Rainy season is really affecting solar yields for now but let's not forget to always cut down general load size to the bearest minimum and always observe 50% DOD rule as your battery life span totally depends on SOC / DOD rules ! HAPPY SALLAH CELEB to our numerous muslim clients home & abroad. Cheers !!!

Thank you, now I understand better, I think those figures are fare, I believe one will harvest more in the northern part of the country, places like Plateau should be a very good location for solar plant, though I've never been to Jos, I heard its cool over there, if the weather there is not cloudy with sufficient sunlight. the harvest would be great.

I read this post recently given an insight into some challenges of running or depending totally on Mega Solar plant, a case study of Germany, running 5.7 percent of its grid on solar, which increases about ten times at peak some days of the year.

https://carboncounter./2015/08/11/germany-will-never-run-on-solar-power-here-is-why/

Gurus in the house, is there any flaw in this analysis?

iLoveTheSun:


Yes, on a smaller scale on the AC load side. (Though, according to SMA you can build up to 12 x 3 Sunny Island 8 = 36 in a cluster, up to 300 kW. That would be a nice project!)

100 MW solar plant (upstream) will fail.
(Or you use large battery storage? Is it then economically viable?)

Battery based systems are limited to about 5 MW. (not 100% on that). Someone claims he is doing a 10 MW battery based and the comment was met with derision.
100 MW will not fail. There are solution the world over that exceed the 100 MW. Ivanpah is a concentrated solar solution. Those will work in our environment

chris81964:


Battery based systems are limited to about 5 MW. (not 100% on that). Someone claims he is doing a 10 MW battery based and the comment was met with derision.
100 MW will not fail. There are solution the world over that exceed the 100 MW. Ivanpah is a concentrated solar solution. Those will work in our environment

There are other means of energy storage system apart from battery especially for large scale solar plant. pumped hydro, flywheel, compressed air among others have been used. here are list of large scale energy storage projects>>>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_energy_storage_projects

For ur neat and proffesional solar/inverter installations at affordable prices call 08117398294, or email Info@monzpowersolutions.com

zeestone99:
For ur neat and proffesional solar/inverter installations at affordable prices call 08117398294, 08033913155 or email Info@monzpowersolutions.com

Please are the panels lying directly on the roof without any mounts? Will the air circulation not affect the output?

okenne:
Elo House
what n what do I need to power a 2bedroom flat wt electrical appliances n a fridge

Hello @okenne,

did you see my power consumption chart over 24h?

sunny regards,

chris81964:

100 MW will not fail. There are solution the world over that exceed the 100 MW. Ivanpah is a concentrated solar solution. Those will work in our environment

Dear @Chris,
let us stay in the context of Nigeria and national grid.
I will modify my old statement, so that everyone in the house can understand what I mean!

iLoveTheSun:

(By the way, sometimes I smile when I read that big investors plan to build 100 MW of solar plants/parks. Those people are financial guys, not knowing about the technical challenges, I guess?! If light is not available, the plant won't operate... = no power = no income.)

By the way, sometimes I smile when I read that big investors plan to build 100 MW of solar plants/parks in Nigeria.
Those people are financial guys, not knowing about the technical challenges in Nigeria, I guess?! If light is not available, the plant won't operate... = no power = no income.)

I'm guessing there's a lot to take in then, reading all the comments.
Not ashamed to say I don't know much about solar terminologies used here even if I am technologically inclined.
I'll be sure to read up and I'll be following this thread.

Probably the wrong place, but is there any other possible forms of energy possible in Nigeria apart from solar...
Wind, biogas or so?

Dear House,

here are some thoughts about the "architecture" of the high-voltage grid and new opportunities that solar provides in terms of electrification.
I'd like to draw an analogy to telephony. wired line/DSL vs. mobile/WLAN; central vs. decentralized architecture.

The reason for having AC can be found in the history of electricity in order to distribute from big steam engine generators and water dam hydropower to the consumers and industries. For long distances high-voltage was required in order to reduce loss and limit the investment in copper. To obtain high-voltage, AC was required to transform to medium-voltage and then to high-voltage, and vice versa. In factories mostly electric motors were used to do the mechanical work. And three-phase AC was ideal. At that time electronics were not present so DC to DC was not an option.

Hundreds of years later, when we look at our household appliances, what do we find? Many transformers converting AC to DC 5, 9, 12, 24 Volts.
We deploy TVs, LED light bulbs, laptops, mobile phones, tablets... all need low-voltage DC. So, there are a lot of conversion losses from the centralized power stations most of them burning coal, gas, fuel.
Where is AC useful in the household? Washing machine, compressor for fridge and freezers, and high energy loads like irons, microwave, and maybe electric stove.
In the meantime electronics have advanced, so that direct usage of DC makes sense without conversion losses.
And new technology have proven that high-voltage DC is more efficient for long haul cables as well like 1,000 kV or 1 million Volt.

The new opportunity is to generate most of the energy at the place where it is consumed. And here comes the sun, I mean solar photovoltaic.
Most of appliances can be run with DC 5 V, 12 V and 24 V. And in the future if people know that DC makes more sense, the demand for DC fans, DC fridges, DC compressors for AirCon will grow, and the industry will follow the trend. For certain appliances you do not need any AC/DC transformers.

Washing machine is a different story.

But in the end, total consumption of AC from the grid can be reduced. And AC power will be used where AC is really required.

Another issue is that centralized energy production where large power stations are built, lots of capital is required. Big capital investors (investment banks) and loans (mostly from development banks) are put together. Tenders and bids are done, but in many cases corruption and non-competitive bidding can be found. Gentlemen agreements are sealed behind closed doors. Only few big corporations will make a lot of money. Local firms do subcontracting. What many do not know, a big chunk of the cost of electricity is the cost of capital (financing), depreciation (initial investment) and, of course, fuel (when it is not hydro.) For example, in Europe, when interest rate was about 6-7% p.s. and depreciation over 20 years was 5%, then 1/4 was for financing, 1/4 for depreciation, 1/4 for fuel, 1/4 for distribution (grid) plus profit plus taxes.
So, with decentralized renewable energy cost for fuel and for distribution can be dropped.

... to be continued...

Greetings house !

kiekie1:
Greetings house !

Barka de Sallah ...

...
The big advantage of decentralized energy production, smaller systems require less high-voltage experts and can be implemented by local trades, which produces more jobs downstream. More value is added by local people and in rural areas as well. Ongoing jobs are created for service and maintenance. Whereas high-voltage service and maintenance can only be done by specialized firms, often within a big, long-term maintenance framework contract. For small systems, more local products could be implemented in the future.
...

DUNKA:
Please are the panels lying directly on the roof without any mounts? Will the air circulation not affect the output?

No dunka, roof mount is present.

zeestone99:


No dunka, roof mount is present.

OK my bad. Good job

iLoveTheSun:


Dear @Chris,
let us stay in the context of Nigeria and national grid.
I will modify my old statement, so that everyone in the house can understand what I mean!



By the way, sometimes I smile when I read that big investors plan to build 100 MW of solar plants/parks in Nigeria.
Those people are financial guys, not knowing about the technical challenges in Nigeria, I guess?! If light is not available, the plant won't operate... = no power = no income.)

Are you based in Nigeria?

I always assumed you were not.

Respect to all Gurus in the house

you have a new baby to solar family

I have just a piece of just 2 TATA panels rated @150w from N110k Algbenga Solar Tech. and
2 100A Genus Battery @ N120k

Has any Guru used TATA Polycystaline panels before? I hope they are good.
am eager to go green

DUNKA:
OK my bad. Good job

Thnks

Dangerous job o....no body harness

zeestone99:


No dunka, roof mount is present.

iLoveTheSun:
Hello Newbies,

for those asking the same questions again and again:
"I have n appliances with x watts power consumption.
How many solar panels, what solar charger, inverter, batteries should I take?"

I will not answer those questions, but I would like to build some sort of foundation, that assumptions and facts may differ sometimes.
(To be honest, I was surprised myself. Like, "Oh, I need a Mercedes ML!" And then after analysing the data: "Oops, a Volkswagen Golf/Rabbit will do!" I hope you get the point. There is a saying: "The eyes are always bigger than your stomach (=real hunger)!" [That's why many people have lots of of leftovers on their plate!])
It's rather a guideline to understand your real power needs.

Here are my recommendations for the newbies:
1) Please do your homework (sorry, to say this) and read this thread from start. There are tons of valuable information by my fellow solar heros.
2) Chris has even built an app. Check it out!
3) Please do not feel disappointed, if you wait for an answer. Be patient!
4) At last, but not at least: here is a real case study to give you a feeling about your demand.
This is some sort of energy consumption audit, in order to understand what inverter and what battery capacity is really required.

Last week, I got a 3-phase digital energy meter with S0 output (it's the 2-wire grey cable in the top). 1000 pulses per kWh. (i.e. 1 pulse = 1/1000 kWh)
And a data logger that can read S0 interface. So the data has been put into a graph.

Real-case scenario:
Small 2 bedroom apartment with 2 persons. One person (breadwinner) out of the house during the day. One person at home.
1 x LCD TV approx. 100-130 Watts
4 x energy-saving bulbs (5 - 8 Watts each)
1 x small refrigerator (don't know - it's too heavy to move around and to check the name/type plate)
2 x fridges (don't know - it's too heavy to move around and to check the name/type plate)
1 x water cooker 1800 Watts (!!!)
1 x micro wave/oven combo up to 2000 Watts (!) it is adjustable from 180 Watts.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 x electric stove xxxx Watts(!!!) my comment: shouldn't be powered by battery!!!
1 x washing machine xxxx Watt(!!!) my comment: shouldn't be powered by battery!!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By the way, hot water for showering is on a different meter, because the building is a multiplex.

iLoveTheSun,
quite an interesting line up you have here but the jury is still out there on the viability or otherwise of running
a home fully on solar photovoltaics.
it is always preferable to explore more cost effective solutions where they are readily available instead of going the
fully solar pv route.
for your cooking for instance, lpg or propane gas has been found to be less expensive than using a hotplate powered
by an inverter.
for heating household water, solar water heaters seem to be the preferred method.
washing machines are getting more power efficient these days what with the emergence of top loaders so not much
issues running them off inverters (i run my thermocool washing machine on my inverter on a routine basis
without any problems)
microwaves too present a unique twist. although they seem to draw so much instantaneous power, but because
they are almost always run for brief spells in the entire day, inverters seem to love them.

Good morning,

GeorgeD1:

iLoveTheSun,
quite an interesting line up you have here but the jury is still out there on the viability or otherwise of running
a home fully on solar photovoltaics.
it is always preferable to explore more cost effective solutions where they are readily available instead of going the
fully solar pv route.

Thanks!
In my personal opinion solar photovoltaic is more cost-effective in the long run, IF the quality of solar panels is good so that they really have a lifetime of 25 years or more as advertised by the manufacturers.

GeorgeD1:

for your cooking for instance, lpg or propane gas has been found to be less expensive than using a hotplate powered
by an inverter.
for heating household water, solar water heaters seem to be the preferred method.
washing machines are getting more power efficient these days what with the emergence of top loaders so not much
issues running them off inverters (i run my thermocool washing machine on my inverter on a routine basis
without any problems)
microwaves too present a unique twist. although they seem to draw so much instantaneous power, but because
they are almost always run for brief spells in the entire day, inverters seem to love them.

I fully agree.
(reg. washing machines, it also depends on the temperature, if you launder with 30°C or 80°C.)
Of course, all depends on the size or depth of your pocket.
Many people work hard to buy big cars, but some prefer a big solar array on their roof instead. It's a question of priority.

The objective of installing a digital energy meter was to identify the right size of inverter and battery capacity for this household.
In this case 2kVA and 7 kWh battery cap @ DoD 50%. The good effect: it opens your eyes, and you start changing your behavior according to the sun.

efuro:
Respect to all Gurus in the house

you have a new baby to solar family

I have fallen in love with SOLAR WIFE

and have drained my account to have just a piece of just 2 TATA panels rated @150w from N110k Algbenga Solar Tech. and
2 100A Genus Battery @ N120k

Has any Guru used TATA Polycystaline panels before? I hope they are good.
am eager to go green when i save a bit more.

Welcome to the 'Club'!

bodejohn:
I am going completely off grid (Nepa abi na Phcn switched off) till the end of 2015.
I want to prove to madam that "I have fully delivered my promise on power"...LOL

The Count up Started on February 15th, 15 days downed already...

Who is joining me?

Memories...

Braaad:
@Kiekie1 Thank you for the prompt delivery of the solar panels, mounting rack and accessories...... I got them all in one piece down here in Akwa Ibom. You even sent the pieces that was left out in our last transaction . that shows you are really an honest man. If anyone needs panels and accessories delivered to him fast ...meet kiekie1. He delivers fast.

Upload of my installation will be coming soon

Hello Sir, I am still waiting for the installation pictures ooo

iLoveTheSun:

Welcome to the 'Club'!

Nice One Bros!
This Solar Forum seems to have
the cream of the New Nigerians we hope for.
No case of 419, decent and innovative minds

Thanks to All Members of the Forum

Dollar will not disappoint us all

kiekie1:


Hello Sir, I am still waiting for the installation pictures ooo

it will be pleasant to see them

iLoveTheSun:
Good morning,

I fully agree.
(reg. washing machines, it also depends on the temperature, if you launder with 30°C or 80°C.)
Of course, all depends on the size or depth of your pocket.
Many people work hard to buy big cars, but some prefer a big solar array on their roof instead. It's a question of priority.

iLoveTheSun,
the bolded couldn't be more true. and, personally, that was the motivation behind my solar initiative from day one.
i always thought to myself, "if i can spend 3 million and above to buy a car that takes me from point a to point b
and on a good day i only get to spend at most 1 hour, two hours or even three hours in that car, why then shouldn't
i spend an equivalent amount to make my home comfortable to live in? a house i spend over eight to twelve hours
in everyday?" for me, it just didn't make sense riding a car fitted with ac and being comfortable for one hour only to
arrive home, park that same car and you enter into a house with no lights, no fan, waiting for when phcn will restore
public power or on the alternative going to struggle with a fuel guzzling generator when you could have all this with
the flick of a switch.
so, suddenly solar began to make more sense to me, regardless of the amount i was spending to put those 40 panels
on my roof.

zeestone99,
i sent you a mail from my yahoo mailbox.
kindly reply asap. thanks.

i love your drive and your reason. 40 panels? you go dey sell to ur neighbors o!
Anyway, i have a modest system of 750W but want to increase to 1000W however even with this 750W with mains supply, i have not on gen for more than 6 months...last time i tried to put on the gen to warm it before it forgets to work, it refused to start and the process of trying, the chord snapped, ofcourse the key no longer work cos the kickstarter battery is dead from lack of usage.
Still in someone's house house with little space but i already budgeted like 1.5M when i fix ma crib
i love this forum.

GeorgeD1:


iLoveTheSun,
the bolded couldn't be more true. and, personally, that was the motivation behind my solar initiative from day one.
i always thought to myself, "if i can spend 3 million and above to buy a car that takes me from point a to point b
and on a good day i only get to spend at most 1 hour, two hours or even three hours in that car, why then shouldn't
i spend an equivalent amount to make my home comfortable to live in? a house i spend over eight to twelve hours
in everyday?" for me, it just didn't make sense riding a car fitted with ac and being comfortable for one hour only to
arrive home, park that same car and you enter into a house with no lights, no fan, waiting for when phcn will restore
public power or on the alternative going to struggle with a fuel guzzling generator when you could have all this with
the flick of a switch.
so, suddenly solar began to make more sense to me, regardless of the amount i was spending to put those 40 panels
on my roof.