The first of 47 prefabricated, solar power classrooms manufactured by Aleutia and destined for each of Kenya’s counties has been installed.
This first classroom is in Kiambu county. It measures 3 metres by 6 metres classroom and consists of 10 fanless Aleutia computers and a teacher’s PC/server with 512GB SSD loaded with offline Wikipedia and Khan Academy.
The classroom is run entirely on 12V DC and powered by pair of 250W solar panels plus a single charge controller charging deep cycle batteries.
Aleutia fanless PC’s draw very little power – depending on the model, they have a maximum peak power consumption of between 15 and 21.7 watts and the server, 75 watts. While fanless, the computers can function in temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius and are built to withstand humidity and dusty conditions.
Aleutia states it has provided hundreds of solar classrooms across Sub Saharan Africa, but in the past this has often required expensive site surveys or retrofits of existing classrooms; which are often in poor condition. Existing structures may need roof reinforcement, have shading issues, sub-optimum roof angles or orientation.
The prefabricated classrooms Aleutia is producing for the Kenya project cost less than USD $20,000 each, including equipment. Components for the structure are made locally and sized so they can be transported in a pickup or cattle truck rather than a more expensive flat-bed truck. The company says the classroom can be installed in less than 48 hours once on-site.
While converted standard converted shipping containers have been popular for classrooms in Africa, Aleutia says these are a little narrow, 2.5 metres compared to 3 metres, and more expensive.
Safaricom Foundation, Africa’s largest telecommunications provider is funding the Kenya project and will choose recipient schools.
Aleutia commenced operations in 2007, a year after founder Mike Rosenberg volunteered to set up a computer classroom in Ghana and was frustrated by the challenge of failing, energy intensive second hand desktops.
“We understand the importance of energy efficiency in rural Africa, where every watt counts, and cost saving solutions in Europe. We are committed to bridging the digital divide in Africa and have a passion for reducing the carbon footprint.”
