Using solar power as a backup in Nigerian households offers several key benefits:

1. *Cost Savings*: Solar energy can reduce or even eliminate electricity bills. After the initial installation cost, the energy from the sun is free, which can be a significant saving compared to using diesel generators or relying solely on the grid.

2. *Reliability*: Solar power provides a dependable source of electricity, especially during frequent power outages. This ensures that essential household appliances and devices remain operational.

3. *Environmental Impact*: Solar energy is a clean, renewable resource that reduces carbon footprints and greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to a healthier environment.

4. *Energy Independence*: By generating your own electricity, you reduce dependence on the national grid and fossil fuels, enhancing energy security and stability.

5. *Increased Property Value*: Homes equipped with solar power systems often have higher property values and are more attractive to buyers.

6. *Low Maintenance*: Solar power systems require minimal maintenance. Regular cleaning and occasional professional check-ups are usually sufficient to keep them running efficiently.

7. *Improved Quality of Life*: Reliable electricity improves living standards by ensuring that lighting, refrigeration, and other essential services are always available. This can also support home-based businesses and remote work.

8. *Educational Opportunities*: For households with children, reliable electricity can support better study environments and access to educational resources online.

Given your interest in empowering women and girls in STEM, promoting solar power in households can also serve as a practical example of renewable energy solutions, inspiring the next generation to pursue careers in clean energy.

PRODUCTIVE USE OF ENERGY AND ITS BENEFITS

Productive use can be said to be the productive uses of electricity through means of agricultural, commercial and industrial activities involving electricity services as a straight source to the production of goods or service provisions.

This also gives a clear context of measuring energy that is productive in monetary terms Education, health, and other welfare related activities can be said to be included in the use of productive use of energy.

In small village businesses where we have the agricultural sector the use of productive energy through appliances such as the rice miller can increase quality of products and generate more income. 

Productive use can be used in rural areas to exponentially generate income for those aiming to amplify income generation opportunities, this invariably helps to improve quality of life and increase local resilience and self-reliance.

A clear scenario of where productive use was implemented to generate income was in the case of the owner of a small farm at Gwagwalada, Abuja Nigeria, who sells her Rice paddy at a giveaway price but with the use of a Rice Thresher that is connected to the solar mini-grid in her area, she has added value to her products and now generates more revenue which in time has improved the livelihood of her family.

Similarly, a man who simultaneously run a game center and a barbing salon and rely on the unstable source of power provided by the national gird electricity distributing company decided to invest in the energy excell solar panels. 

The social economic focus is a vital part for the growth of any community and if in the rural areas it is given the attention that it deserves will thrive, on the basis of the productive use of energy this can be achieved as we can expect an increase in rural productivity, high economic growth, and a high rise in employment, this would subsequently reduce the migration of the rural poor to the urban areas as well as generate income.

An instant would be the use of electricity as a derivation of lighting and power suitable for rural industries. If the productive use of energy is made available in these rural industries, it would expand and the quality of rural production would improve in such cases of welding, carpentry.

For agricultural production purposes, energy would be provided to power agricultural based industries and farm machinery as well such as water pumps, grinders and dryers resulting in the agricultural modernization products. The overall output of these modernized farms would provide input to large commercial enterprises.

DOES OPPORTUNITY EQUAL PROFITABILITY?

The chant for increased access to electricity in Africa is now more than ever sung on the loudest volume. Investments within the mini-grid sector in Nigeria appears to be bursting at its seems. Last week, the Nigerian government approved a N500M intervention fund to support local solar Company’s intending to serve off-grid rural communities.  Lumos Global also announced that it had received $35 million dollars in funding to provide #energy to a million Nigerians.

The opportunity is huge; about 100 million people in Nigeria live without access to electricity and off grid is a low-cost and decentralized solution.

But does opportunity always equal profitability?

The food and agricultural organization of the united Nations (FAO) defines productive use as “any use of electricity that produces outcomes which can be measured in monetary terms”.  In other words, profitability occurs only in instances where energy is used to create goods and services for the production of income and value.

@energyexcellsolutions is positioned to help mini grid operators improve profitability by providing high quality Energy Efficient Productive Use equipment to off grid customers.