EcoFlow Technology Japan, known for its portable power supplies, will supply portable power to the Yamahoko floats and Komagata lanterns that decorate the night of the “Gion Festival” in Kyoto.
This initiative began in 2023, and this is the second year. The floats to be supplied with power are “Aburatenjinzan” in the Mae-matsuri and “Takayama” in the Goto-matsuri. The following is a report on the “Hikiki-hajime” (first day of pulling), the lighting of the Komagata lanterns, and the Yoiyama festival from the 21st on Takayama float. The festival will be held on the 24th, when the god of Yasaka Shrine will return to the city, and power will be supplied during the lighting period of Yoiyama until that time.
Takayama is a float that had been parading since before the Onin War, with the falconer, taruyoshi, and inukai as its deities, but it was damaged by heavy rain in the late Edo period (1603-1868) and was no longer paraded. The newly restored floats were able to return to the procession in 2022 after an absence of about 196 years. The restoration is not yet in its complete form, and the final version will have a gorgeous black-lacquered roof and gold gable backs.
The “Hiki-hajime” is a rehearsal for the actual event to confirm that the floats have been completed and are in good working order.
Two EcoFlow “DELTA Pro 3” units (4kWh capacity) and “DELTA 2 Max” units (2kWh capacity) will supply power to the Takayama floats and Komagata lanterns. In addition, a spare extended battery “DELTA 2 Max extra battery” and “160W solar panel” are also provided, all of which are offered free of charge by EcoFlow as part of its CSR activities.
Of these, the DELTA Pro 3 is a new model that was just released in June. With a redesigned design, it can be rolled around like a cart by a single adult. It is compatible with charging inputs of up to 3600W at EV stations, etc., and can be fully charged in 198 minutes and 80% charged in 150 minutes with a 1500W input of 100V AC at an ordinary household.
The battery maintains 80% of its initial capacity even after 4,000 charge cycles, and at one cycle per day, it is expected to last 11 years, with a 5-year warranty. The battery has a maximum output of 3,600W, is single-phase, 3-wire, and can be connected to 100V or 200V. 200V compatibility will enable efficient operation of refrigerators, air conditioners, and power tools with large outputs.
As with previous models, the system can be managed via a dedicated application, and the output is a pure sine wave with 50/60 Hz switchability. If necessary, the company can also introduce an installer to connect the system to the grid power supply for the home. The system can also be used to charge the batteries from solar panels currently installed on the roof, or to cover the power used at home.
The power supply to the Komagata chochin this time was carried out using the “DELTA 2 Max” and the “DELTA 2 Max Exclusive Extra Battery”. When the LED lights were actually started to be used for supply, the overall electricity usage of the LED lights was indicated to be approximately 450W. The panel showed an estimated usable time of 7 hours for the “DELTA 2 Max” alone and 13 hours when the “DELTA 2 Max Extra Battery” was combined. Since the lanterns are lit from around 19:00 to 22:00, this is a generous capacity.
Junji Yamada, chairman of the Takayama Preservation Society, said, “We are relieved that there were no interruptions at all during the implementation of the project from last year. Takayama was built with the idea of using batteries from the time of its return in 2022. In the first year, we were supplied by an electric car, and from the second year, by EcoFlow portable power supply. The car was a problem in terms of space, so the portable power supply saved us a lot of space.
From the beginning, we have used power-saving LED bulbs, but as much as possible, we have emphasized the atmosphere of lanterns lit by old-fashioned candles, paying attention to the hues and using bulbs that are all uniform in the colors we have chosen. We hope you will feel the atmosphere of a summer night in Kyoto.
Global warming is an urgent issue, and we need to reconsider nuclear power generation. I have always wanted to actively support the use of renewable energy, so I had no objection at all to being approached to introduce it,” he told us.
Another key point is that eco-friendly electricity is used to charge the batteries of these portable power supplies. In addition to the electricity generated by the solar panels, six stores in Kyoto that have signed up to use renewable energy as their power source, including Patagonia Kyoto, IWATA Kyoto, mumokuteki goods & wears Kyoto, Tsutsumi Asa Lacquer Shop, Muratadoh, and GOOD The six stores, “Patagonia Kyoto,” “IWATA Kyoto,” “mumokuteki goods & wears Kyoto,” “Tsutsumi Asa Lacquer Shop,” “Muratado,” and “GOOD NATURE STATAION,” are cooperating to achieve virtually zero CO2 emissions by charging at these stores.
Kazuhiko Inoue, in charge of renewable energy for the Gion Festival’s Operation Zero Garbage, who is in charge of this project, said, “We are operating the portable power supply while changing it once a day. We use only about half the capacity, so there is no capacity problem at all. At this point, we have only implemented the program at two Yamahoko floats, but we will continue to encourage people to support it. It is a traditional festival, and each preservation society is not particularly knowledgeable about electricity, so we are determined to continue the project patiently and over the long term so that they will understand the importance of the project.
It was actually Mr. Inoue who approached EcoFlow. When he was looking for a battery that would meet the objectives of the project, he happened to see a company on the Internet that had a lease agreement with EcoFlow, and when he e-mailed EcoFlow’s headquarters directly, they offered their cooperation free of charge, which was the beginning of this initiative. EcoFlow, which stands for “EcoFlow Power For All,” believes that it is very important to support a traditional Japanese event as a source of renewable energy and to make it useful.
© Source travel watch
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