IBM India Study: Using Discarded Laptop Batteries to Power Slums
IBM India Study: Using Discarded Laptop Batteries to Power Slums
Discarded old laptop batteries have the solution to solve energy crisis being faced in Indian slums, according to a new study by IBM India. The study in question has found that such laptop batteries can power and solve the needs of people who lack access to electricity. This solution can end the problems of the world’s 1.5 billion people who lack access to electricity. Research conducted by the company was presented at a San Jose conference in the US.
Let There Be Light
The researchers from IBM India analysed a sample of discarded batteries and found that 70% had enough power to ensure that LED lights were on for more than 4 hours per day for the year.
The researchers also found that most of the estimated 50 million lithium-ion laptop batteries discarded each year could actually offer electricity storage sufficient for lighting homes in developing nations.LED lights can be combined with solar panels and rechargeable batteries. MIT Technology Review says that using discarded batteries could be a cheaper approach.
“The most costly component in these systems is often the battery,” said Vikas Chandan, a scientist at the lab’s Smarter Energy Group leading the project.
“In this case, the most expensive part of your storage solution is coming from trash,” Chandan also said.
Results of the Research
The IBM group extracted individual storage units known as cells for recombining and forming refurbished battery packs. Change in dongles plus circuitry to prevent overheating, the batteries were given to 5 users in Bangalore who resided in slums or operated sidewalk carts. Later, three months along the line, users indicated that the battery packs worked exceedingly well.
The IBM group worked with the hardware R&D firm known as RadioStudio. They tore open discarded laptop battery packaging and extracted individual storage units known as cells, tested these individually to pick out the correct ones and recombined them to form refurbished battery packs. These battery packs proved effective in doing away with the power crises in such settings.
A Solution to the Energy Crisis
In the US every year, around 50 million laptop and desktops are discarded every year according to the EPA. In India, around 400 million lack access to grid connected electricity. IBM is aiming to provide this technology for free for poor countries.
Conventional laptop batteries have capacities ranging from 40 to 100 WH but even if its capacity decreases by 75% to 10 Wh, this can power a 3 Watt LED for up to 5 hours which can produce 285 lumens or enough for a lamp to be lit. This 3 watt LED can produce the same light as a 25 watt incandescent bulk at the efficiency of 95 lumens per watt. This is extremely useful for providing access to power and solving the energy crisis.
Conclusion
New technologies can solve a lot of problems. Renewable energy sources are always a smart choice because they can prevent emissions from being released into the atmosphere. Hopefully, other forms of recyclable means of energy creation such as that discovered by IBM will also ensure that resources which were generated will not go to waste.
