Light one portable solar generator, to chase the dark away

When the lights go out – especially on a dark, stormy night – there’s always a fear that they won’t go back on again. And in some cases they don’t, for days or even weeks, depending on the damage caused to the electrical system. Just ask the folks who went through Hurricane Sandy.

“Basically, without electricity, life comes to a halt,” said Yaron Gissin, CEO of Kalisaya, whose KaliPAK portable solar-powered electrical generator is designed to run for hours on end, providing enough power to run lights, laptop and cellphones.

KaliPAKs, said Gissin, would have come in very handy during 2012’s Hurricane Sandy. “In some cases people waited weeks for the lights to go back on because of damage caused by the storm. After the debris from Sandy was cleared, we decided to compile our research conclusion and ideas, gathered our team of product and industrial designers, mechanical engineers, energy and solar experts, and kicked off the prototype project of the KaliPAK.

“It’s the best solution for use in urban and rural settings, replacing bulky, expensive fossil fuel powered-generators that cost much more,” said Gissin. “In a quick survey we posted, we found that the number one reason for natural disaster stress is that communications disconnect. The number two reason is darkness. We just don’t want to be left out in the dark. With the KaliPAK, you get light all night, with the generator recharged by the sun during the day – meaning that you never have to be in the dark.”

If there was anything Sandy showed New Yorkers, it’s that when the power goes off, restoring it can take awhile: over a million people were still without electricity three days after the storm hit. As a result, generator sales took off, with families shelling out as much as $10,000 for a system to keep their power on during a general blackout.

But there’s one flaw in that plan, said Gissin. “You need to have enough oil or gas on hand to power the generator until electricity is restored, and there are several problems with that, including sourcing the fuel, storing it, and protecting it from others who might want it.”

There’s no telling what people will do during periods of extended power loss – although recent incidents, from the 1977 New York City blackout to a power failure in Mexico this year, both seeing rampant looting and mayhem – may provide an indication.

The KaliPAK, Gissin said in a demonstration of the product, is cheaper and more reliable than gas and oil-powered generators. Fully charged – with the charging done by the sun via solar panels (it can also be recharged from an electrical socket or a car lighter-socket) – the KaliPAK can provide 60 hours of powerful LED Floodlight or 120 hours of strong LED light. It also has several outlets for charging smartphones and laptops, and can even provide power for appliances (naturally, the more items connected to the KaliPAK, the more quickly its power will be used up). A patent-pending fixture holds the enclosed solar panels in the most direct, efficient angle for solar charging, which takes around one sunny day to recharge the battery.

Besides providing power, the KaliPAK has integrated Bluetooth, which lets the generator pair with a smartphone, and via a free downloadable app, users can control and monitor the system’s energy levels. Users can turn off the entire generator – or any of its input outlets – for a few hours in order to preserve the power in its battery, thereby turning off the lights but enabling devices to be recharged. Besides lights and phones, the KaliPAK can be used for medical devices, small refrigerators, outdoor lighting – anything that is powered using 12-24 DC current.

At $595 retail (Kalisaya is currently offering a significant discount as part of its Kickstarter fundraising campaign), a KaliPAK is a lot cheaper than a home generator, said Gissin. It’s also a lot lighter, weighing less than 13 pounds, which provides the company with yet another market, that of outdoor enthusiasts who want to enjoy creature comforts while in the back country.

First production of the system is set for June of 2015, with bulk shipments around the world in August of next year. Shipping to the US and Israel will be free.

The KaliPAK isn’t just about disaster recovery – it’s about providing power to places that still don’t have electricity, where about 2 billion of the world’s people live, said Gissin. That’s one reason Kalisaya (the name implies lightning, mood and energy together in Old Inca, he said) was invited to be a part of the Eilat-Eilot Off Grid Hub, located in Kibbutz Ketura in southern Israel, where Gissin demonstrated the KaliPAK to a group of journalists.

The Hub provides start-ups and established companies in the energy, water and agricultural sectors with field testing facilities and a demonstration ecosystem to install, validate and showcase their off grid products and solutions. Kalisaya fits right in, said Gissin, not the least for its ambitious program of supplying KaliPAKs to African villages. For every 50 KaliPAKs made, Gissin said, the company will ship one to electricity-challenged communities in Africa, providing them with what may be their first experience with reliable manmade power.

“It’s very exciting to have an idea that will improve and perhaps even save lives,” said Gissin. “At the beginning we wanted to help alleviate the stress that natural disasters have on people’s lives, but we quickly realized that the KaliPAK’s portability would also make it popular with outdoor adventurers and others. We’re particularly proud that we’ve met all our goals with an energy-efficient solar solution.”