Opportunity areas for industrial designers to explore new applications of product-integrated photovoltaics (PIPV) for rural communities of India

Abstract

Solar photovoltaics are the one which will be the major contributor to electricity generation in the future. Integration of Solar PV into products originates a range of products, which falls under the category of product-integrated photovoltaics (PIPV). PIPV products have the potential to solve problems of rural and remote areas of developing countries, which are associated with very less or lack of access to the electricity grid. Currently, most of the PIPV products are in the lighting area with very few new applications of it. By using industrial design approach, new applications of PIPV can be developed for the use of rural and remote areas of India. To achieve this, it is important to find out the opportunity areas to direct Industrial Design Interventions according to the needs and demands of users in rural context. In this study, common activities of the diverse rural population are mapped to interpret possible intervention areas for the industrial design of PIPV products. Analysis of currently available interventions including products and innovations in PIPV shows that there is a need of design and innovation to address crucial needs of people staying in rural and remote areas of India.