|
Lubumbashi
|
Thanks to the businesses below who have donated medical equipment for use in DR Congo!
Thanks so much to Surgico for donating valuable and versatile surgical headlight units for our hospitals in DR Congo. Your generosity is greatly appreciated!
|
|
And then there were three . . .
Our third project was completed at Papillon Hospital and the CDLA Headquarters in Lubumbashi. The Papillon project cost around US$5,000, and provides power for lighting to the entire facility, as well as power for use in the maternity delivery and surgical rooms. The CDLA Headquarters project cost around the same, and provides stabilised power for the offices and on-site X-Ray machine.
Papillon Hospital Project Detail
We worked hard to get the best value for money and settled on returning to a solar supplier in Lubumbashi, Dev Solaire. As usual, Divesh was very helpful in coming up with equipment to suit our needs.
This hospital already had mains power, but only on random days and at random times. The new system tops up reserve battery levels when mains power is available, and also charges these same batteries via Solar Power when mains are absent. We installed 6 x 300W 24V panels on the roof of the main building, right above a spare room that was available to securely house the control equipment. We installed a 3kW controller/inverter system in this block, along with a 48V 150Ah battery bank to store reserve power. In addition to this, we upgraded the main entry point for power into the facility, installing a motorised switch to swap between mains power and generator in the event that both mains and solar went down at the same time.
This hospital already had mains power, but only on random days and at random times. The new system tops up reserve battery levels when mains power is available, and also charges these same batteries via Solar Power when mains are absent. We installed 6 x 300W 24V panels on the roof of the main building, right above a spare room that was available to securely house the control equipment. We installed a 3kW controller/inverter system in this block, along with a 48V 150Ah battery bank to store reserve power. In addition to this, we upgraded the main entry point for power into the facility, installing a motorised switch to swap between mains power and generator in the event that both mains and solar went down at the same time.
|
|
|
The Control RoomThe hospital was visited and photographed, then time was spent considering the best way of ensuring 100% power stability for the critical parts of the facility. After much searching and comparison of available product options, we chose Victron equipment for this install due to its reliability.
The Victron MultiPlus 3k 230V uses an integrated inverter to provide the necessary power to light the entire hospital, and still leave enough to power low power equipment in the laboratory and surgical rooms. The unit can also pass through mains power, when available, to both run the facility and charge the battery bank. With mains power normally on for an hour or two a day, we only needed to install 1800W of solar panel capacity on the roof for this system to cover extended mains outages. 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 the entire facility has reliable all-night lighting available.
In order to cut down on power consumption, we replaced all fluorescent lighting in the hospital with LED lighting. A major lighting upgrade in the maternity delivery room and surgical room means the days of operating by cellphone lights are gone! Dr Serge, who does a number of operations at this hospital, was delighted, knowing he would no longer have to endure the continual "lights out surprises" half way through operations that had previously plagued this facility. |
CDLA Headquarters Project Detail
Before . . .
|
. . . and After . . .
|
. . . so this incredible equipment can be used!
|
Stabilised Power with Battery Backup
The offices of CDLA (the NGO we work with on the ground in DR Congo) received a major upgrade this year as well. The situation at the main house where all administration is done was very basic, electrically speaking. The gift of a state-of-the-art X-Ray machine from a generous donor in Ireland, complete with its own lined container, prompted this upgrade.
With stabilised, reliable power, the unit can now provide affordable imaging to thousands of people in the city.
Like the Papillon project, we used Victron equipment as the hub of the new supply. The good thing about the CDLA site was that power was a little more reliable than Papillon, meaning we did not have to install solar panels. This may change in the future, however, as power supply in this city of 3-5 million people is increasingly sporadic.
A 48v 300Ah battery bank was installed, along with auto-mains-switching technology to ensure split-second switching of power to the imaging equipment and office computers.
With stabilised, reliable power, the unit can now provide affordable imaging to thousands of people in the city.
Like the Papillon project, we used Victron equipment as the hub of the new supply. The good thing about the CDLA site was that power was a little more reliable than Papillon, meaning we did not have to install solar panels. This may change in the future, however, as power supply in this city of 3-5 million people is increasingly sporadic.
A 48v 300Ah battery bank was installed, along with auto-mains-switching technology to ensure split-second switching of power to the imaging equipment and office computers.