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An electrifying story of low-tech power

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posted on 2024-07-12, 15:34 authored by Christine Horn, Raine Melissa Riman
In Long Tungan, an indigenous community in rural Malaysia, local resident Ajan has recently started to experiment with solar electrification. Several medium-sized solar panels on the roof of his stairwell are connected to a cluster of interconnected car batteries. 'It powers the light during the night and the television in the evening,' he says, 'and in the daytime the fan and the fridge.' He opens the fridge to demonstrate that it is cold inside. 'We can even run the washing machine. Only sometimes, when the weather is not good, I need to start the generator as well.' In this part of Sarawak, not connected to the national electricity grid, small-scale solar electricity is proving successful where larger projects have failed. For Ajan, the experiment is certainly paying off. 'I only bought this a few months ago, but the cost was not that high. For one panel, including the battery, I pay around 300 ringgit. The smaller ones are only 250. This whole setup cost no more than 1000 ringgit.' At this price, two large panels with batteries and an inverter can pay for themselves within a month or two, depending on usage. This means that solar installations have become affordable even here, where most people have little income other than from cash crops and their children's remittances.

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Inside Story

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Swinburne University of Technology

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Copyright © 2016 Inside Story and contributors. The published version is reproduced with the permission of the publisher.

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Originally published in HTML format.

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eng

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