This is a call out to any manufacturers of solar home system kits:

As we hope you have heard, over the next year, Lighting Global and the regional programs (Lighting Africa, Lighting Asia and Lighting Pacific) will begin to extend support to “plug-and-play” direct current (DC) solar home system kits.

A step in this process is exploring and piloting test methods for these larger systems. We are currently learning from our first round of pilot tests and are now organizing a second round of pilot testing. In this second round we will again test up to five products. 

To apply for testing, please complete this application form prior to March 16, 2015. 

With support from the Africa Renewable Energy Access Program at the World Bank, this second round of testing will be offered at a concessional fee of US$ 3000. This is a substantial savings relative to the full cost.  For this second round of testing, companies can expect services similar to those we offer pico-products:

• All tested products will receive full test results and a letter explaining the results. (Note that tests will likely be complete in August 2015; however, as testing will involve some piloting of new methods, there may be some delays in the process.)
• Once the full framework is in place, likely between July and September 2015, products that met the Lighting Global Quality Standards for Solar Home System kits during the first and second round of testing will receive a Standardized Specification Sheet and Verification Letter that will be posted on the Lighting Global website.  
• For eligible companies, additional business support through Lighting Global will be offered once the full framework is in place (likely starting between July and September 2015). Exact offerings will be determined in the coming months. Business support offerings through the regional programs may also be available to companies who become Associates of those programs once the full framework is in place.

Our objective for this second round of testing is to cast our net wide to be as inclusive and representative as possible in recognition of the emerging product offerings. We will consider all products whose applications arrive before the March 16th deadline. We plan to use a randomized lottery system that is weighted to ensure we select products that represent a variety of battery chemistries, system sizes, payment methods, and systems that come with or without appliances (like TVs and fans). We will inform all applicants if their product has been selected for testing shortly after March 16th.

If your product is selected for testing, we will contact you to request additional details and to sign a testing agreement. We will then send sampling agents to select up to 16 units of your product in the last three weeks of April. A stock of at least 200 units will need to be available for sampling. Your company will be responsible for providing these units and shipping them to one of our two designated test labs for this project (one lab is in Germany and the other is in the US).

The SHS Kit Quality Standards against which your product will be evaluated in this second round of testing will be similar to the draft Standards used for the first pilot round, though we may make some revisions based on findings from the first round of testing.

Please contact us at shs@lightingglobal.org if you have questions or comments related to this testing opportunity.

Sincerely,

The Lighting Global QA Team