Social Benefits of Solar Home Systems and User Satisfaction: Experience of Rural Bangladesh

Solar energy may also be used by individuals as a hybrid solution—that is, one that combines grid and solar power—to provide a steady supply of electricity in the event of a power outage. This study aimed explore the mode of solar home system (SHS) purchasing, daily usage, impacts and satisfaction level of community dwellers in Singair sub-district of Manikganj, Bangladesh. A total of 120 solar home system user households were randomly selected and surveyed using a semi-structured questionnaire. This study revealed that households have been purchasing SHSs with their direct income, loans from NGOs and banks, and borrowed money from relatives and neighbours. The systems are widely used by the user households (>5 hours/day by 53% households). Results highlighted several reported benefits of SHSs in the study area, including improvements in children’s education (96%), household productivity (84%), living standard (84%), communication (82%), entertainment (76%), and social interactions (62%). Besides, this study explored a high level of satisfaction regarding the use, acceptance, and effectiveness of SHSs in the study area. This study mainly focused on the social benefits and user satisfaction of SHSs. Future research can focus on comprehensive social-economic-environmental benefits as well as demand based user satisfaction.