The Planet Plug®

Country : Belgium

Development Stage : Start-up from -3 years

Member(s) : 1 people

Administrator(s) : 1 people

Creation : On 13.01.2021 by Harold Dean Crawford

Project description

AWA® - The Smartphone of Solar Energy powered by The Planet Plug® Despite having one of the World’s Largest Wireless Energy Networks -that being the Sun, more than 80% of the geographical area of the continent of Africa is not served by the electricity grid. The AWA® being a wireless, direct-sunlight, direct-current is the logical technology choice to get electricity to those areas in a humain timeframe. The AWA® for a Cordless Home and Workplace® The AWA® solution does not require expensive infrastructure to eradicate this inequality of having no access to electricity a public service that we in developed countries could not even imagine waking up without. The abundance of direct-current (DC) appliances and tools found on the market today, whether it be through the use of mini-grids or individual home stations there is no longer any sense, technical argument, or logic in having a costly and troublesome inverter. However, there is a need for a standard and ‘familiar’ plug and socket to connect the DC appliances and tools to the DC bus running through the home or workplace. The AWA® provides that connectivity. The AWA® fills this need and has proven to be a very reliable plug and socket on our AWA household solar solution that has already been awarded in November 2020 the Solar Impulse Award for the 1000 Innovative and Efficient Solutions. Cordless / rechargeable home appliances and workplace tools are directly connected to the DC bus via The AWA® bus without the use of an AC to DC adapter. Lithium batteries are easily fitted with an integrated Battery Management System (BMS). Cordless / rechargeable home appliances and workplace tools are directly connected to the DC bus via The AWA® bus without the use of an AC to DC adapter. Lithium batteries are easily fitted with an integrated Battery Management System (BMS) The AWA® eliminates any risk of electrocution as it connects very low voltage (VLV) Direct-Current resulting in reduced Home and Workplace Insurance costs. The prices of DC appliances and tools (many cordless and rechargeable) are far less expensive to produce than their AC counterparts because far less copper, and components, are required in their manufacture. DC appliances are far safer, operate quieter, produce less heat, and have a longer life-cycle. Also, no harmful resonant frequencies are generated. Solar panels generate direct-current. Mainstream solutions then use a costly and troublesome inverter to convert this relatively harmless DC energy into a lethal alternating-current. In today’s more efficient appliances it is then necessary to reconvert that AC current back into DC current to actually power the appliance internally. The resulting repeated conversion of the current increasing the cost of the appliance while at the same time making it vastly more inefficient. An inverter is also a single-point-of-failure in the household solar system. It uses electrolytic capacitors to filter the AC voltage hence their operational life-cycle is limited (more than 5 years is difficult to achieve). However, in a DC solution, ceramic capacitors are used having an almost infinite life-cycle. DC Appliances and Tools (rechargeable in some cases) are the necessary step to the Wireless Home and Workplace Full-size DC household appliances, rechargeable DC tools, are already making inverters unnecessary for many homes and workplace applications: i.e., refrigerators, freezers, micro-waves, TVs, computers, stereos, lighting, fans, rechargeable tools/appliances. I would even venture to say that inverters will become obsolete, especially in developing countries where they still have a window of opportunity to start-out with DC appliances. The Planet Plug enables Direct-Current full-size household appliances to run directly from the harmless DC energy produced by solar panels, eliminating the need of a costly and troublesome Inverter, hence making the entire solution far more efficient by significantly reducing the energy loss through the conversion process to alternating current: i.e., inverter. Overall, it is also a far less costly solution. This system allows homes to dramatically reduce their CO2 emissions and energy consumption costs. Full-size direct-current household appliances: e.g., 350lt fridge, freezers, air-conditioners, etc…, have been available since pre-2010 -they are now mature and optimized. With the ever-increasing abundance and availability of full-size household DC appliances, an inverter will become obsolete for many home applications: i.e., refrigerators, freezers, micro-waves, TVs, computers, stereos, lighting, fans, etc… The AWA® provides an intelligent and completely familiar direct connect to expedite and facilitate the inevitable transition to direct-current for a multitude of DC appliances, rechargeable appliances, tools, home and workplace applications. The AWA® fills this need and has proven to be a very reliable plug and socket on our AWA household solar solution that has already been awarded in November 2020 the Solar Impulse Award for the 1000 Innovative and Efficient Solutions. Cordless / rechargeable home appliances and workplace tools are directly connected to the DC bus via The AWA® bus without the use of an AC to DC adapter. Lithium batteries are easily fitted with an integrated Battery Management System (BMS). Cordless / rechargeable home appliances and workplace tools are directly connected to the DC bus via The AWA® bus without the use of an AC to DC adapter. Lithium batteries are easily fitted with an integrated Battery Management System (BMS) The AWA® eliminates any risk of electrocution as it connects very low voltage (VLV) Direct-Current resulting in reduced Home and Workplace Insurance costs. The prices of DC appliances and tools (many cordless and rechargeable) are far less expensive to produce than their AC counterparts because far less copper, and components, are required in their manufacture. DC appliances are far safer, operate quieter, produce less heat, and have a longer life-cycle. Also, no harmful resonant frequencies are generated. Solar panels generate direct-current. Mainstream solutions then use a costly and troublesome inverter to convert this relatively harmless DC energy into a lethal alternating-current. In today’s more efficient appliances it is then necessary to reconvert that AC current back into DC current to actually power the appliance internally. The resulting repeated conversion of the current increasing the cost of the appliance while at the same time making it vastly more inefficient. An inverter is also a single-point-of-failure in the household solar system. It uses electrolytic capacitors to filter the AC voltage hence their operational life-cycle is limited (more than 5 years is difficult to achieve). However, in a DC solution, ceramic capacitors are used having an almost infinite life-cycle. DC Appliances and Tools (rechargeable in some cases) are the necessary step to the Wireless Home and Workplace Full-size DC household appliances, rechargeable DC tools, are already making inverters unnecessary for many homes and workplace applications: i.e., refrigerators, freezers, micro-waves, TVs, computers, stereos, lighting, fans, rechargeable tools/appliances. I would even venture to say that inverters will become obsolete, especially in developing countries where they still have a window of opportunity to start-out with DC appliances. The Planet Plug enables Direct-Current full-size household appliances to run directly from the harmless DC energy produced by solar panels, eliminating the need of a costly and troublesome Inverter, hence making the entire solution far more efficient by significantly reducing the energy loss through the conversion process to alternating current: i.e., inverter. Overall, it is also a far less costly solution. This system allows homes to dramatically reduce their CO2 emissions and energy consumption costs. Full-size direct-current household appliances: e.g., 350lt fridge, freezers, air-conditioners, etc…, have been available since pre-2010 -they are now mature and optimized. With the ever-increasing abundance and availability of full-size household DC appliances, an inverter will become obsolete for many home applications: i.e., refrigerators, freezers, micro-waves, TVs, computers, stereos, lighting, fans, etc… The AWA® provides an intelligent and completely familiar direct connect to expedite and facilitate the inevitable transition to direct-current for a multitude of DC appliances, rechargeable appliances, tools, home and workplace applications. The AWA® fills this need and has proven to be a very solution for direct-current household solar solution that has already been awarded in November 2020 the Solar Impulse Award for the 1000 Innovative and Efficient Solutions. Cordless / rechargeable home appliances and workplace tools are directly connected to the DC bus via The AWA® bus without the use of an AC to DC adapter. Lithium batteries are easily fitted with an integrated Battery Management System (BMS). Cordless / rechargeable home appliances and workplace tools are directly connected to the DC bus via The AWA® bus without the use of an AC to DC adapter. Lithium batteries are easily fitted with an integrated Battery Management System (BMS) The AWA® eliminates any risk of electrocution as it connects very low voltage (VLV) Direct-Current resulting in reduced Home and Workplace Insurance costs. The prices of DC appliances and tools (many cordless and rechargeable) are far less expensive to produce than their AC counterparts because far less copper, and components, are required in their manufacture. DC appliances are far safer, operate quieter, produce less heat, and have a longer life-cycle. Also, no harmful resonant frequencies are generated. Solar panels generate direct-current. Mainstream solutions then use a costly and troublesome inverter to convert this relatively harmless DC energy into a lethal alternating-current. In today’s more efficient appliances it is then necessary to reconvert that AC current back into DC current to actually power the appliance internally. The resulting repeated conversion of the current increasing the cost of the appliance while at the same time making it vastly more inefficient. An inverter is also a single-point-of-failure in the household solar system. It uses electrolytic capacitors to filter the AC voltage hence their operational life-cycle is limited (more than 5 years is difficult to achieve). However, in a DC solution, ceramic capacitors are used having an almost infinite life-cycle. DC Appliances and Tools (rechargeable in some cases) are the necessary step to the Wireless Home and Workplace Full-size DC household appliances, rechargeable DC tools, are already making inverters unnecessary for many homes and workplace applications: i.e., refrigerators, freezers, micro-waves, TVs, computers, stereos, lighting, fans, rechargeable tools/appliances. I would even venture to say that inverters will become obsolete, especially in developing countries where they still have a window of opportunity to start-out with DC appliances. The Planet Plug enables Direct-Current full-size household appliances to run directly from the harmless DC energy produced by solar panels, eliminating the need of a costly and troublesome Inverter, hence making the entire solution far more efficient by significantly reducing the energy loss through the conversion process to alternating current: i.e., inverter. Overall, it is also a far less costly solution. This system allows homes to dramatically reduce their CO2 emissions and energy consumption costs. Full-size direct-current household appliances: e.g., 350lt fridge, freezers, air-conditioners, etc…, have been available since pre-2010 -they are now mature and optimized. With the ever-increasing abundance and availability of full-size household DC appliances, an inverter will become obsolete for many home applications: i.e., refrigerators, freezers, micro-waves, TVs, computers, stereos, lighting, fans, etc… The AWA® provides an intelligent and completely familiar direct connect to expedite and facilitate the inevitable transition to direct-current for a multitude of DC appliances, rechargeable appliances, tools, home and workplace applications.

Issue addressed by the project

Rural and peri-urban electrification in under-developed and impoverished countries such as sub-Saharan Africa where >80% of the territory is no served by the electricity network. The AWA® being a wireless, direct-sunlight, direct-current is the logical technology. It requires no costly infrastructure, which means that it can be deployed and bring humain benefits to deprived families within literally hours -not months or years ...or never -which is the case with mainstream conventional solutions.