The Disadvantages of Frugal Innovation and Possible Solutions

The disadvantages of frugal innovation are that the materials used to produce products like the wind driven turbo roof ventilator manufactured by Anchit Ispat Ltd. do not really last or do a very good job of providing the expected service attached to the concept. The wind driven turbo roof ventilator is meant to provide comfortable living by venting hot air out the roof (Anchit Ispat Ltd., 2009)but what if there is no wind for long periods of time? This can be the case in many parts of India, so without even the slightest breeze this frugally designed innovation simply will not work at all.

One solution to the problem would be to harness sustainable energy such as solar power using solar roof panels that collect energy from the suns rays. This concept would work in India and allow energy to be stored that could then be used to power the ventilator and help keep homes cool all year round. However, sustainable concepts are much more likely in developed worlds where there are incentives to use them, often promoted by governments in terms of tax savings for consumers who...

As Brem and Ivens (2013) ask: What role can sustainability play for businesses whose home base and/or strategic focus is on markets where...…breeze the design will be seen as flawed. That is where sustainability comes into play to support the design (Kates et al., 2001). By having the sustainable feature of solar panels working in tandem with the frugal innovation of the roof ventilator, the design will work all year because of the energy provided by the solar panels which collect and store energy from the sun. There is a cost to install them on the roof but once installed there is no need for upkeep.

This same idea of sustainability can be applied to other concepts of frugal innovation to help complement the concept of saving energy, eliminating waste and cutting down on cost. Both ideas stem from the same desire of consumers to be more conscious about…