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AdminAdmin- Posts : 18
Join date : 2020-11-09 
Alexis 8/6/2021
Thu Aug 12, 2021 12:51 pm
Living Energy Farm, ISECs in Jamaica, August 2021 Update
Alexis Zeigler
Alexis Zeigler and Onyx Mayer traveled to Jamaica for 3 weeks in July to assess and support solar energy options. We had previously sent down equipment to assemble 10 ISEC cookers. (Perl cookers, 100 watt.) In May of 2021, we had sent down Carrie Piesen, who conducted workshops that showed people how to build and use the cookers. We have been working with The Source Farm for the last 2 years to expand daylight drive solar opportunities in Jamaica. We had previously sent down 36 of our nickel iron battery boxes.
Most of the Perl cookers we sent down are in use. They have established a WhatsApp group. I just recently got a smart phone, and will join that group. I reviewed the comments on that group on someone else’s phone while I was there. The comments were positive. Most people like the cookers and are using them some. I don’t think anyone is using the cookers as their only or primary cooking energy source, but they are in use. I will have more information about use patterns soon.
We have established a Board of Directors for a new enterprise called Living Energy Solutions. That will be a Jamaican LLC with a couple of us Americans on the Board in an advisory (non-paid) role. That LLC will offer consulting about daylight drive DC energy systems, solar battery boxes (nickel iron and perhaps lithium), ISEC cookers, and various equipment to support people using their solar kits (DC LED light bulbs, DC fans, DC refrigerators, cords and what not).
We ordered 100 solar panels, 120 watts each, direct from China. The port officials in Jamaica are inconsistent in how they charge duties. We have been advised that we need to make sure that our freight coming into Jamaica comes into the proper area and is dealt with by people with whom we have connections. We have now established what we hope will be an optimal chain of freight handling. Setting that up costs us a couple of weeks, but the panels have been shipped.
We built a Roxy box cooker while we were in Jamaica, and left that there for people to use. At 300 watts, it will cook faster, but cost more if we sell that design.
One premise of the ISEC project is to make cookers that are cheap. That said, the struggle we all face is that everyone wants more powerful cookers. It is not clear at this time what Jamaicans might be willing to pay (how large of a cooker is optimal from a marketing standpoint). How ISECs are marketed in Jamaica is going to depend on what the Jamaicans decide. Our business manager in Jamaica is named Luke. He previously ran a small solar company with some friends. He is a licensed solar installer with excellent skills. He currently has a government job, but he is very enthusiastic about Living Energy Solutions. We are going to send down some sheet metal fabrication tools (a shear and a brake, or bending tool). That will allow Luke a wide range of options for making Perl cookers, or any size of Roxy he chooses to make. These tools are needed for the battery box project as well. It is going to take a few months to get materials (batteries in particular) from the suppliers to Jamaica. We will likely send someone down there in December or January to help set up the sheet metal tools and fabrication process.
Our plans going forward are to use our tools and materials to streamline the fabrication of Roxy cookers here at LEF. Once we figure that out, we will pass that information on to Luke in Jamaica.
We are also going to try to streamline the fabrication of burners. We tried some pre-manufactured 12 volt heater elements and thermistors, but the efficiency was abysmal. Building the nichrome wire burners is tedious. It would be best if Luke had some burners of various sizes on the shelf that he could use to install in cookers as he is selling them.
Stronger power supplies naturally make for faster cooking. We talked to numerous farmers in Jamaica who want to set up daylight drive water pumping for their farms. We informed them and Luke that with proper planning, the panels for water pumping systems could also serve as a power supply for larger ISEC cookers. That’s what we do at Living Energy Farm, and it works great. Our DC systems are adaptable to many different situations and demands. This adaptability is a good thing, but it also means that we may need burners for cookers at various power levels. We will stock some regular stovetop electric burners. For farmers who set up 90 volt pumping systems, regular 120 volt AC burners inside a larger Roxy ISEC makes for a very strong cooker. The integration of systems (one of panels serving many needs) makes the whole system much more cost effective, but it will be up to Luke and his crew to decide how much of their time and energy to put into helping people customize their systems.
At this point, we are not clear which size cookers, or how many different sizes or designs, we are going to focus on in Jamaica, but we are working on it. If the larger ISEC project moves toward the mass manufacture of burners, 18 volt or otherwise, please let us know.
The newsletter we just sent out to our supporters is at
http://livingenergyfarm.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2021july.pdf
Alexis Zeigler
Alexis Zeigler and Onyx Mayer traveled to Jamaica for 3 weeks in July to assess and support solar energy options. We had previously sent down equipment to assemble 10 ISEC cookers. (Perl cookers, 100 watt.) In May of 2021, we had sent down Carrie Piesen, who conducted workshops that showed people how to build and use the cookers. We have been working with The Source Farm for the last 2 years to expand daylight drive solar opportunities in Jamaica. We had previously sent down 36 of our nickel iron battery boxes.
Most of the Perl cookers we sent down are in use. They have established a WhatsApp group. I just recently got a smart phone, and will join that group. I reviewed the comments on that group on someone else’s phone while I was there. The comments were positive. Most people like the cookers and are using them some. I don’t think anyone is using the cookers as their only or primary cooking energy source, but they are in use. I will have more information about use patterns soon.
We have established a Board of Directors for a new enterprise called Living Energy Solutions. That will be a Jamaican LLC with a couple of us Americans on the Board in an advisory (non-paid) role. That LLC will offer consulting about daylight drive DC energy systems, solar battery boxes (nickel iron and perhaps lithium), ISEC cookers, and various equipment to support people using their solar kits (DC LED light bulbs, DC fans, DC refrigerators, cords and what not).
We ordered 100 solar panels, 120 watts each, direct from China. The port officials in Jamaica are inconsistent in how they charge duties. We have been advised that we need to make sure that our freight coming into Jamaica comes into the proper area and is dealt with by people with whom we have connections. We have now established what we hope will be an optimal chain of freight handling. Setting that up costs us a couple of weeks, but the panels have been shipped.
We built a Roxy box cooker while we were in Jamaica, and left that there for people to use. At 300 watts, it will cook faster, but cost more if we sell that design.
One premise of the ISEC project is to make cookers that are cheap. That said, the struggle we all face is that everyone wants more powerful cookers. It is not clear at this time what Jamaicans might be willing to pay (how large of a cooker is optimal from a marketing standpoint). How ISECs are marketed in Jamaica is going to depend on what the Jamaicans decide. Our business manager in Jamaica is named Luke. He previously ran a small solar company with some friends. He is a licensed solar installer with excellent skills. He currently has a government job, but he is very enthusiastic about Living Energy Solutions. We are going to send down some sheet metal fabrication tools (a shear and a brake, or bending tool). That will allow Luke a wide range of options for making Perl cookers, or any size of Roxy he chooses to make. These tools are needed for the battery box project as well. It is going to take a few months to get materials (batteries in particular) from the suppliers to Jamaica. We will likely send someone down there in December or January to help set up the sheet metal tools and fabrication process.
Our plans going forward are to use our tools and materials to streamline the fabrication of Roxy cookers here at LEF. Once we figure that out, we will pass that information on to Luke in Jamaica.
We are also going to try to streamline the fabrication of burners. We tried some pre-manufactured 12 volt heater elements and thermistors, but the efficiency was abysmal. Building the nichrome wire burners is tedious. It would be best if Luke had some burners of various sizes on the shelf that he could use to install in cookers as he is selling them.
Stronger power supplies naturally make for faster cooking. We talked to numerous farmers in Jamaica who want to set up daylight drive water pumping for their farms. We informed them and Luke that with proper planning, the panels for water pumping systems could also serve as a power supply for larger ISEC cookers. That’s what we do at Living Energy Farm, and it works great. Our DC systems are adaptable to many different situations and demands. This adaptability is a good thing, but it also means that we may need burners for cookers at various power levels. We will stock some regular stovetop electric burners. For farmers who set up 90 volt pumping systems, regular 120 volt AC burners inside a larger Roxy ISEC makes for a very strong cooker. The integration of systems (one of panels serving many needs) makes the whole system much more cost effective, but it will be up to Luke and his crew to decide how much of their time and energy to put into helping people customize their systems.
At this point, we are not clear which size cookers, or how many different sizes or designs, we are going to focus on in Jamaica, but we are working on it. If the larger ISEC project moves toward the mass manufacture of burners, 18 volt or otherwise, please let us know.
The newsletter we just sent out to our supporters is at
http://livingenergyfarm.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2021july.pdf
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