Masters Thesis

Implementing gridshare technology in rural Bhutan: analyzing effects on electrical brownouts and assessing community acceptance

This thesis evaluates the effectiveness of the pilot installation of GridShares, demand-side management devices designed to reduce the severity of brownouts on isolated, power-limited mini-grids. The low voltages associated with brownouts cause lights to dim and resistance heating appliances, such as rice cookers and water boilers, to function poorly. GridShare devices and the accompanying education program were designed by a team consisting of the author and fellow undergraduate and graduate students from Humboldt State University. In coordination with partner organizations, the team built and installed 90 GridShares in all households and businesses connected to a 40 kW village micro-hydroelectric system in Rukubji, Bhutan in July 2011. Prior to the installation, residents of Rukubji faced routine brownouts due to the use of high-wattage appliances to cook breakfast and dinner. Through a combination of education, indication and enforcement, the GridShare limited this peak demand while still enabling the use of these large appliances when excess energy was available. After the GridShare installation, the village experienced severe brownouts on 92% fewer days than in the prior year. Though the installation did not eliminate the brownout problem entirely, in household surveys, residents stated that the GridShares made the grid more predictable and provided information necessary for residents to make informed decisions regarding their electricity use. Additional data from electricity billing records, individual household data loggers and GridShare serial data provide further insight into the functioning of the system. Following the one-year pilot test agreement, the community of Rukubji decided by consensus to keep the GridShares installed, and the Bhutan Power Corporation continues to support the effort. This pilot project indicates that user-interactive demand-side management strategies, such as the GridShare, are effective at reducing brownouts on mini-grids.

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