The Power of Design: Product Innovation in Sustainable Energy Technologies

G.5 Market and Business Considerations

G.5.1 Costs

The market price of the Moonlight, including the accompanying PV panel, is around US$25. Compared to a kerosene lamp of less than US$1, it is still a relatively high initial investment for a low-income family. What counts, in the end, is the life cycle cost, also called the cost of ownership: After purchase, operating costs determine the costs of ownership of a certain lighting option. Costs of operation comprise replacements of spare parts and costs of energy to power light, such as electricity for grid-connected lighting and fuel for kerosene lamps. Kerosene lamps have very high costs of ownership of US$12.00 per 1000 lux-hours, mainly due to fuel consumption. In contrast, a 1 W PV-LED lamp has costs of ownership of US$0.22 per 1000 lux-hours (Gooijer et al., 2008). In other words, a PV-LED-powered Moonlight has high initial costs, but in the short term these costs can be overcome and such light will save money for households.

G.5.2 Challenges with Market Implementation

Although feedback on the lanterns themselves is positive, and the return on investment is within one year, sales of the product are very challenging. In-field research revealed several main bottlenecks for the adoption of solar lanterns, such as the following:

• Up-front investment: Rural Cambodians often do not have the financial capacity to save money for large expenditures. Current lighting expenditure (purchasing kerosene) is done in small quantities, a few ...