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2016 Lwanza Hospital Solar Power Success!
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A Leap Forward in Electrical Capability!
Our first project has just been completed at Lwanza Hospital on Lake Mwero. Costing around US$10,000, the installed 2.4kW system provides 230V AC to 2 Surgery units and a maternity unit (for a complete detailed list of costings Click Here). The complete system can also be switched to a generator source in the event of system failure or if a short-term boost in power is needed to drive a heavy current device.
With this one installation, thousands of people will be able to receive hospital care over the coming years that would otherwise simply not be possible. Relaible electricity in a hospital allows for the installation of: ultrasound equipment, general anaesthetics equipment, surgical suction equipment, cauterising scalpels, diagnostics laboratory equipment, computer technology, reliable communications, and refrigeration.
Our first project has just been completed at Lwanza Hospital on Lake Mwero. Costing around US$10,000, the installed 2.4kW system provides 230V AC to 2 Surgery units and a maternity unit (for a complete detailed list of costings Click Here). The complete system can also be switched to a generator source in the event of system failure or if a short-term boost in power is needed to drive a heavy current device.
With this one installation, thousands of people will be able to receive hospital care over the coming years that would otherwise simply not be possible. Relaible electricity in a hospital allows for the installation of: ultrasound equipment, general anaesthetics equipment, surgical suction equipment, cauterising scalpels, diagnostics laboratory equipment, computer technology, reliable communications, and refrigeration.
Project Detail
We worked hard to get the best value for money and settled on working closely with a solar supplier in Lubumbashi, Dev Solaire. Divesh was very helpful in coming up with equipment to suite our needs, and we hope this partnership will develop in the years to come.
We installed 12 x 200W 24V panels in an East-West array due to the orientation of the building we were housing the equipment in. Due to the fact that this installation in near the equator, the orientation of panels is not as critical as it might otherwise have been. We set out the panels in two arrays, each with their own MPPT controllers. Each array has 2 controllers in an effort to build in redundancy (and hence security of supply).
We installed 12 x 200W 24V panels in an East-West array due to the orientation of the building we were housing the equipment in. Due to the fact that this installation in near the equator, the orientation of panels is not as critical as it might otherwise have been. We set out the panels in two arrays, each with their own MPPT controllers. Each array has 2 controllers in an effort to build in redundancy (and hence security of supply).
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The Control RoomOne of the things you quickly learn in the DR Congo is that you work with what you have available! After much searching and comparison of available products, we chose ProVista equipment for this install due to pricing and technological capability.
Each panel's output it brought directly into the control room via relatively heavy 6mm core cabling. This will allow us to configure the panels going forward without need to access wiring on the roof. We used MPPT controllers due to their inherently better power conversion characteristics, and combined these with 3 x AC inverters in order to provide the necessary power to the 3 surgical rooms being targeted in this project. The ImpactThe system is designed primarily for heavy daylight use, since this is the reality of the hospital workload. We did install enough batteries to ensure that the surgical and maternity wards have all-night lighting available — something not previously possible.
In the surguries themselves, we replaced very low wattage DC-based compact-flouro lighting with a dual system of AC-based LEDs and a DC LED backup system. The "before and after" pics to the left show the difference this makes in terms of available light in the operating environment! Each theatre now has 2 x 9W LEDs for general room lighting and a 10W LED adjustable, directional floodlight directly above the operating table. |
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In addition to the lighting, each surgery now has at least 4 x 230V AC outlets capable of running an all-up load per room of 1.2kW. This means that the hospital will now be able to invest in much needed AC equipment like surgical suction devices, cauterizing scalpels and the like.
Recovery rooms also benefit from the system with the installation of low power LED lights capable of running 24 hours/day as needed. 
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Down in the trenches . . .
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The moment of truth . . .
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