DHElios

Better Solar-Powered Stoves for Rural Schools in Sub-Saharan Africa

Problem: Schools in Sub-Saharan Africa rely on firewood to heat water for food, but firewood is expensive and environmentally damaging. Over 800 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to clean cooking fuels. 

Major Concerns:

  1. Health
    • Cooking smoke-induced diseases → 4.3 million deaths annually – more than HIV and malaria combined (WHO)
  2. Environmental
    • Solid-fuel cooking in SSA is a major driver of deforestation
    • 1.2% of global carbon dioxide emissions
    • 6% of global black carbon emissions
  3. Economic
    • Shrinking firewood availability → higher cooking fuel costs and food insecurity
    • Currently, firewood costs consume 3% of SSA’s GDP

Solution: Develop a practical, integrative, and culturally acceptable for reducing firewood consumption. Other methods such as electric cooking, liquid propane, and solar ovens are slow, unreliable, expensive, and not widely distributable.

To attempt to remedy the issue, DHElios, founded by Noah Daniel ’22, is working on a solar water heater prototype, which is proven efficient, and inexpensive. We propose a hybrid technology that combines photovoltaic electrical power and glazed plate thermal solar heating. 

  • PV power remains relatively constant as the water heats up
  • Glazed plate heating has significantly higher heating efficiency than photovoltaic, but glazed plate panel efficiency rapidly decreases as water temperature increases
  • Therefore, a hybrid system will compromise the characteristics of both methods
  • We are simulating system performance to determine the ideal ratio of PV to glazed plate power contributions

Take a look at some photos from our summer trip to Uganda, where students and our advisor Stephen Doig traveled to Uganda Christian University to create the pilot solar water heater system alongside university students and professors. Other photos include some images from prototyping sessions in Hanover with Stephen and his dog, Jenny!

Reasons to Get Involved with Us:

  1. Gain engineering experience with real-world impact
  2. Hands-on learning with other passionate students in engineering and other fields
  3. Fully-funded international travel for on-site testing and construction

Any questions or want to get involved? Reach out to our project managers and let them know!

Anna Hugney: anna.g.hugney.24@dartmouth.edu

Rujuta Pandit: rujuta.k.pandit.24@dartmouth.edu

Avery Widen: avery.e.widen.25@dartmouth.edu