Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Frugal Innovation in Pakistan (Gas Fan)

Pakistan is currently facing a tremendous shortage of electricity. The demand has clearly outstripped the supply with no major investments in power generation in the foreseeable future by the government . Government has no option but to resort to frequent load-shedding. That means people spend majority of their day without electricity. Electricity per unit costs have also risen significantly due to the shortage of supply. That means higher costs for businesses and eventually price inflation for the end consumers.

Innovators are born in environments with harsh constraints. A man by the name of Waheed Babar has developed a Gas powered fan whose engine is built on the model of a steam engine. The fan can run on a flame as small as one on a candle stick. The fan can run for 4 hours for a gas cost of 1 Pakistani Rupee , which is approximately 1 cent in US dollar terms. This fan can easily provide relief to slum dwellers and majority of the rural population who do not have electricity in their houses. The government and the private sector is slowly waking up to the necessity of innovations like these in such dire conditions.

Here are the video links

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