Energy Supply to Bwai Health Center at Musoma District Mara Region
Tanzania
Kaare MANAYAMA JACOB
manyamakaare@yahoo.com
Masters Student of Energy Engineering, Pan African University Institute of Water and Energy
Science,Tlemcen-Algeria
Departiment of Energy Engineering
Abstract
,,
This Proposal is an excellent initiative,
which fully contributes to the approach of
supplying Energy at Bwai health center ,By
looking at all the energy needs of health
facilities and providing technical guidance
on how these can be met with renewable
energy technology which is solar
Photovoltaics to fills an important gap.
Rural health service is an important national
and international priority. However, the
availability of electricity to support proper
rural health services is less than adequate in
many countries including Tanzania,
Because renewable energy is regionally
diverse, the appropriate renewable energy
system will be regionally and site
dependent. While photovoltaic (PV)
systems have paved the way and are being
deployed in most cases, several micro/mini
renewable sources of electricity should be
considered.
KeyWords: Health Center,Solar PV,Rural,
1.0 Introduction
Rural health centers in Tanzania
are the last link in a fragile lifeline of
support.This lifeline of infrastructure has
technical, financial, managerial, and
educational dimensions .Health care in
Tanzania as a developing country depends
greatly upon support and administration by
national governments, charitable human
services, non-governmental agencies, and
religious organizations. These efforts are
supplemented by international aid[6].
1
Through the efforts of these organizations,
health distribution systems are tasked with
providing medical supplies, health services,
and medical staff. The needs are immense,
and the efforts are often severely under-
supplied and ill equipped,particularly in
remote and distant communities. The
relationship between health and energy is
compelling. The World Health
Organization (WHO) states that "Health
and energy are interdependent factors
which largely determine the progress of
rural development.An energy strategy for
rural areas will be critical in achieving
lasting health improvements. WHO
believes solar energy can play an important
role in improving health energy
infrastructure if integrated with a broader
array of end uses. [1]
1.1 Literature review
Primary health care programs are essential
to the improvement of child survival
programs and the overall quality of the
human condition. Distribution of energy by
conventional means has failed to be reliable
or affordable in meeting the modest needs
of rural health centers in many developing
countries. Supplies of gas and kerosene are
often costly and unreliable. These fuels
provide poor quality light[3]. Most rural
health centers in developing areas are
without electrical power. Renewable energy
from sun and wind is an abundant and
ubiquitous resource. Although capable of
providing plentiful and reliable electricity,
these resources are largely untapped.
Reliable electricity produced on site has
proven capable of delivering high quality
electricity for vaccine refrigeration,
lighting,communication,medicalappliances
, clean water supplies, and sanitation. It can
also improve management, logistics,
distribution of information, education, and
communication. In locations where it is
difficult to keep trained medical staff in the
field, reliable electricity can provide highly
valued life-style amenities such as light,
music, and broadcast communications.
There are successful examples of electrified
health centers that generate operating
income to assist financial selfsupport. [3]
1.2 Objective
The main objective of this Proposal is to
design and supply reliable energy for Bwai
Health center which located at Mara region
Tanzania
My Propasal will generally base on
the use of Solar Photovoltaic to
suplly energy for Bwai Health
Center
2.0 Material and Methods
Bwai health center:The most common
applications needed at Bwai health center
require some form of energy in order to
meet the requirements as health center as
well as to salve peoples life The need of
energy is to power all appliances as well as
lighting purpose, listed below are
appliances which available in the health
center and are the one which considered
during the design including lighting
;Vaccine Refrigerator/Freezer , Centrifuge,
Hematology Mixer ,Microscope and
Incubator
Solar Photovoltaics(PV): PV panels
convert sunlight directly into DC
electricity. PV panels, having no moving
parts, are highly reliable, long lived, and
require little maintenance. In addition, PV
panels are highly modular. It is easy to
assemble PV panels into an array that can
meet any given sized load. The main
disadvantage of PV is its high capital cost.
2
Despite this, especially for small systems,
PV is often a cost-effective option, with or
without another power source, as the
savings of use pays back the initial cost
within a few years[5]
Battery: Batteries are not a power
technology, but a means of storing the
power produced by other systems. They are
frequently used in conjunction with
photovoltaic or wind systems, and may be
used in other systems as well. Lead-acid
batteries are widely available and relatively
inexpensive; however, they have shorter
lifetimes than newer alternatives. Lead-acid
batteries need the electrolyte replenished
with distilled water periodically (tap water
may contain minerals that harm battery
performance and lifetime)[2].
Inverter: An inverter is a component of any
system involving PV or batteries and is used
to convert direct current (DC) to alternating
current (AC) which is often required by
certain medical equipment. Inverters have
different maintenance needs depending on
their design. They should be examined for
proper operation at least every three
months, if not more often. Similar to
batteries, inverters are best kept at a
moderate temperature. In many cases,
replacement parts will not be locally
available and will have to be ordered from
manufacturers. [2]
Charge Controller :A charge controller
regulates the voltage and current coming
from the solar panels (or wind or generator)
to the battery to prevent overcharging or
over discharging. Most modern controllers
maintain system voltage regulation
electronically by varying the width of DC
pulses they send to the batteries. The wider
the pulse, the more power goes to the
batteries. [4]
 3.0 Results and Discussion

Bwai health center serves the larger community of Bwai village as well as near villages like Kiriba, Chanyauru,
Busumi etc. The facility attends to an average of 80 patients daily, treating malaria, respiratory infection,
gastroenteritis, skin conditions, malnutrition, and other illnesses that are common opportunistic infections
suffered the community, the table below describe all equipment and overall energy demands of each facility as
well as total energy required to run the health center.

Power Total On-Time (watt Wattage (hours/

Appliances Quantity (Watts) Watts hours/day) day) kWh/day
Vaccine
Refrigerator/Freezer 1 60 60 12 720 0.72
Centrifuge 1 575 575 1.5 863 0.8625
Hematology Mixer 1 28 28 1.5 42 0.042
Microscope 2 15 30 4 120 0.12
Lighting 4 8 32 10 320 0.32
Incubator 1 400 400 12 4,800 4.8
Stand-by 1 2 2 12 24 0.024
Total 11 1088 1127 53 6,889 6.8885

3.1 Design of solar PV c). Inverter sizing

a). power consumption demands
Total appliance use = 6,889Wh/day
Total PV panels energy needed
= 6,889x 1.3
= 8955.7 Wh/day.
b). Size the PV panel
Total Wp of PV panel capacity
needed = 8955.7 / 3.4
= 2634.029 Wp
Number of PV panels needed
= 2634.029 / 110
= 23.945 modules
Actual requirement = 24 modules
So this system should be powered by at
least 24 modules of 110 Wp PV module.
Total Watt of all appliances = 1127W
For safety, the inverter should be
considered 25-30% bigger size.
The inverter size should be about
1130W or greater.
d). Battery sizing
Battery Capacity (Ah) = (Total Watt-hours
per day used by appliances x Days of
autonomy)/(0.85 x 0.6 x nominal battery
voltage)
Total appliances use = 6,889
Nominal battery voltage = 12 V
Days of autonomy = 3 days
Battery capacity
=( 6,889 x 3 ) / (0.85 x 0.6 x 12)
Total Ampere-hours required 3376.96 Ah
So the battery should be rated 12 V 3380
Ah for 3 day autonomy.

3
e). Solar charge controller sizing
PV module specification
Pm = 110 Wp
Vm = 16.7 Vdc
Im = 6.6 A
Voc = 20.7 A
Isc = 7.5 A
Solar charge controller rating
= (24 strings x 7.5 A) x 1.3 = 234 A
So the solar charge controller should be
rated 234 A at 12 V or greater.
3.2 Installation of Solar (PV):
Proper installation as reccomended and
wiring of the battery or inverter systems is
critical to ensure proper operation. Health
center will relay on Solar PV for power
supply ,During installation some human
error should be minimized as much as
possible to elliminate any inconviniances
example undersizing the wire which causes
the voltage drop
Figure 1:Stand alone Pv system operate
autonomously and are designed to meet the
requirment of Bwai Health centre
4
3.3Operation and Maintanance of the Pv
The designed PV systems have been focus
of numerous efforts for Bwai center
electrification. The panels themselves
typically have a very long lifetime (20-30
years). Regular and timely maintenance of
all electrification equipment is essential to
proper functioning of the equipment.
Routine maintenance, as well as major
overhauls and capital replacement, need to
be planned and budgeted for in advance.
Lack of maintenance ultimately will have
a negative impact on reliability of power
supply. Improper or insufficient
maintenance can lead to substantial costs in
the future[7].
Conclusion
Reliable electricity is a critical input to all
levels of health center ,Improving the power
supply of health facilities at Bwai could
have a dramatic impact on the quality of
health care delivery and should be seriously
considered as per design as well as
operation and maintanance
Bwai Health clinc were improved by the PV
systems
Energy generation systems were
designed to meet the specific needs
of the health facility
Vaccination coverage was increased
Diagnosis of Malaria was more
rapid
Lighting improved the quality of
health center night visits
Lighting improved the quality of
health centre
PV systems typically have higher
capital costs, but lower operating
costs when compared to other
energy generation options
Aknowledgement
Author acknowledge to Department of
Energy Engineering at Pan African
University Institute of Water and Energy
Sciences
Refferences
[1].World Health Organization. (1996).
"Solar Energy and Rural Health Care."
WHO Fact Sheet N132. Geneva,
Switzerland. Available at
http://www.who.int/inf-fs/en/fact132.html
[2].Werner, D.; Sanders, D.; et al. (1997).
The Politics of Primary Health Care and
Child Survival. HealthWrights, 946
Hamilton Ave., Palo Alto,CA, 94301.
[3].World Health Organization. (1997).
World Health Report 1997. Geneva,
Switzerland. Available at
hhttp://www.who.int/whr/1997/whr-e.htm
[4].World Health Organization. (1980). The
Primary Health Care Worker, Rev. Ed.
Geneva,Switzerland.
[5].World Health Report 1997.
[6].Cabraal, A.; Cosgrove-Davies, M.; and
Schaeffer,L. (1996). Best Practices for
Photovoltaic Household Electrification
Programs. World Bank Technical
Paper #324, Asia Technical Department
Series,Washington, D.C
[7].Cabrall, A., Cosgrove-Davies, M., and
Schaeffer, L., Best Practices for
Photovoltaic Household Electrification
Programs, World Bank Technical Paper
324, 1996.