Mods, I don't know the right thread to post this. If romance section isn't the right thread, you can move it to the appropriate section.


Moved into a new apartment and realized the light isn't too good. Average of 6 to 10 hours per day and sometimes, there won't be light for like 3 days on a stretch.

I do freelance, love watching movies, I have a small fridge which serves me cold water, I need fan to cushion the heat. This implies that I need a constant light and with the epileptic light situation around, I felt I needed to do something.


My first thought was to get a generator. Average 1kva generator cost 80- 100k. I will have to be buying fuel, buying oil and also servicing the generator regularly.

I almost bought a new generator from jumia during the black Friday sales until I heard the rumors that fuel will likely to be sold for 320/ litre in 2022, I had to abort the generator plan and seek for alternative.


Then the thought of inverter came in. To figure out the specific watt to purchase, I first analyze the power rating of all my electronics.

1 dc led TV - 12v 3A which equals 36watt,
1 gotv - 12v 1A which equals 12wat,
1 dc standing fan in living room of 12v 2A which equals 24watt,
My laptop of 18v 2.3A which equals 41.4 watt,
1 table top fridge of 45watt,
6 energy saving bulbs of 5w each in entire apartment (bedroom, living room, toilet, kitchen, corridors, which equals 30watt
Phone chargers of 5v 2A which equals 10w.
1 wall fan in the bedroom of 45w

When I summed all the power ratings, I arrived at 243.4 watt in total.


So with miscellaneous appliances like woofer and the likes. I concluded And settled for 500w inverter.

I looked around online on jumia, jiji and konga for ranges of 500watt inverters and chargers. After a rigorous check and comparison, I settled for this (picture attached) for 35k.

It is a 2 -in-1 package.( Solar charger / controller + 800va - 500w inverter). So no need for a separate solar controller

Now it's time to get battery.

Considering the poor power supply in the area, I needed a battery that will serve me longer hours off grid when there is no nepa light. After searching and researching. I settled for this battery attached below (180ah/12v) for 85,000 naira

The next challenge is how to charge the battery.
I have two options, charge with light or with sun.

I thought about it. To charge with light, It will add to the consuming units. And also, the light isn't even stable. Here is sun on the other hand, completely free from baba God and it shines every single day.

I decided to opt for the green and free route, solar energy.

I bought the solar panel (150w mono) attached for 30k

Nice one. You did well

Now it's time to run the connection.
The guy I got the inverter from charged me 10k for installation. I told him I will get back to him.


On getting home, I opened the battery, the inverter and the panel. They all came with a manual

The manual was easy to understand and the summary of the installation is "connect positive to positive and connect negative to negative". "Red to red and black to black".

Na so I remove my cloth, pick my screw driver and run the connection as instructed in the manuals and violla, light is here

That's good, you should have bought original battery brand and not gbm. But you can still manage it

Total cost:

Battery : 85k
Solar panel : 30k
Inverter : 35k

Total: 150,000 naira.

I bought wires 2k

Making 152,000.

My observations so far
It takes 5 to 8 hours of sunshine to charge the battery from 0 to 100% depending on the sunlight intensity.

And guess what guys. When all the house load are on it, it lasted me up to 8 hours to use up a single charge. But when I put of the fridge, the 45watt fan and when my laptop isn't in use, it takes more than 12 hours and that's exactly what I needed.

Updated: the best time I get maximum value is between 12noon and 3pm. During this time, the inverter supplies power and charges at same time. By the time its getting close to 5pm, the charging reduces and the indicator drops to 80% but will still be charging at low rate. This means I can power it on from 12 noon to 4-5pm and the battery indicator only drops to 80%.

From that time till late night around 10-11pm, it drops to 60% and I switch it off till next day cos we always have light at nights

Burning 8 to 12 hours on petrol daily will send me back to my village.


Thanks for coming to my Ted talk

Thanks for the info

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U did well boss !!!!!

Very nice and so innovative of you. I'm quite envious of you .... Enjoy your new light

Brotherly, Abeg what's your location? Could you help with same installation for a fee?

I'm quite impressed. I wish I had the patience to DIY. I wish more people will learn to DIY. Fix cars, do their plumbing etc.
We have too many inexperienced workmen charging too much even whilst swindling you when buying parts. Kudos!

Your DIY mentality is commendable.
I am sure it wasn't as simple as red to red or black to black but you still nailed it.

The wiring can be neater.
I suppose you ran a continuity test on the whole system and you separated your heavy load via wiring as well. You don't want a visitor to mistakenly plug a 2500w steam iron into your unit.

Oh. I see there is a socket. Does this mean an extension is sending power to your appliances?

I recently did a 3kva 24v PSW Beaver, 2x 200ah 12v Gel Ritar , 2x 300w mono installation.

I had to pay the optional installation fee despite my strong background in electricals. Its just easier to pay experts these days.

Interesting!!

lasthero:
Mods, I don't know the right thread to post this. If romance section isn't the right thread, you can move it to the appropriate section.


Moved into a new apartment and realized the light isn't too good. Average of 6 to 10 hours per day and sometimes, there won't be light for like 3 days on a stretch.

I do freelance, love watching movies, I have a small fridge which serves me cold water, I need fan to cushion the heat. This implies that I need a constant light and with the epileptic light situation around, I felt I needed to do something.


My first thought was to get a generator. Average 1kva generator cost 80- 100k. I will have to be buying fuel, buying oil and also servicing the generator regularly.

I almost bought a new generator from jumia during the black Friday sales until I heard the rumors that fuel will likely to be sold for 320/ litre in 2022, I had to abort the generator plan and seek for alternative.


Then the thought of inverter came in. To figure out the specific watt to purchase, I first analyze the power rating of all my electronics.

1 dc led TV - 12v 3A which equals 36watt,
1 gotv - 12v 1A which equals 12wat,
1 dc standing fan in living room of 12v 2A which equals 24watt,
My laptop of 18v 2.3A which equals 41.4 watt,
1 table top fridge of 45watt,
6 energy saving bulbs of 5w each in entire apartment (bedroom, living room, toilet, kitchen, corridors, which equals 30watt
Phone chargers of 5v 2A which equals 10w.
1 wall fan in the bedroom of 45w

When I summed all the power ratings, I arrived at 243.4 watt in total.


So with miscellaneous appliances like woofer and the likes. I concluded And settled for 500w inverter.

Share your contact

Ovaltine:
Your DIY mentality is commendable.
I am sure it wasn't as simple as red to red or black to black but you still nailed it.

The wiring can be neater.
I suppose you ran a continuity test on the whole system and you separated your heavy load via wiring as well. You don't want a visitor to mistakenly plug a 2500w steam iron into your unit.

Oh. I see there is a socket. Does this mean an extension is sending power to your appliances?

I recently did a 3kva 24v PSW Beaver, 2x 200ah 12v Gel Ritar , 2x 300w mono installation.

I had to pay the optional installation fee despite my strong background in electricals. Its just easier to pay experts these days.

You are right about the wiring been neater.

The socket is a change over plug just like the one we see in barbers shop. I run main light to a socket that serves as nepa source and also have the inverter socket for inverter plug.


The only heavy load I have is a table top fridge which is energy savings (45w).

As for the visitors , I hardly have any. Just a single guy living alone and my interaction with neighbors ends at the compound.

The charger and inverter are all in one as shown in the picture and not separate solar charger and separate inverter as obtainable in most houses, so it was easy for me to connect. The only challenging part of the process is placing the panel on the roof which I was able to do with the help of ladder and rope.

madampresident:
Brotherly, Abeg what's your location? Could you help with same installation for a fee?

Ikorodu, Lagos

guy man I just dey here dey give you holy jealousy. You chose the best option economic wise

lasthero:

The only heavy load I have is a table top fridge which is energy savings (45w).

Interesting, my fridge takes stable 100w but need about 800w starting power which lasts for less than a second. My 5kva gen will make noise for a second or two anytime I plug the fridge.

I have been sceptical about plugging my fridge on the unit despite my research and the fact that it is a power-saving unit as well.
I use less than 25% capacity of the inverter during the day, so there is enough room for the surge requirement.

Fridge defrosting is the only reason I put on the gen. What do you say?

Specs are:
Rating: 252KWh/annum
Operating current: 0.8A
Total input power: 100w
Lamp power: 10w
Frequency: 50hz
Voltage: 220-240v

lasthero:
Now it's time to run the connection.
The guy I got the inverter from charged me 10k for installation. I told him I will get back to him.


On getting home, I opened the battery, the inverter and the panel. They all came with a manual

The manual was easy to understand and the summary of the installation is "connect positive to positive and connect negative to negative". "Red to red and black to black".

Na so I remove my cloth, pick my screw driver and run the connection as instructed in the manuals and violla, light is here

Good job and highly commendable. However, it seems like you didn’t get a charge controller for the solar panel. Connecting an MPPT charge controller between the solar panel and battery will regulate the rate of power the solar panel sends to your battery for charging. This will, in turn, help to improve the battery’s longevity.

You can consider getting the MPPT charge controller anytime you have some spare cash. Kudos for a job well done.

Ericdeezy:


Good job and highly commendable. However, it seems like you didn’t get a charge controller for the solar panel. Connecting an MPPT charge controller between the solar panel and battery will regulate the rate of power the solar panel sends to your battery for charging. This will, in turn, help to improve the battery’s longevity.

You can consider getting the MPPT charge controller anytime you have some spare cash. Kudos for a job well done.

Thanks for the input.
The inverter is an all in one (solar charger/controller + 800va 500watt inverter). Which means it charges the battery through the solar panel and also invert the output from 12v to Ac/DC.

From the picture attached, in the first image, the upper wire connects the solar pv, while the bottom wire connects to the battery.


The charging indicator in the first image

lasthero:
I looked around online on jumia, jiji and konga for ranges of 500watt inverters and chargers. After a rigorous check and comparison, I settled for this (picture attached) for 35k.

Nice one bro. I'm a bit of a handyman too but this seems a bit extreme for me. I'm thinking about getting a 1500 Watt home inverter as I no fit de house w/o Ac

So in my case, like how much do you think I should budget for both inverter, solar panels and batteries? Workmanship fee excluded?

I can see 1.5kva inverters online ranging from 13k to 20k for solar inverters and put to 80 - 200k for normal ones. Which is better?

I can see chargers online for 9k - 12k.
And finally, how many Watt solar panel should I buy?

Alphamentips:


Nice one bro. I'm a bit of a handyman too but this seems a bit extreme for me. I'm thinking about getting a 1500 Watt home inverter as I no fit de house w/o Ac

So in my case, like how much do you think I should budget for both inverter, solar panels and batteries? Workmanship fee excluded?

I can see 1.5kva inverters online ranging from 13k to 20k for solar inverters and put to 80 - 200k for normal ones. Which is better?

I can see chargers online for 9k - 12k.
And finally, how many Watt solar panel should I buy?

From what I learnt online, pure sine wave inverters are the best (according to https://www.genusinnovation.com/blogs/why-you-should-buy-sinewave-inverter). I guess that's why they are costlier than regular inverters. Since you will be Using Air condition, I will recommend battery of 200ah and above. You can get a dual 150ah battery that will supply 24v. For solar panel, 200w and above is recommended. You can also get dual 150mono panel.

If I may advice, first estimate the total power rating of what you want to power with the inverter, that was the first thing I did.

So apart from AC, what other appliances do you want to power?, what are their power ratings?, what is the power rating of the AC?

lasthero:
Now it's time to run the connection.
The guy I got the inverter from charged me 10k for installation. I told him I will get back to him.


On getting home, I opened the battery, the inverter and the panel. They all came with a manual

The manual was easy to understand and the summary of the installation is "connect positive to positive and connect negative to negative". "Red to red and black to black".

Na so I remove my cloth, pick my screw driver and run the connection as instructed in the manuals and violla, light is here

is your setup earth?

lasthero:
Total cost:

Battery : 85k
Solar panel : 30k
Inverter : 35k

Total: 150,000 naira.

I bought wires 2k

Making 152,000.

My observations so far
It takes 5 to 8 hours of sunshine to charge the battery from 0 to 100% depending on the sunlight intensity.

And guess what guys. When all the house load are on it, it lasted me up to 8 hours to use up a single charge. But when I put of the fridge, the 45watt fan and when my laptop isn't in use, it takes more than 12 hours and that's exactly what I needed.

Burning 8 to 12 hours on petrol daily will send me back to my village.


Thanks for coming to my Ted talk

I'm sorry wat battery did u get that is 85k

Nice pls drop your contact

Nice

drizzypat:
I'm sorry wat battery did u get that is 85k

Gbm gel battery, 180ah/12v

Impressive and insightful. I will visit this thread when I'm ready.

Nice