Quantitative Impacts of Solar PV on Television Viewing and Radio Listening in Off-grid Rural Ghana

George Yaw Obeng,Ebenezer Nyarko Kumi

doi:10.5539/eer.v4n1p62

George Yaw Obeng, Ebenezer Nyarko Kumi

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.5539/eer.v4n1p62

Copy DOI

Abstract

The use of solar photovoltaic (PV) for powering electronic devices such as radio and television can contribute to increase access to information and entertainment in off-grid rural communities. However, there is a lack of quantitative data on impact of solar PV electrification on television viewing and radio listening. This paper relied on primary data from cross-sectional surveys of solar-electrified and non-electrified households in rural Ghana using questionnaires which were developed into a database. The study results showed that solar-electrified households could view television for 2.5 hours/day, while in non-electrified households it was 1.5 hours/day. The avoided cost of television viewing using solar PV instead of car battery was US$ 1-3/month. The study found a linear relationship between incomes above US$ 1.08/day and television ownership. Further, the results showed that on average radio listening in solar-electrified households was 5 hours/day, while in non-electrified households it was 6.3 hours/day. The avoided cost of radio listening using solar PV instead of drycell batteries was US$ 1.08/month. We conclude that the difference in the results suggests an overall impact of solar PV on television viewing and radio listening. Once quantitative data are made available, the decision to use solar PV for off-grid electrification will be apparent.

Highlights

It is globally accepted that electrification does stimulate economic growth at a broader level and can enhance quality of life at the household level
The study had shown that solar-electrified households achieved greater benefits by gaining more hours of television viewing and at the same time spent relatively less money compared to the non-electrified households
The results further demonstrated that the costs per hour of radio listening and television viewing were significantly lower in the solar-electrified households than non-electrified households who used dry-cells for radio listening and car batteries for television viewing

Summary

Introduction

It is globally accepted that electrification does stimulate economic growth at a broader level and can enhance quality of life at the household level. In off-grid rural communities, the use of solar PV for powering electronic devices such as radio and television can significantly contribute to increase access to information and entertainment at the household level and this is reported in several studies (Wamukonya & Davies, 2001; Obeng & Evers, 2009; Bahauddin & Salah, 2010). There appears to be a lack of data on the quantitative impacts of solar PV on hours of usage and costs of television viewing and radio listening, in off-grid rural communities, where access to electricity is relatively low. The main objective of this paper was to analyse the quantitative impacts of solar PV electrification on television viewing and radio listening focusing on hours of usage, costs of usage, income and ownership, avoided costs and any other relevant factors

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion