Grameen Surya Bijlee Foundation

GSBF is a Technology driven Trust. Technology is to-day a major driver in all forms of activities which lead to solutions for problems being addressed by the trust.

Solar Photovoltaics (PV)
Over the years PV panel prices have dropped drastically due to changes in design brought about by Technology upgrades.

The Solar Panel is the most expensive component of the Solar Home System(SHS) and commands our maximum attention. The Trust has initiated moves to

create a OEM Solar Module Assembling capacity in India closer to end users using the best Solar Cells available from leading Solar Cell Manufacturers. Panels are rigorously tested for performance and efficiency.

New Photovoltaics (PV) technologies

PV Technologies over the ages has moved from Mono & Poly Crystalline cells to Thin Films like Amorphous Silicon, Cadmium Telluride, Copper Indium Selenide. These Films use lower material coating and use lower energies in manufacturing than the traditional silicon crystalline solar cells.

But the most attractive features of Thin Films is it’s cost which is headed below the US $ 1/Wp barrier. GSBF has networked with global Cell and Films manufacturers and has devised a cost reduction program to meet the US$1 per Wp barrier as quickly as technology permits.

The emphasis given to Cell Technology is on account of the Solar Panel constituting about 50% of any Solar Home System costs.

LED Technologies

What is LED?
Light Emitting Diode(LED) is a Solid State Lighting invention. In layman’s terms it could be described as a miniature bulb which consumes much lower energy than a conventional bulb and at the same time provides light in greater proportion. LED provides white light times more efficiently than a conventional incandescent and fluorescent bulb.

Technology is driving prices down and increasing luminosity of the LED bulb. Just to give an idea, a LED can consume as low as 0.10 watts of power compared to a 30 watt tubelight or a 40 watts incandescent light. Assuming that even 10 small 0.10 watt LED bulbs are required to provide comfortable lighting the total consumption would amount to say a little over 1 watt of power!!!!!

Other than power efficiency the other main advantage of an LED is its longevity. Many LED bulbs are rated to work for 100,000 hours without replacement. This is miles ahead of any incandescent or fluorescent bulb which would last only 500-1000 hours.

The LED cannot match the luminosity of the incandescent or the fluorescent lamp to-day even though the energy cost per lifetime usage and lumens per watt is better. Thus we have to use clusters of LED’s to create the same luminosity.

Technology is working towards increasing luminosity and dispersion angles of the LED. Thus a cluster of LED can create the same lighting luminosity as a traditional lamp. However even clusters put together use much lower energy than traditional lamps.

GSBF has initiated a program to build LED Lamps using the best Technology products at the lowest possible prices. This shall be an ongoing exercise since innovations are driving costs lower and efficiency upwards.

Creating new product ranges and applications in the area of Energy saving devices is the central focus initially

Miniaturization

The other related Technology improvements have come in the area of Rechargeable Batteries. Here Technology has enabled creation of :

Smaller Battery sizes
Increasing the number of cycles that the battery can be recharged
Lowering the cost of individual battery packs

Under this category we have now Nickel Metal Hydride(NiMH) and Lithium Ion cells and the hydrogen based cells available commercially. Taking into account size, cost and capacity the NiMH cells are the best option for Lighting systems. We shall also be using traditional sealed Lead Acid and Gel Batteries.

One of the main advantages of NiMH cells is the small size: Literally like the pencil cells we are used to. The size factor permits the cells to embedded in the light model itself, improving handling and removing disadvantages of older batteries like Sealed Lead Acid which needed constant maintenance and change every three years, apart from bulky.

Again Technology changes drive us to change product design as new configurations become available.