SUNSPOT(tm) Solar Electric Cooking System

The World Health Organization estimates that up to 3 billion people around the world continue to cook with inefficient stoves powered by local biomass, including wood, charcoal, crop wastes and animal dung. This cooking method is extremely inefficient and produces large amounts of smoke and toxic emissions, which are extremely detrimental to the health of the women and children who are most affected by cooking. One recent source stated that more women die in Africa each year from the effects of cooking gases than die from Malaria.

In addition, the open flames and glowing charcoal present a major burn hazard, in addition to being the cause of many accidental house fires.

Finally, collection of wood and production of charcoal are major contributors towards deforestation, including some of the most sensitive environments around the world. Use of animal dung prevents it from being composted and used as fertilizer, and crop wastes are better used in biogas generators to produce fuel for commercial and industrial purposes.

Many attempts have been made over the past forty or more years to introduce more efficient "improved" biomass stoves, but results have been mixed at best. Despite the low cost, in most cases they just don't make enough difference to justify long term use.

The alternatives include natural gas, LPG and solar thermal cooking. 

Natural gas, which is widely available in developed countries, is used very little in developing countries, and then only in urban areas.

LPG is a much cleaner alternative, but distribution to rural areas and the increasing cost of supply make it a "bridge" solution at best.

"Solar thermal" cooking uses reflectors to concentrate the sun onto some sort of cooking vessel, creating enough heat for cooking. This technology has several performance issues. First, it only works with direct sun - it will not work with diffuse (cloudy) sunlight. This limits its applicability around the world. Second, it is very difficult to match the amount of heat produced to the cooking process, which can only occur in the middle of the day and often requires constant attention to both the reflector and the cooking pot. Finally, the reflectors are subject to scratches and rapid degradation, especially among the more inexpensive designs.

The introduction of high efficiency consumer electric induction cooktops and electric pressure cookers are gaining a great deal of attention as alternative to gas and standard electric cooking, both in the developed and developing worlds, but rural non-electrified communities cannot use the basic technology.

Fortunately, the dramatic fall in the cost of photovoltaic modules, deep cycle lithium batteries and efficient power electronics has made it possible to design a solar electric cooking system that can be cost effective with existing household expenditure on fuel, lighting and mobile phone charging (two benefits also provided by a solar electric cooking system.

The switch from biomass cooking to electric cooking in all areas of the world will end up being one of the major paradigm-shifts in modern technological history.

The SUNSPOT(tm) is a self-contained solar electric power system designed to supply energy for cooking meals for a family of six, with additional energy available for basic lighting and mobile phone charging. The package includes the power systems (800Wp PV array, 2.5 kWh LFP battery, power/control electronics, wiring and protective circuitry), as well as an induction cooktop, starter set of pots and pans, USB-powered LED lights and a microporous household-scale water filter. The system also includes a grid input for use in areas where the electric grid is available.

The "energy budget" is 2 kWh per day, but this depends on local solar resource. In most cases, extra energy is available for much of the year, which can be used to power fans, a radio and possibly even a small TV. We have completed energy consumption tests for many of the typical meals served in rural areas around the world and are confident that this energy budget is adequate. In addition to being able to cook indoors, one of the major advantages of electric cooking is "instant on-off" which allows users to prepared smaller and more diverse meals, rather than cooking a large meal in the daytime and then eating leftovers for dinner and breakfast the next day. It is also hard to undervalue the ability to provide "afternoon tea" in many parts of the world.

The SUNSPOT is supplied in kit form to local partners, who are responsible for assembly, installation and maintenance. 

The SUNSPOT includes data acquisition and a Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGo) controller to allow the users to use the system without excessive upfront costs. The system has a ten-year service life, and our business model anticipates an "energy as a service" (EAAS) application where the users use the system without ownership. The local partner is responsible for maintenance of the power system throughout its service life, eliminating many concerns about the long-term sustainability of such a system. The local partner is also responsible for recovering the equipment at the end of its service life for responsible reuse, recycling or disposal of all components, eliminating concerns about electronic and battery waste in rural areas.

The goal at scale is to supply the systems at a monthly cost that is equivalent or less than existing expenditures on cooking fuel, lighting and mobile phone charging. Our current estimate is a $25 monthly cost, which may be reduced through access to the Voluntary Carbon Credits market. Payment is typically made through digital means (MPESA or equivalent), with remote payment allowed through remittances. Areas where cooking fuel is still collected rather than purchased, performance-bases subsidies may be required, from government or other sources, although remote payment (remittances) will also affect affordability in these areas. We have talked with many supporters who tell us that children / relatives in cities and other countries are more than ready to support families in remote communities.

The ultimate goal of this solution is to provide increased economic development though improved productivity and improved health of users.

Cooking is a fundamental human need. In many parts of the world, this is accomplished through the use of biomass-powered fires, which have remained unchanged through thousands of years. "Three-stone" cooking fires are very inefficient and produce large amounts of toxic emissions, including smoke and carbon monoxide and many other harmful gases.

The burden of cooking falls largely on women and children, from collecting fuel to managing the cooking process. Exposure to these traditional fires adversely affects the health of these women and children, leading to increased incidence of emphysema and other respiratory diseases, serious injuries from open flames, and the increased risk of household fires. Collection of wood for cooking fuel increases deforestation, as does production of charcoal, with consequences including increase erosion of valuable croplands. Biomass cooking also contributes significantly to worldwide black-carbon emissions and CO2.

Many efforts have been made over the past 40 years towards addressing these issues through "improved" wood/charcoal stoves, "rocket" stoves, biomass cookstoves and solar-thermal cookstoves, but progress has been limited. All of these technologies only reduce the problems of toxic cooking emissions, and in the case of solar-thermal, requiring significant behavioral changes. 

Electric cooking eliminates all local toxic emissions, as well as eliminating the dangers from open flames, and is increasingly being recommended for areas with adequate electric supplies. However, the drastic reduction in the cost of photovoltaic (solar electric) modules, batteries and power electronics have paved the way for electric cooking to be used as a direct replacement for traditional fires in rural and peri-urban areas (including refugee camps) without access to a traditional grid. A self-contained electric system also provides power for lighting and mobile phone charging, adding increased value.

The technology challenge is straight-forward -- PV modules, LFP batteries and reliable power/control electronics are fully mature (and continuing to decrease in cost), and the increased adoption of PAYGo systems paves the way for adoption, even amongst communities at the "bottom of the pyramid."

The challenge is in finding a sustainable business model to bring these systems to the people who need them most. Our team is working with people experienced in delivering technologies to these areas, including "clean water franchises", and has developed a business plan which can provide solutions while being attractive to "socially conscious" investors who look for a solid business to support. We have begun discussions with potential investors and are working to develop a comprehensive sustainable business model, including many ideas from "Poor Economics' (Banerjee, Duflo).

In summary, solar electric cooking can create a paradigm change to dramatically affect the health and productivity of everyone involved.

Teresa and Douglas Danley (co-founders of SUNSPOTPV LLC) served as Peace Corps Volunteers in Botswana from 1980 through early 1983, living in Ramotswa, a rural village without comprehensive electricity and running water. Teresa worked as Rural Industrial Officer supporting small-scale businesses in the villages in the SouthEast District. Douglas set up and managed a local government maintenance crew in charge of rural water supplies in district villages. In 1982, Doug and his crew designed and installed Botswana's first PV-powered deep well water pumping system as part of a project to support one of Teresa's small enterprises.

Teresa has worked in education for many years and is involved in the "Fair Trade" movement to support local businesses around the world. With a background in math, economics and small rural businesses, she provides important perspective on the benefits of solar electric cooking for women.

Doug has spent his career working in solar energy systems in the US and around the world, including village electrification projects in rural Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Mexico, the Peruvian Amazon and Haiti as well as commercial projects ranging from small gas pipeline monitoring systems, to mountaintop microwave power systems and utility-scale solar plus storage microgrids in the US.

We worked closely with EarthSpark international to deploy a SUNSPOT pilot project in Haiti in early 2020. The results of this project (funded by MECS out of the UK)

Our team includes an industrial designer / former NASA engineer, power electronics designer and financing specialists. We are working closely with the Global Solutions Institute in Little Rock, Arkansas to develop the business structure and financing options for scalable deployment of SUNSPOT. We are in close contact with scalable suppliers of PV modules and LFP batteries. We are currently sourcing power electronics overseas, but have developed our own designs for a combined power/control electronics platform which will reduce costs even further.

As a result of winning first prize in the 2019 Elsevier / ISES "Rural technology Challenge" we have received a great deal of interest from interested parties around the world. We are currently working to establish "pre-commercial" pilot projects / user acceptance studies in Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Guinea, Niger and Mali and have had discussions with Heifer International, USTDA, USAID Power Africa, the World Food Programme and the United Nations High Commitee on Refugees. We are in earlier stage discussions with many other countries in Africa, the Americas and Southeast Asia.

We did a small scale pilot project in 2020 in Les Anglais, Haiti in cooperation with EarthSpark International and the systems were very well accepted. Since that time, we have worked to improve systems reliability and lower system cost, including development of an integrated monitoring systems and PAYGO controller.

We have avoided further small scale demonstrations and are focused on "pre-commercial pilot project" which will deploy 500 systems coupled with a comprehensive user study. Although we are confident in our assumptions and technology, we recognize that there are many challenges to deployment in individual countries and want to make sure we are working with dedicated partner.

As an MIT alumnus (Doug, Course II, 1984), I have read about SOLVE over the years. We recognize that we are attempting a very challenging problem in serving this market and are experienced to know that we need all the help we can get.

We hope that SOLVE will bring us in closer contact with resources who will help us move our ideas towards scalable maturity. We feel that our goals match closely with those of SOLVE and are looking forward to collaboration to make this crazy idea a reality.

People have been cooking with biomass (wood, charcoal, crop wastes, animal dung) since the dawn of history. Unfortunately, biomass cooking creates many hazards, including exposure to smoke and other toxic gases from the cooking fires, danger of burns from open flames, and danger of accidental house fires from poorly managed cooking practices. Biomass cooking (especially wood and charcoal) also increases the effects of deforestation on rural communities.

The recent dramatic reduction in costs of photovoltaic panels, batteries and power electronics has made it possible to develop a cost-effective electric cooking alternative to traditional "three-stone" (and "improved") biomass cookstoves.

In order to be implemented on a meaningful scale, this technology must be matched with a business plan which provides value across all participants, from the end user to the local businesses to the investors who provide financing. 

SUNSPOTPV is planning on using a modified franchise model. The top end franchisor will provide SUNSPOT kits to the local franchises, which will assemble and install them and serve customers on an "energy-as-a-service" EAAS model. The local franchise will have responsibility for maintaining the systems throughout their service life (approximately ten years), as well as removing and properly reusing, recycling or disposing of system components.

SUNSPOTPV will also provide back-end business solutions, access to carbon markets, training and other support, and access to sustainable financing through dedicated special-purpose entities.

The fee for using the systems will be collected via Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGo) microfinancing. Our target is payments of $25 per month based on our research into current expenditures on cooking fuel, lighting and mobile phone recharging. Future use of carbon credits will be able to bring this cost down. In the case of agricultural co-ops, the co-op would be the local franchise and would collect payments using a "crop-revenue-witholding" model similar to that used for seed, fertilizer and equipment leasing. Payments can also be made remotely, accessing the $450 billion in remittances sent home to developing countries annually by migrant workers.

SUNSPOTPV has been working with groups such as the Global Solutions Institute in Little Rock, Arkansas to develop blended financing mechanisms which are appropriate to this scale of project.

The benefits of electric cooking in comparison to traditional cookstoves are obvious: elimination of smoke and toxic cooking gases, elimination of dangerous open flames, improved productivity of women in children by reducing the burden on collecting fuel and managing cooking fires, and more flexibility in food preparation due to the "instant on-off" feature of induction cooktops.

SUNSPOT brings this benefit to rural and peri urban areas either without or with insufficient electric service. The benefits largely accrue to women and children who are responsible for the majority of fuel collection and cooking tasks. One benefit that is not immediately obvious is the ability to heat small amounts of water in the early morning for personal hygiene. A government minister from Lesotho said that this would behave a major effect for keeping girls in schools in the chilly mountain areas of his country.

One of the concerns posed is social acceptance of such a dramatic change in a long-established practice. This is often expressed as "the food tastes better when cooked over charcoal." Our initial pilot in Les Anglais, Haiti showed rapid acceptance of the new cooking method, with users saying they will "never go back." This is backed up anecdotal stories from our recent ancestors who started cooking on wood stoves and quickly moved to gas or electric cooking when it became available.

Aside from the immediate effects on users, solar electric cooking would also reduce pressure that collecting wood and processing charcoal have on local forests. Deforestation can cause secondary effects such as erosion of valuable croplands and even causing landslides which can affect whole villages.

Finally, switch to electric cooking (whether on-grid or off-grid) helps reduce CO2 emissions of biomass cooking (estimated to be 2-5% of global man-made emissions), although the CO2 footprint of manufacturing the components must be included in these calculations.

SUNSPOT addresses eleven of the UN Sustainable development goals:

3: Good Health and Well-being
SUNSPOT eliminates local air pollution due to cooking, leading to healthier lives, especially for women and small children who are most at risk from cooking smoke. Induction cooktops and other electric appliances are less likely to cause injuries from burns since they have no open flames or hot cooking surfaces.

5: Gender Equality
SUNSPOT reduces the time required to collect fuel and prepare fires. This will free women for more productive tasks such as farming, education and businesses.

6: Clean Water and Sanitation
All SUNSPOT systems include a "Sawyer Bucket Filter" which is a household-sized reuseable microporous water filter.

7: Affordable and Clean Energy
SUNSPOT provide a service (cooking) at a cost that is competitive with existing expenditures on wood and charcoal, using clean, quiet and safe solar energy. Pay-As-You-Go financing reduces the cost burden on the user. The systems also provide lighting, mobile phone charging and other basic
services.

8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
SUNSPOT™ systems are assembled in-country, with parts sourced locally as practical. Along with installation and maintenance, this will provide ongoing employment. Eliminating the time collecting fuel and preparing fires also frees up time for productive uses such as small rural businesses, especially for women.

9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
SUNSPOT™ systems are self-contained so that they will continue to provide power even during adverse climatic situations. They do not rely on “pole and wires” or a central utility source which is subject to curtailed operation.

11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
Reduction in pollution due to solar electric cooking benefits the entire community as well as the individual households. There is less pressure on local forests and a potential reduction in erosion due to deforestation (see Goal 15). Elimination of open flames also reduces the possibility of
house fires which can lead to property loss, injury and death.

12: Responsible Consumption and Production
SUNSPOT reduces consumption of a valuable local resource – biomass – replacing it with clean solar electricity. This enables changes in cooking techniques which leads to more productive use of local foods.

13: Climate Action
Production and use of wood and charcoal is a significant source of CO2 emissions, as described by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization: “An estimated 1–2.4 Gt CO2e of greenhouse gases are emitted annually in the production and use of fuelwood and charcoal, which is 2–7 percent of global anthropogenic emissions." By replacing wood and charcoal with clean solar electricity for cooking and light, the SUNSPOT™ systems will help reduce worldwide CO2 emissions.

15: Life on Land
Increasing demand for wood and charcoal as cooking fuels
have contributed to deforestation, Solar electric cooking reduces pressure on local forests, reducing erosion and thus improving the opportunity for
better crop yields.

17: Partnership for the Goals
The SUNSPOT™ team is committed to working with diverse partners to facilitate the use of cost effective solar electric cooking across the world. We are looking at innovative financing, cooperative business structures, and local
manufacturing, which are all necessary parts of the overall picture.

At it's most basic, the SUNSPOT™ is an off-grid photovoltaic power system optimized to supply energy for cooking, basic lighting and mobile phone charging. The system uses commercial PV modules and LFP deep cycle batteries, along with MPPT control and power electrics to enable use of an induction cookstove and a custom control system to monitor system performance. A significant part of our effort is to reduce capital costs to improve system payback for partners and eventually reduce monthly costs for users.

At present we are using off-the-shelf power electronics and control hardware, but we have started development on a custom power/control electronics intended to add functionality, improve functionality, increase reliability and reduce costs.

The real innovation is in the control/monitoring system. One primary function of the controller is to provide Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGo) services which serves as a form of micro-financing, allowing use of the system without incurring high capital costs. The second function of the controller is to provide production, usage and error reporting to the local operating partner. This is similar to the "Advanced Distribution and Monitoring Systems" which are being deployed by utilities around the world.  In areas with cellular coverage, we will be using IOT protocols to collect valuable data with a minimum of bandwidth and energy. In areas with limited connectivity, we will use solutions such as the OpenPAYGO Pass, which is a free and open source technology that provide PAYGo in low-connectivity areas with an affordable RFID tag, effortlessly transmitting metrics and activation tokens, supported by a free app for seamless data exchange.

The production / usage data are combined with error reporting to proactively identify and correct system problems. The usage data will also be used to apply for carbon credits in the burgeoning voluntary carbon market. This increase in revenue can be used to reduce monthly costs.

Once we are operating at scaled volumes, the usage data will be anonymized and used to analyze trends in usage which may lead to additional market opportunities. 

Another key component of the business plan is use of "mobile money" such as East Africa's MPESA model. This reduces the opportunity for error, waste and fraud in the payment system, while easing the process of making payments. Digital payments can also be made remotely allowing remittances from relative or other sources in cities or other countries to pay directly for clean cooking services in the rural and peri urban areas.. 

We do not have any full-time team members. Douglas Danley works on project related tasks, including pilot project development. Two team members are developing a power electronics and control solution, and another engineer working on industrial design. We work with GSI in Little Rock, Arkansas to develop the business plan and large-scale financing, including the upcoming Global Lease Finance Facility.

We are in close communication with potential partners in the DRC, Mali, Niger, Ethiopia, Cote d'Ivoire, Uganda and several other countries. We have ongoing discussions with Power Africa, the WFP and agencies associated with the UNHCR.

We started working in this project in early 2017 when two different colleagues ask whether it was cost effective to cook with electricity generated from solar. After research into how much energy is used to cook foods and some quick design work, we realized that the answer was a resounding yes. We got some funding from the American Made Solar Prize and worked with EarthSpark International to do a small pilot project. Our work since then has been on improving the functionality of the system, on reducing costs, working out a scalable business plan and on developing pilot projects.

Although SUNSPOTPV LLC is currently majority women-owned, we are small enough that we do not have a formal DEI policy. However, the nature of our goals to serve people "at the bottom of the pyramid" around the world mean that diversity among our future direct employees will be a benefit to the company. Diversity among our overseas business partners is pretty much guaranteed because of the markets we are addressing.

As Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, Teresa and Doug have lifelong respect for other cultures and for variation within our own culture. We are committed to providing a welcoming work environment and will work with future investors to make sure this happens.

Our planned business is a franchise model.

The "top end" franchisor (SUNSPOTPV LLC) will provide services and support to local franchises located in developing countries around the world. These services will include:

• Consolidated purchasing of PV modules, batteries and other components to supply as kits to local franchises. We call this the "Ikea Model."
• Back-end office systems, including PAYGo, monitoring system (cellular and/or RFID) and accounting / business management platforms, training is assembly, installation and maintenance, marketing support, and concessionary lease financing (through special purpose entities).

SUNSPOTPV will take a small markup on equipment to support its operation and future product development. Other funding will come through franchise fees and possible sharing of carbon credits.

The local franchise will purchase system kits in volume through a short-term leasing structure. They will pre-assemble the systems and then install at customers they have recruited. The systems are provided on an Energy-As-A-Service model, so the local partner is responsible for maintaining and repairing the system in order to keep generating revenue. The partner will maintain the PAYGO and monitoring systems and will collect revenue. Initially, a significant portion of revenue will be used to pay back the hardware lease, but once this is paid, local partner cash flow will improve significantly.

The local partner will pay an annual "franchise fee" based on the number of systems that have been contracted. This provides additional incentive for the local partner to keep all system in operating condition. Although the franchise partner is committed to only supporting solar electric cooking systems from SUNSPOT, they are free to provide other equipment and services to their customer base.

We are currently working towards developing pilot projects in one or more countries in Africa, Central/South America or Southeast Asia. A pilot of 500 systems along with a comprehensive user behavior and acceptance study will go a long way towards convincing potential investors and partners that is a viable business. We have submitted proposals in six countries and are in discussions with potential partners in nearly a dozen more countries.

We have discussed doing a comprehensive market study with the USTDA, but while they liked our ideas, they did not feel they were the right vehicle. They referred us to the Power Africa Empowering East and Central Africa (EECA) initiative. We are in discussions with them and are currently developing a proposal.

Another major effort concerns improving the design and reducing the initial capital cost of the systems. We have quantity quotes from all major vendors and have built three generations of prototypes to validate the designs.

Finally, we have initiated discussions with potential groups to fund the scaled deployments. This includes Global Solutions Institute in Arkansas, who is developing a Global lease Finance Facility to support this type of effort. We have also had preliminary discussions with a couple of family foundations who are looking for commercially viable projects to invest in.

We have held off on try to attract investors to SUNSPOTPV LLC itself because we feel that we will present a much more attractive profile once we have our next batch of systems in the field. 

We have received $25,000 from the American Made Solar Prize and 20,000 Euro from the Elsevier / International Solar Energy Society "Renewable Transformation Challenge" in 2019. All other work and hardware development has been self-funded.

Based on the very high level of interest we received from winning the Elsevier/ISES RTC-2019 challenge, we feel that we will be able to attract the proper investment once the conditions are right. After six years of effort by us and others such as the UK-based Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS), many institutions from around the world are starting to wake up to the idea that solar electric cooking is not only a good idea, but it can actually be cost effective.