This project was carried out during a 6 months internship at University Energy Research Center for Health (CURES). We had as objective to improve medical intervention in rural hospitals by improving the power quality of these health facilities. Solar Energy is abundant in Sub-Saharan Africa, the technology to extra this energy as well as convert to electricity is widely spread. The figure below describes a simple procedure to convert solar energy to electricity.
Healthcare being one of the global fight since the creation of WHO, is now a concern for developing countries across Africa. These nations have focused on getting the best medical personnel and equipment. Most of these medical equipment are electrical, therefore need a clean and sustainable energy supply for a good result. Medical equipment are thus classified by the RAPPORT CROSS of 2013 into vital loads, essential loads and useful loads. Vital loads (e.g. Oxygen Machines) demand a reliable source of energy in order not to affect the life of the patient. Most of the Hospitals (especially those in rural areas) in Cameroon do not have sufficient and sustainable energy provided by the grid (ENEO). The use of Diesel Generator sets as standby have become the best alternative for most hospitals. With the increase danger of Fuel pollution to the human system and environment, WHO affirms a risk of Cancer on exposure to this pollution. In this study, we will propose an energy supply using SOLAR ENERGY which is abundant in the Sub Saharan and the equatorial zone. This energy has little or no pollution compared to Diesel Generator set. We have established 4 essential steps for hospitals to design the SOLAR ENERGY SUPPLY SYSTEM. We have a proposed Algorithm for design which can be modified depending of the hospital’s priority.
In order to evaluate the impact of our design system, we compare it to the existing system using the following criteria.
We provide details on preventive maintenance methods to enhance the system.
- Monitor system’s performance and note the KWh supply by the system.
- Check and test system every two weeks (include proper cleaning of the system).
- Tighten any connectors which have been weaken by environmental condition (during the rainy season).
- Check electrolyte level of the battery in the bank every month.
- Change battery when the stated date of expiration approaches.
- Wet the PV panels on hot days (>45°C) (do that from above in order not to touch the electrical section). Wash the surfaces of these panels with soft materials in the dry season (remove dust).
A presentation of MATLAB SIMULINK of simulation of system.
We also designed a platform for the hospital to calculate the budget for the Solar PV project. This is due to the lack of very skilled technicians in healthcare facilities especially for rural communities, so the platform does all the complex calculations and produces simple interpretative results.
