Solar Home Appliance Kit

An off-grid home appliance solar kit that includes a refrigerator, cooking stove, charger, wi-fi, and a switch for home lighting at a relatively affordable price.

On August 4th, 2020, a massive explosion in the Beirut Port rocked the city. People lay on the streets while others walked, bloodied with terrifying wounds. Lebanon was also at its highest pandemic rate per capita. Hospitals were full but dysfunctional, primarily due to a shortage of electricity, and doctors were without alternatives but to treat patience lying on sidewalks. Hell seemed to have broken loose. The country had already been caught in an unprecedented financial crisis. People were queuing at banks and searching pharmacies and stores for scarce medicines and food. This is the social and political context out of which my solution, my kit, was born.

I experienced firsthand how electricity shortages disrupt and affect the quality of life of all of us without exception. Due to the economic crisis, the country could not import fuel for power plants. The only remaining electricity was from private generator operators. I finally reached my limit of patience when several friends, including myself, developed food poisoning due to poor refrigeration caused by Lebanon’s inconsistent electricity provision.

In light of this, private generator companies have acquired a central role by trying to fill this supply gap, but only to those who can afford it. Such is their reach in Lebanon’s neighborhoods, where many people suffer severe respiratory problems from pollution from these toxic-spewing private and community diesel generators. Beirut sits under a cloud of brown smoke, with most people unaware they’re in it.

Energy access and security is one of the world’s most challenging global problems because it broaches the environment, public health, poverty, and profits. As I mentioned elsewhere in my application, 940 million people do not have access to electricity globally, and 3 billion people worldwide have no access to clean fuels for cooking. According to the World Health Organization, the use of charcoal and wood for cooking is causing the death of four million people annually. With such numbers, it is of the utmost importance to find an alternative to burning solid biomass fuels such as charcoal or wood.

This is how my Solar Home Appliance Kit came into being. Harnessing the sun to power various home appliances, the kit provides a clean alternative to expensive, wasteful, and toxic traditional home appliances. My aim is to furnish a game-changing invention in the electric appliance sector to increase access to what has become a dire global need. 

This innovative solar-powered, off-grid appliance kit encompasses five essential components: a cooking stove, refrigerator, charger, wi-fi, and home lighting switch integrated within one appliance unit powered by a PV solar energy system. The refrigerator consists of a conventional compressor refrigerator with a cooling storage unit of 52 cm length × 52 cm width × 72 cm height, requiring 1 Amp to operate. A 1000 W electric cooking stove is used to heat the pan/pot where the food is cooked. A switch is used to alternate between the refrigerator and stove operation. When the stove is needed for cooking, the user can switch from refrigerator to stove operation. This helps reduce the appliance unit's electric consumption, reducing the size and number of solar panels needed and, thus, the system's overall cost. Therefore, a total number of 4 panels is required to power the system, each supplying a power of 360 W. An inverter of 48 V with a built-in charge controller of 3 kW is used to convert the electric voltage. For storage, four lead acid batteries are needed, each with a capacity of 100 Ah. Finally, to have a holistic system that meets people's everyday needs, it is suggested that the design incorporates three power outlets (for a USB phone charger, a wi-fi router, and home lightning). Such outlets do not require much power (40 W max) but offer a worthwhile addition to the system.

To keep the system relatively affordable, I introduced an innovative cost-saving feature. Adding a switch to divert power to different functionalities of the kit on an "as-needed" basis allowed me to optimize the use of each power source: the batteries, solar panels, and inverter power. 

Living in a country in the throes of an economic crisis, I felt determined to address the severe electricity blackouts. What started as a solution to a problem of three million Lebanese is now a promising one to millions more in the world in the same situation, including the millions of displaced persons without proper access to clean water and energy. As such, my target populations are (a) average citizens who, whether as a result of poor governance (Lebanon) or geopolitics (Ukraine), are in dire need of clean energy for electricity; and (b) the vast swathe of the world’s citizenry living in developing countries whose lack of essential infrastructure deprives them of energy and electricity security.

For my research, I collaborated with both a Ph.D. candidate who subsequently graduated from the American University in Beirut and an energy expert with over ten years of experience in General Electric. After much research, I found a manufacturer in Lebanon experienced in fridge building. I built prototypes and tested them, and I plan to manufacture my project in Africa, close to the largest pilot market in need of my appliance.

My dream team would be like-minded peers at MIT with whom I can collaborate to continue my research into and enhance technologies to make PV cells more efficient, improve battery life, make power-transmission wireless and use Artificial Intelligence to solve the voltage control problem and reactive power compensation. I am keen to collaborate with MIT Global to make clean energy accessible and reliable to all.

My appliance received a U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 63/375,565, filed on September 14, 2022. My provisional patent will help me protect the manufacturing process. I have begun fundraising to start the production and distribution of the kit. At MIT, I am eager to resume my research and collaborate with like-minded to improve technologies to make a real impact on the environment and people's lives.

Living in a country in the throes of an economic crisis with close to a million refugees from neighboring Syria, the need to address severe electricity blackouts is evident everywhere. There is no need for a formal survey to understand the needs of Lebanon’s various populations, so extensive is the problem. Still, I built several solar-powered fridges and tested my prototype with the help of refugees whose testimony was essential to the design improvement process. The feedback and success motivated me to further research and expand my project to address affordable and clean energy, global health and well-being, and environmental issues, satisfying several of the United Nations SDGs.

My project most closely addresses the Global Health and Climate aspect. The all-in-one, home appliance kit, reduces the carbon footprint by incentivizing households to adopt solar energy (“decarbonizing housing,” in the words of the Challenge) instead of carbon fuels, whose non-sustainable yet ongoing, consumption is disrupting the carbon-storing balance of the biosphere. Thus, my project aims to be a preventive measure against climate change and environmental degradation. For example, my kit’s clean cooking component will prevent exposure to biomass cooking smoke, preventing millions of the globe’s citizens from early death. Another critical feature is my kit’s promise to change the lives of millions of youths with little to no access to worldwide web technologies or sufficient light for children to do their homework.

If selected, my project’s dreamlike possibilities (the creativity that drives the world’s inventions for the better) will be enough of a draw to trigger demand, no marketing needed. Such a game changer will force industry researchers to improve relevant technologies that will benefit the renewables sector, such as much-needed batteries, solar panels, etc. This is the kind of collaboration needed to win the fight against fossil fuel usage and increase the renewable technologies’ share of total global energy, currently at 10%.

My project is, first and foremost, aimed at reducing communities' suffering and promoting human welfare and social reform.  According to the article "The Heartbreaking Picture that Shines a Light on Education Plight of Millions of Children," published by Theirworld, "1.3 billion people – nearly one in five – do not have access to electricity, meaning that children have limited time to read and study." I aim to build on the work I have already done for my solar-powered kit to find a solution to this global problem by turning it into a full-fledged start-up. My impact goals are as follows:  

1. Protect Health. Public health, particularly childhood diseases such as tuberculosis and asthma, is directly caused by inhaled air pollution from solid fuels. According to The World Economic Forum, reducing exposure to these fuels will decrease household health risks worldwide, saving the lives of four million people per year. My solution does this by transitioning families to clean solar energy.
2. Protect the environment and promote sustainability. A Reuters article states, "The use of dirty fuels for cooking also contributes to deforestation and climate change - accounting for approximately 2 percent of global carbon emissions." My solar power grid provides a closed-loop energy alternative without the chemical residues of solid fuels or biomass that cannot be recycled. The impact is less waste and less pollution.
3. Provide essential comfort for families. Broader access to electricity for basic needs can be propagated relatively quickly without spending expensive infrastructure. Once produced on a large scale, my off-grid solution will have an immediate positive impact, shaving years off bureaucratic planning. 

The numbers speak for themselves. My proposed solution inspires hope for millions of families and children. It is crucial that the world collectively express concern by finally protecting the environment and improving people's well-being. How we address the needs of communities in need will shape our global economic fortunes and our social, health, and political environment.

My kit was originally an idea driven by the suffering of Lebanese communities deprived of electricity, refugees, and average citizens alike. Research showed me that the Lebanese are not alone; three billion people worldwide endure the same problem. My project is an innovative combination of existing technologies, engineered and calibrated to optimize functionalities thanks to an adjustable command to switch usage to the needed component to optimize functionalities. This has helped avoid burdening the system with costly oversized capacity components, thus keeping the cost of the appliance low. Another attractive budgeting feature of my product is its economy of scope. Spreading the cost of the solar panels, a substantial portion of the overall budget, over the five functionalities compared to a single feature makes the system cost-effective.

The result is a combined all-in-one kit functionalities affordable off-grid solution. The lessons I learned from the process made me aware of the urgency of furthering future research into making clean energy a fundamental human right for all.

The number of people without access to energy, such as clean cooking fuels, hovers at around three billion worldwide, as described by Our World in Data, of which 940 million are without electricity. Even the most conservative estimates of my kit’s impact would place the number of people affected for the better in the hundreds of thousands in the first year alone, if not more, depending on manufacturing speed and capacity.

My kit’s objective is to alleviate suffering and improve the lives of as many as possible. I plan to start manufacturing as soon as possible in Nigeria, a populated country with many deprived of electricity. My objective is to start small and grow big. It will be a journey of perseverance and commitment to break new barriers.

Several leading worldwide organizations recognize the need for radical out-of-the-box ideas if humanity is to be served. The United Nations has stated that clean cooking can directly deliver gains across 10 of The Sustainable Development Goals, adopted in 2015 by 193 nations. Together the UAE Government and the Nama Foundation for the Advancement of Women have set up “Beyond Food,” aiming to provide clean cooking to communities worldwide in recognition of this problem.

There are several barriers to optimizing my solution’s impact. Finding a large-scale manufacturer is relatively easy compared to these barriers. Most pressing, my project will need the trust of venture capitalists to speed up production. Identifying efficient distribution channels is part of this operational challenge.

A second barrier is my audience’s limited purchasing power. It is safe to say that the kit’s “customers” are primarily economically disadvantaged and may need external help. One way to do this is to find ways to sponsor the project for the neediest while selling commercially in those markets of those who can afford it. This will entail identifying and partnering with government and non-governmental agencies, social associations, and philanthropic foundations to bring the product to market.

Already many multilateral institutions are lending a helping hand. Based on my background research, in 2021, The World Bank approved $500 million to support the electricity distribution sector of Nigeria alone. An off-grid project is even more promising because it allows individuals to use green energy independent of grid disruption.

I am currently in an advanced stage of exchange with the number one non-profit NGO in Lebanon to help promote my project and find partners to start manufacturing and distribution. To scale up I plan to contact relevant international entities such as the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and Nama Foundation for the Advancement of Women who have set up to collaborate to provide clean cooking energy and technologies to communities and households globally.  Also, I hope to get the support of the Clean Cooking Alliance. 

While I continue my progress in Lebanon to scale up and take advantage of the economy of scale production, I plan to go to a larger market where my kit is also needed. Nigeria, with 210 million people nationwide, is one the countries that has the lowest access to electricity. With 92 million person lack access to power, my objective is to collaborate with local government entities such as the Rural Electrification Agency, which has often received assistance from the World Bank and the African Development Bank. 

I am using my fundraising experiences to approach philanthropists and organizations sympathetic to reducing communities' suffering and promoting human welfare and social reform. Also, many have embarked on a fight against climate change, a threat to human well-being and the planet's health. My objective is to collaborate with in-market local government entities such as in Nigeria, the Rural Electrification Agency, which has available funding from the World Bank and the African Development Bank.