DIGITAL & STRATEGIC
UX DESIGN PRACTICE
DIGITAL PRODUCT
Harnessing Solar Energy to Reduce Diesel Dependency
How can digital tools support the transition to more sustainable energy in remote locations?
Create a digital tool to increase the adoption of solar energy solutions, decrease the carbon footprint of Médecins Sans Frontières’ operations and reduce their dependence on diesel.
Date
Location
An online tool to help people easily define their cooling needs and determine the number of solar ACs and solar panels needed for their specific location and requirements.
By the end of 2021, over 100 solar AC units had been deployed within MSF, with each unit installed reducing 2.5tons/CO2 emissions/year. The tool itself has been used in over 65 countries by more than 350 unique users.
Over a period of 6 months, Arup co-developed with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Sweden Innovation Unit (SIU) a tool to increase the adoption of solar energy solutions, decrease the carbon footprint of their operations and reduce their dependence on diesel. Apart from being terrible for the environment, diesel is expensive, hard to transport and difficult to procure in remote locations.
Air conditioning, which is essential for controlled temperatures in medical environments, was identified as one of the main sources of fuel use (an estimated 35–55% of MSF’s total fuel use), and as an ideal opportunity to reduce diesel dependency. Furthermore, MSF’s cooling needs are predicted to increase considerably in coming years both due to climate change and their aim to improve their facilities for both patients and staff alike.
MSF (SIU and MSF-Operational Centre Paris) identified a hybrid air-conditioning system that can operate directly on solar power and when needed can rely on diesel generator or the grid. They carry out initial trials in Haiti, in 2018, which were a success, but they faced some challenges regarding uptake across the organisation. People didn’t know how to size these systems, how to define load cases and the equipment they would need.
This is where Arup’s expertise came into play. Working with MSF staff, we developed a web-based tool to help field logisticians easily assess the solar AC requirements of specific sites. We followed an iterative design and development process that was continuously shaped by user feedback, and which allowed us to carefully shape the tool from the way questions are presented to individual words used. Our aim was to create a user friendly intuitive tool for field logisticians.
The tool enables users to quantify the advantages of a solar AC solution, both financially and environmentally, based on the requirements of a specific site. In addition, information about environmental impact, photovoltaic panels installation and passive cooling solutions are available.
Although Solar-AC has been built with the needs of Médecins Sans Frontières’ field logisticians in mind, the tool has been conceived to be usable by anyone who needs a high-level feasibility assessment for the installation of solar powered AC systems.