Efficiency for Access, in collaboration with the Energy Access Practitioner Network, recently conducted an online survey of energy access professionals to assess the demand and impact potential of 46 off-grid appliances across household, productive use (i.e. agricultural), and healthcare applications. Support for this survey was provided by the UK’s Department for International Development, the United Nations Foundation, Power Africa, and many others.

The findings presented in the 2018 Off-Grid Appliance Market Survey report serve as a key piece of market intelligence to enhance understanding of the global off-grid appliance markets, and provide a framework for stakeholders to identify business opportunities and high-impact interventions around efficient appliances.

Building on two previous iterations of the Off-Grid Appliance Market Survey, the 2018 edition reveals notable shifts in perceived appliance demand and impact since the last report in 2016. For example, solar water pumps now rank highest in terms of both demand and impact potential – for the first time ranking above refrigeration and LED lighting appliances. Highly varied, and at times divergent, responses regarding demand for healthcare appliances underscored the need for additional scoping of region- and clinic-dependent nuances.

The 2016 survey results had helped develop the business case, technologies of focus, and near-term research interests of the Low Energy Inclusive Appliances (LEIA) programme, which launched last year alongside the newly scaled-up Efficiency for Access Coalition. This year’s results will help revisit these choices, and inform Research & Development investments made by LEIA and other Coalition members going forward.

Click here to read the full report.