ZimSolar Alternative Energy Systems for Rural Communities

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ZimSolar are committed to supporting NGO or government sponsored projects that use renewable alternative energy sources to improve the lives of people who live in the rural areas of the SADC region of Southern Africa. We supply and install solar systems in rural locations where the national electricity grid is either non-existent, or too far or too costly to implement. This includes rural homes, rural health clinics, rural schools, rural community centres and rural business centres or growth points.

Our professionally designed and installed systems have a lasting and sustainable impact on the livelihoods of rural people by providing a renewable source of energy that is essential to improving the health, education, income generation and communication facilities available to rural communities.

The systems provide electric energy for lighting; vaccine refrigerators; borehole and deep well pumps that supply dependable and safe water for drinking and for small scale irrigation; audio-visual appliances for health education programmes (e.g. projectors, LCD screens); communication (e.g. cell phones, radios, computers) and recreation and entertainment (e.g. television ). All systems include:

• Installation and commissioning (included)
• End-User Training (included)
• Theft deterrent fasteners and security appliances (optional)
• Post-Installation Support and Maintenance (optional)

If a clean, safe and dependable water supply is required for drinking, sanitation or for clinic services, then the above solar electricity generators can be combined with the ZimSolar SolarPump systems to pump water from boreholes or deep wells (see below)

Click on each image for more details.

Rural Solar Home Systems ZimSolar’s Rural Solar Home Systems (SHS) turn sunlight into electricity, delivering free and clean electricity to rural homesteads. These systems and the portable rechargeable solar lanterns that we supply replace candles, kerosene lanterns and the commonly used and expensive non-rechargeable batteries. The use of solar electric light avoids the polluting fumes, foul smell, health-risks and fire-risks of candles and kerosene lamps and gives opportunities for night-time study, income-generating work and recreation. Radio and television provide rural communities with news, information and entertainment so that they are not isolated. Solar rechargeable batteries replace the the expensive non-rechargeable dry cell batteries that can only be used once and have to be thrown away once they go flat. Click the links below for detailed information on each Rural Home system package. ZimSolar Explorer Rural Home system (ZE-RH) range - basic startup system providing power for lights and a radio ZimSolar Autonomy Rural Home system (ZA-RHS) range - provides mains type power for full rural home autonomy. ZimSolar Mini-Grid Rural Home system (ZMG-RHS) range - provides power for full autonomy of a number of rural homes very near each other.

Rural Clinic Solar Systems ZimSolar's Rural Health Clinic Solar Energy systems are designed to satisfy one of the most critical and essential community needs - that is - a reliable source of electrical energy to enable the provision or improvement of rural health services. Typically, the critical needs here are for a vaccine refrigerator and lights for emergency treatment and for the maternity service. Power for medical emergencies equipment or for communications equipment may also be required. Health education programs for AIDS, malaria, cholera and others may require power for audio-visual equipment such as Video Projector, LCD Screens, TV, VCR and DVD appliances. We can supply both the solar electricity generator and and the solar powered energy efficient equipment such as the vaccine refrigerator and audio-visual equipment such as projectors Click the links below for detailed information on each Rural Health Clinic system package. ZimSolar Explorer Rural Clinic (ZE-RC) range - basic startup system providing power for lights and vaccine refrigerator ZimSolar Autonomy Rural Clinic (ZA-RC) range - provides mains type power for full clinic autonomy. ZimSolar Mini-Grid Rural Clinic (ZMG-RC) range - provides power for full clinic autonomy + power for nearby health worker homes.

Rural School Solar Systems ZimSolar's Rural School Solar Energy systems are designed to provide energy for lighting of classrooms and offices, computers and audio-visual teaching equipment. The system will serve the community by enabling night-time education or evening lessons for children as well as night-time adult education and community meetings. Lesson preparation, marking books and adult literacy classes. The system can be used to generate income by using some of the power as a solar charging station for mobile phones and solar rechargeable lanterns and batteries for small appliances. Power for audio-visual equipment and use of computers during the day or at night may also be required; an important step in bridging the digital divide. We can supply both the solar power system and the energy efficient equipment. Click the links below for detailed information on each Rural School system packages ZimSolar Explorer Rural School (ZE-RS) range - basic startup system providing lighting power for classrooms and one office ZimSolar Autonomy Rural School (ZA-RS) range - provides mains type power for full school autonomy. ZimSolar Rural School Mini-Grid (ZMG-RS) range - provides power for full school autonomy + power for nearby teacher homes.

Rural Safe Drinking Water The ZimSolar SolarPump systems provide a clean, safe and dependable water supply for drinking, sanitation, clinic services and small irrigation schemes. They pump water from boreholes or deep wells to supply villages, schools, clinics, rural growth points or small farming enterprises.

Rural Small Business Centres A solar power inverter is essential if you need to provide electrical power to equipment or appliances that use AC or 'mains' voltage. It is not required if your appliances only use DC or 'battery' voltage. ZimSolar uses inverters that are very efficient and have been proven to be reliable in the harsh operating conditions in Africa

Street Lights A solar battery bank is a critical component of off-grid systems or grid-connected systems that require a backup in the event of failure of the mains electricity grid. ZimSolar uses maintenance-free deep-cycle batteries that are specially designed for use in solar systems. You will not see a car battery in ZimSolar installations!

Charge Controllers A solar charge controller or regulator is a critical and essential part of any professionally designed solar power system. It is connected between the solar panels and the solar battery bank. The charge controller protects your batteries from damage due to over-charging, thereby prolonging their service life.

Inverters A solar power inverter is essential if you need to provide electrical power to equipment or appliances that use AC or 'mains' voltage. It is not required if your appliances only use DC or 'battery' voltage. ZimSolar uses inverters that are very efficient and have been proven to be reliable in the harsh operating conditions in Africa

Batteries A solar battery bank is a critical component of off-grid systems or grid-connected systems that require a backup in the event of failure of the mains electricity grid. ZimSolar uses maintenance-free deep-cycle batteries that are specially designed for use in solar systems. You will not see a car battery in ZimSolar installations!