Post technical assessment and field manual for solar home systems in island communities: The case of Ghana

Abstract

Solar Home Systems (SHSs) have emerged as a solution for rural electrification in Sub-Saharan Africa, offering a sustainable alternative to grid electricity in remote communities. Despite their growing deployment and socio-economic impacts, the long-term sustainability of SHSs is often threatened by inadequate maintenance practices and the absence of user-friendly field manuals. This study introduces a Technical Field Audit (TFA) framework aimed at developing a practical Field Manual (FM) for SHSs in remote communities in Ghana. The manual is designed to help users with limited literacy, in resolving minor faults, minimizing reliance on technicians and delays in repairs. A comprehensive TFA of 166 households across three regions: Bono East, Oti and Upper West was conducted and common technical challenges such as blown fuses, battery over-discharge, and undercharge were identified as the most frequent faults that compromise SHS performance. The study presents a flowchart-based troubleshooting guide that help users to address minor faults independently, reducing reliance on technical support. The findings highlight that while user education plays an important role in the upkeep of the SHSs, users education influence the types of appliances added to their SHS. About 15% of users modified their SHSs by adding components like inverters to support additional appliances such as fans and televisions indicating unmet user expectations. The deployment of the FM reduced maintenance calls, with 80% of cases requiring no calls after implementation compared to only 20% pre-implementation, demonstrating its effectiveness in solving minor technical problems independently.