PHCN in the power room cooking up a diss track for you . 😡

Beautiful arrays 🥰

bigrovar:
Recently carried out an ugrade of my solar array. Swapped out Yingli 335w x 9 for 9 Canadian Solar Hiku7 600w panels.

So far no have been very impressed with the performance. Even with the poor visibility and relatively poor solar yield season. This panels are pulling (consistently) over 83% of their rated capacity.
That's over 4.4kw of 5.4kw total PV capacity.



This with solar irradiance at just over 500 watt per meter² and ambience temperature of 37c (as reported by my personal weather station which has an irradiance sensor)

olopan:
Try cloud energy Dc fans, they come with AC adapter to use with normal wall outlets or using a 12V battery or DC powered setup - power consumption is 11.8W for older series and the new series claims to be 10W.

Give it a shot

Please what is this cost now?

I also need 2 of these cloud dc fans, i couldn't get from my sources, if you can share your vendor, i'll be glad

tonididdy:


Please what is this cost now?

viperVIP:
I also need 2 of these cloud dc fans, i couldn't get from my sources, if you can share your vendor, i'll be glad

@ justcallmenuel updates pls

I promised to share my experience replacing an ELCB with a RCCB.

For those who don't know what an ELCB is, please see the pictures attached.

By the way, ELCB means Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker while RCCB means Residual Current Circuit Breaker

Note that there were only 4 connections to my ELCB
1. Mains in Neutral
2. Mains in Live
3. Load out Neutral
4. Load out Live

There was no earth electrode-only connection and there was no connection to the installation metal framework.

Please take a second look at the electrical diagram in the pictures attached, there are supposed to be 6 connections

After determining what to buy I started looking for it on the Schneider website and decided to buy the A9R41263.

By going online first, and thanks to the Schneider website, I already had a fair idea of pricing before stepping out to make the purchase

When I went to Gudu Market to search for the A9R41263. I could not find it but was presented with EZ9R33263.

It was priced at N24,000.00.

It is noteworthy that this part number is not on the Schneider Nigeria website, although it can be found on the UK website.

Is it original or a high-quality fake? Or a grey market product?

I ask because the distributor from which I eventually got the A9R41263 was not able to find it in his product parts list.

Yes, I specifically asked him to tell me how much it costs.

Like I always do, I then consulted the datasheets for both part numbers and found something interesting.

For the EZ9R33263, the electrical endurance is up to 2000 cycles while the mechanical endurance is up to 5000 cycles.

Now compare that with the A9R41263, the electrical endurance is up to 15,000 cycles while the mechanical endurance is up to 20,000 cycles.

It was pretty clear to me which was the superior product and that spending 24,000 on a product whose origin is unknown when there is a product of 26 - 28, 000 whose original is known is not the proper thing to do.

I was also presented with ABB and Havell products, but since I didn't research those products in advance, I opted not to pursue that line of inquiry.

That was when I contacted Scheider again and said it would be hell to try to check each and every retailer of the product when it is only the names of the retailers and their numbers that are listed on their site and not their Shop numbers.

Then Schneider told me to speak to their distributors instead.

So I fired up my browser once more and found the list of distributors and singled out one.

When I went there I found out that they did not have the Schneider in Abuja but in Lagos. It was going to take a while to get it, like 4 days. But that isn't the main issue that traumatized me. It was that they said that prices had been revised upwards and that I would be paying 39,000 as against the 26,000+ on the Schneider website.

Forloned, I left that distributor drove out of their premises and parked along the road, fired up my browser and intended to start calling the other distributors one by one until I found one who had it and whose price was as close to the manufacturer's price as possible.

Thankfully, the first distributor I spoke to had it in stock and was willing to sell it at 28,000.00. The difference between the manufacturer's price and the distributor's price was so minimal that I did not even bother to negotiate. I told him I was coming. I went there, paid him and took the RCCB home and installed it myself, and immediately had peace of mind as power was restored and I was sure, I did not buy a fake.

See pictures of the original packaging.

I really love the transparency of Schneider as far as pricing is concerned. I don't know if ABB and Havel are that transparent

@Fegeitok, kindly let me know in simple English why you bought the RCCB. What exactly is it suppose to do in your circuit and why in the first place?
Thanks for your contributions.

mctfopt:
Beware of breakers you buy in the market

I hope my story above helps someone, in the light of posts such as the quoted

aviona:
@Feg.eitok, kindly let me know in simple English why you bought the RCCB. What exactly is it suppose to do in your circuit and why in the first place?
Thanks for your contributions.

I had a circuit breaker that failed. The usual circuit breaker is black in color which most of us are familiar with, see my very first post today for pictures of how it looks.

When I wanted to replace it, I found out that the old type of circuit breaker (the black one) has been discontinued and that the recommended replacement circuit breaker is called an RCCB.

I also learned that an RCCB is the better technology.

I then learned that an RCCB can help protect humans from electric shock, electrocution, and fires.

On why you need a circuit breaker: You need a way to interrupt current flow if a fault is detected in your house's electrical circuit

Thanks for the clarification.
This is exactly what I need at the moment. How do I get one? Can you help with the contact details or address of the seller. I'm also here in Abuja and will get it tomorrow if you can assist with the contact. Thanks

aviona:
Thanks for the clarification.
This is exactly what I need at the moment. How do I get one? Can you help with the contact details or address of the seller. I'm also here in Abuja and will get it tomorrow if you can assist with the contact. Thanks

I got it from

Kon-X
2nd Floor, Left Wing, Plot 979, Abia House, A0 1st Avenue, Off Ahmadu Bello Way, Cadastral Zone, CBD, Wuse 900103, Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria
0803 322 1312

Alright thanks, I will go pick it up tomorrow.

aviona:
@Fegeitok, kindly let me know in simple English why you bought the RCCB. What exactly is it suppose to do in your circuit and why in the first place?
Thanks for your contributions.

When you touch a device at home and you get an electric shock, it is because of earth leakage. If the leakage is bad enough you can get electric burns. The purpose of an rccb or elcb is to trip off immediately there is earth leakage in the system.

However because of the poor quality of so many things sold in Nigeria, and poor installation practices by artisans these protective devices are seen more as a nuisance.

It will be tripping every 15 minutes because the house has multiple sources of leakage

If you saw the posts on how some low quality chargers were causing earth faults only a very thorough and technicallly inclined person will take the time to resolve and isolate the issue. I have been in a situation where it took four hours to isolate the source of the leakage in a facility.

So in summary an elcb /rccb is a protective device that kicks in when your kettle or TV or some other device starts shocking because there is an earth leakage in the system. An earth leakage may also mean that your voltage will jump from 230 v to 300 or more, which can damage stuff.

Quite insightful. Many thanks to you as well @Glorious.

Morning All.

Current setup is that generator and grid power(changeover switch) uses the same distribution board for electric distribution. With solar installation in view, I still want to use same DB without having to create an alternative DB and wiring for solar power.

Is this proposed solution tenable because someone I spoke to had a different thought process?

mangolpupa:
Morning All.

Current setup is that generator and grid power(changeover switch) uses the same distribution board for electric distribution. With solar installation in view, I still want to use same DB without having to create an alternative DB and wiring for solar power.

Is this proposed solution tenable because someone I spoke to had a different thought process?

Why don't u want to create a separate db

FEGEITOK:


I had a circuit breaker that failed. The usual circuit breaker is black in color which most of us are familiar with, see my very first post today for pictures of how it looks.

When I wanted to replace it, I found out that the old type of circuit breaker (the black one) has been discontinued and that the recommended replacement circuit breaker is called an RCCB.

I also learned that an RCCB is the better technology.

I then learned that an RCCB can help protect humans from electric shock, electrocution, and <b>fires.</b>

On why you need a circuit breaker: You need a way to interrupt current flow if a fault is detected in your house's electrical circuit

Schneider is really expensive but reliable.
I use tomzn from aliexpress now and it's serving same purpose (it's in used for 2 yrs now). The Schneider acti9 I had failed after over 10yrs active service.

For fire protection, arc fault interruptin device is what you need in addition to using good quality outlets.

mank1234:


Schneider is really expensive but reliable.
I use tomzn from aliexpress now and it's serving same purpose (it's in used for 2 yrs now). The Schneider acti9 I had failed after over 10yrs active service.

For fire protection, arc fault interruptin device is what you need in addition to using good quality outlets.

Thanks for sharing.

Something new to research, then buy:

Arc fault detection circuit breaker

Learning never ends, but it also makes life interesting.

mangolpupa:
Morning All.

Current setup is that generator and grid power(changeover switch) uses the same distribution board for electric distribution. With solar installation in view, I still want to use same DB without having to create an alternative DB and wiring for solar power.

Is this proposed solution tenable because someone I spoke to had a different thought process?

It's not a good practice to mix AC and DC in same board except you're going to take the extra precaution of labeling each line apriopriately. Else, there is potential for catastrophe should an external person is invited to do servicing at the panel.

Personally, I used one DB for mains AC, generator AC, solar DC. As a precaution, the wires are well labeled, and I keep a circuit diagram of the wiring inside the DB as reference for whoever is to work on it tomorrow.

FEGEITOK:


Forloned, I left that distributor drove out of their premises and parked along the road, fired up my browser and intended to start calling the other distributors one by one until I found one who had it and whose price was as close to the manufacturer's price as possible.

Thankfully, the first distributor I spoke to had it in stock and was willing to sell it at 28,000.00. The difference between the manufacturer's price and the distributor's price was so minimal that I did not even bother to negotiate. I told him I was coming
I really love the transparency of Schneider as far as pricing is concerned. I don't know if ABB and Havel are that transparent

Love your tenacity and time for due diligence. I try my best, but I won't brag that I can do half 🌗 the time you dedicated to do this due diligence, especially in a very unfriendly and dishonest market/business environment as Nigeria is where they frustrate the world out of you with counterfieted products.

Hah, wehdon ó

toyeoye:


Thank you! I checked my trusty Famicare inverter but cannot see the function to set charging priority, will keep checking. My faithful lead acid batteries are pampered and I'd always want to keep them fully charged. I appreciate your inputs.

If you have Famicare H Series inverter, You need to enter advanced settings to access Charging Priority mode. On my own, you never to press Esc and Enter key together for like 3seconds then a password prompt will show. Check your manual well sha

vta2008:


If you have Famicare H Series inverter, You need to enter advanced settings to access Charging Priority mode. On my own, you never to press Esc and Enter key together for like 3seconds then a password prompt will show. Check your manual well sha

Thanks bro, I have the Home series 5.5kva and it was installed in my absence right, I've been in touch with the guy who installed after I came here and he says the same but manual is missing. Can you share a picture of the page please, I can't find it online.

FEGEITOK:
So I fired up my browser once more and found the list of distributors and singled out one.

When I went there I found out that they did not have the Schneider in Abuja but in Lagos. It was going to take a while to get it, like 4 days. But that isn't the main issue that traumatized me. It was that they said that prices had been revised upwards and that I would be paying 39,000 as against the 26,000+ on the Schneider website.

Forloned, I left that distributor drove out of their premises and parked along the road, fired up my browser and intended to start calling the other distributors one by one until I found one who had it and whose price was as close to the manufacturer's price as possible.

Thankfully, the first distributor I spoke to had it in stock and was willing to sell it at 28,000.00. The difference between the manufacturer's price and the distributor's price was so minimal that I did not even bother to negotiate. I told him I was coming. I went there, paid him and took the RCCB home and installed it myself, and immediately had peace of mind as power was restored and I was sure, I did not buy a fake.

See pictures of the original packaging.

I really love the transparency of Schneider as far as pricing is concerned. I don't know if ABB and Havel are that transparent

Respect! You're very thorough in your pursuit for perfection.

Happy Sunday to everyone!
Please, I need help from experienced installers, users and DIYs.

I am planning to upgrade my inverter system, am looking at buying a 5KW Hybrid inverter (with solar DC input of 450V minimum), I have read of so many brands, I am trying to leverage on the experience of the forum to know which brand and model is considered stable, low idle consumption, compatible with lithium battery (future plan), low failure rate and the cost is within N250K - 350K (slight increase above budget could be accommodated for value and reliability)

Experienced seniors, pls help with brand and models based on experience, these toys aren't cheap anyone, one has to choose wisely. Thanks for your suggestions.

toyeoye:


Thanks bro, I have the Home series 5.5kva and it was installed in my absence right, I've been in touch with the guy who installed after I came here and he says the same but manual is missing. Can you share a picture of the page please, I can't find it online.

Here you go

vta2008:


Here you go

Amazing!!!! Truly appreciate this bro. Thank you Thank you

bodeface:
Happy Sunday to everyone!
Please, I need help from experienced installers, users and DIYs.

I am planning to upgrade my inverter system, am looking at buying a 5KW Hybrid inverter (with solar DC input of 450V minimum), I have read of so many brands, I am trying to leverage on the experience of the forum to know which brand and model is considered stable, low idle consumption, compatible with lithium battery (future plan), low failure rate and the cost is within N250K - 350K (slight increase above budget could be accommodated for value and reliability)

Experienced seniors, pls help with brand and models based on experience, these toys aren't cheap anyone, one has to choose wisely. Thanks for your suggestions.

It may be hard to see a good, known and tested brand of 5kw hybrid inverter at that range. I'll advise you shift your budget to start from 350k up.
You may check Felicity.

toyeoye:


Amazing!!!! Truly appreciate this bro. Thank you Thank you

You're welcome

You should have bought the RCCB or RCBO type A and not type AC. RCCB type AC have been discontinued in most western countries because if electrical circuit is saturated with DC milliamps, RCCB type AC may not work well or trip when it should. Most of our electronics feed our electrical circuit with DC milliamps. RCCB type AC will only work well if it is dedicated to an appliance that has no electronics in it, eg regular water heater, electric kettle.

What is the difference between a type A and type AC RCBO or RCD?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t3rhtyOpuY via @YouTube

FEGEITOK:
After determining what to buy I started looking for it on the Schneider website and decided to buy the A9R41263.

By going online first, and thanks to the Schneider website, I already had a fair idea of pricing before stepping out to make the purchase

sintolord:
You should have bought the RCCB or RCBO type A and not type AC. RCCB type AC have been discontinued in most western countries because if electrical circuit is saturated with DC milliamps, RCCB type AC may not work well or trip when it should. Most of our electronics feed our electrical circuit with DC milliamps. RCCB type AC will only work well if it is dedicated to an appliance that has no electronics in it, eg regular water heater, electric kettle.

What is the difference between a type A and type AC RCBO or RCD?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t3rhtyOpuY via @YouTube

Thanks for pointing this out.

No end to learning, I just assumed that AC stands for alternating current and that I should be good. I should have investigated further.


The only is this they don't have it in 63A variety in the 2 pole variety, but they have in the 4 pole variety.

Here is what I found.

I have got a lot of electronics, so this is gold.

Thanks again.