Asset finance – A number of commercial banks are offering asset finance. This option is available for all customers including those intending to develop RET projects. However, this can only apply at the later stages of project development especially during operations and maintenance. 

• Government plans on Carbon trading – The government is planning to develop carbon emissions trading. According to the national budget for FY 2010/2011, the Minister of Finance proposed to develop a carbon emission trading scheme.  

• Government plans on improving accessibility of RE finance  – In FY 2010/11 budget, the government allocated some funds for the establishment of a green energy facility in partnership with a consortium of financers in order to provide loans to investors in the alternative energy sources.  

Financial mechanisms to scale up end-user finance 

Examples include (but not limited to): 

• Revolving fund schemes – An example of revolving fund mechanism is a local NGO reffered to as RETAP. Its revoliing fund credit scheme focus on promoting and creating awareness on RETs and promoting access of energy saving stoves to institutions (e.g. schools) and small businesses (e.g. restaurants) in rural and urban Kenya. RETAP partners with private enterprises to ensure accessibility of energy saving stoves through flexible and cheap credit schemes. 

• Cheap credit facilities through SACCOs – An example this method is Muramatii savings and credit cooperative (SACCO) for farmers in the tea sector in Central Province, Kenya. The SACCO offers cheap credit (solar loans) to its members to install PV systems. 

• Carbon credits (still under development) – A biggest wind energy farm project in Kenya that is expected to generate 300MW has been established in the nothern part of by Lake Turkana Wind Power consortium (LTWP). The project is under development and is expected to be operational from 2011. The project is expected to reduce carbon emissions and earn carbon credits. The project plans to transfer the proceeds of the carbon credits to the Kenya Power and Lighting Limited (KPLC) in order to reduce the end consumer tarrif.
   

Gaps in the finance continuum for renewable energy deployment in Kenya 

I believe the following are some of the gaps that are hampering financing of Renewable Energy Technologies in Kenya. This has therefore led to slow uptake or upscaling of RETs. 

• Inadequate technical or financial support for scaling up technology innovation for RETs;  

• Lack of adequate understanding of the Renewable Energy Technology investment by the Commercial financial institutions. Commercial financial institution feel that RET investment is risky especially during start up and development; 

•   Lack of reliable and accurate information regarding RETs; 

•  Lack of adequate policies to favour investment and growth of RETs especially with regards to financing RETs;  

• High levels of poverty especially in the rural areas hence impacting on the uptake of RETs;

• Over dependence on hydropower and fossil fuels as a means of generating electricity hence much focus on them.