Low-cost solar home system design for rural electrification in Indonesia with local assembly (2 citations).
Approximately 2.5 million Indonesian households lack grid electricity, primarily in remote rural areas across the archipelago. These communities rely on kerosene lamps for lighting and must travel to village kiosks to charge mobile phones, typically at $0.25 per charge — a significant expense for households earning less than $5 per day.
Kerosene lighting produces dim, smoky illumination that limits evening activities to roughly 3 hours and causes respiratory health issues from indoor air pollution. Each kerosene lamp emits approximately 120 kg of CO₂ annually, contributing to both local health problems and global climate impact.
Traditional solar home systems are often oversized and overpriced for basic rural needs, or undersized leading to user dissatisfaction. There is a need for appropriately-sized, locally-assembleable systems that match rural affordability constraints while reliably meeting basic lighting and phone charging requirements.
The mini solar home system (SHS) uses a 50W polycrystalline panel, a 20Ah sealed lead-acid battery, and a PWM charge controller sized for 4-6 hours of LED lighting and mobile phone charging daily. Sigit contributed to system sizing calculations, component selection for local availability in Indonesian markets, and development of assembly manuals for community technicians.
The system was designed using the peak sun hour methodology validated in prior work, with sizing parameters appropriate for Indonesia's tropical solar resource (4.8-5.2 kWh/m²/day). Battery capacity provides 2 days of autonomy for essential loads: three LED lamps (12W total), a mobile phone charger (10W), a radio (5W), and an optional DC fan (15W).
Component selection prioritized products available through Indonesian electronics distributors — the panel, battery, controller, and lamps can all be sourced domestically. This local supply chain enables ongoing maintenance and replacement without depending on imported kits that may become unavailable.
Deployed systems achieved 90%+ user satisfaction for lighting and phone charging needs based on structured surveys of recipient households. Total system cost was approximately $120-150, within reach of rural households when combined with microfinance programs that spread payments over 12-18 months.
Households reported dramatic quality-of-life improvements: evening study hours for children increased from 1-2 hours to 3-4 hours; kerosene expenditure was eliminated (saving $8/month); indoor air quality improved measurably; and mobile phone access became available at home rather than requiring village trips.
Local technicians were trained for installation and basic repair, creating a small service economy around the systems. The simple design — panel, battery, controller, DC loads — proved maintainable by community members with basic electrical training, avoiding dependence on outside specialists.
System sizing used the peak sun hour (PSH) methodology: the 50W panel was calculated from a 130 Wh daily load, divided by 4.8 PSH (Indonesian average) and a 0.75 system efficiency factor. Battery sizing used 2-day autonomy at 50% depth of discharge, yielding 20Ah at 12V. These calculations were validated against field measurements over a 3-month deployment period.
User satisfaction was measured using a 5-point Likert scale survey covering five dimensions: lighting quality, phone charging convenience, monthly energy cost, indoor air quality, and evening activity time. Before-and-after comparisons were collected from 30 households at deployment (baseline) and again at 3 months post-installation.
The 50W capacity cannot support productive loads such as television, refrigeration, or small business equipment. However, the paper identifies a modular upgrade pathway: a second 50W panel and larger battery can be added to support these loads as household income grows, creating a scalable approach rather than requiring full system replacement.
Jurnal SETRUM — Sistem Kendali Tenaga Elektronika Telekomunikasi Komputer, 2022
DOI: 10.36055/setrum.v11i1.18456
Uses the same peak sun hour sizing methodology validated in tropical climates.
Larger-scale off-grid solar application for agricultural productive use.
Provides low-cost solar measurement for rural system sizing.
Accessible rural electrification design emphasizing local capacity building and sustainable supply chains in the Indonesian context.