₦airaland Forum

netotse:
My Chairmen...maximum hailings,

I need a bit of advice, I am thinking of getting an inverter in the next couple of weeks, something in the range of 3-4KW, solar panels might come later.

I'm worried about the inability of most of the chargers in the market to charge the batteries properly(float charge vs bulk charge),
apart from the high end inverters, is there any other solution anyone can recommend?

Does it make sense to connect a charge controller (without the solar panels) just to make sure the inverter batteries are charged properly?
I will want to get at least 400AH of power and it would be a waste if the inverter can't charge the batteries properly.

I had similar in mind when search for an inverter. I wanted something capable of intelligent charge without draining my pocket. In the end I settled for the su-kam falcon+ which is capable of different state of charge (They called it fuzzy charging) it also came with a temperature sensor for ATC (automatic tempreture compensation)

Falcon + like all Su-Kam's products, uses DT-6S Six Stage Charging technology for efficient charging and longer battery life. Su-Kam is the only company in the world to use this advanced charging technology in its inverters
Desulphation: This stage breaks down the release of buildup of sulphate
Soft start Charging: The vitals of battery are checked and gives a low voltage, low current charge to charge the battery 15-20%
Bulk Charging: Here, maximum charge is given to the battery and battery is charged 80%
Absorption: This stage takes the battery's charge to 100 percent by slowing down the charging
Equalization: Then comes the equalization stage where high voltage is given to shake the electrolyte of the battery and make the electrolyte more efficient for charging to make sure the battery can hold the charge
Float: Here, the battery is 100% charged and the charge is kept constant and maintained for a long period of time.

I got it for 33k (1050VA) For your use case you might want to look at their Fusion series which should have the capacity you seek.

JUO:
I saw this and decided to share http://solarelectricityhandbook.com/solar-angle-calculator.html
does this mean solar panel shouldn't be permanent? ( installation)

Ideally a solar panel should not be static, It should be adjusted every month to keep it aligned with the shift in the sunrise sunset path. It is known that the sun rises from the east and sets in the west. However it does this in a 180 degree arc and if you are in the northern hemisphere (like Nigeria) you panels should be south facing (especially if it is a fixed panel without sun tracking capabilities). Now the tilt of the panel will depend on the path the sun takes when going from east to west. This path changes every month requiring that the tilt of a panel be adjusted to the full path. http://solarelectricityhandbook.com/solar-angle-calculator.html helps to calculate the required tilt of a panel based on your location month over month for optimum yield. In my case, since I do not have a month whose tilt can be adjusted month over month. I used the site to calculate the optimum tilt angle for a fixed non adjustable solar mount. For me in Abuja that was 81 degree. You can find out which one is applicable to your location.

bigrovar:
What I have:
CC, Breakers, Panels,Inverter, Cables.

What am expecting:

Ordered 10 mc4 connectors from Aliexpress, a Killawatt meter, an MC4 Crimping tool and MC4 disconnect wrench.

I hope to start the setup and installation once the tools arrive.

So I have recieved all the above stated items (with the exception of the MC4 disconnect wrench) and am about to start the installation phase of the project (most likely this weekend. The only thing left is the wiring. I hope to go with an electrician friend to the electrical shop but would I appreciate advise on which type of cables / wires is recommended. (I know it has to be 100% copper wire) but generally would like to know if there is any model or brand that can be recommended as ideal for use with solar/interter/battery setup. some of the wires would be exposed to the elements (I though I intend to have them inside of pvc pipes) especially the ones connected to the PVs so kindly put that in mind when making this recommendation. Thanks in advance.

EDIT:

I forgot to add.. I would require to size of cables.. one is 6mm which would run for about 60ft from PV to cc the second would be 10mm wire from cc to battery about 20ft of those

AkoEja:
I thought luminous brand is not great in battery tech though they make good inverters

Well from all I have read, Su-kam makes better inverters compared to Luminous, Most of their 12v Inverters in NG market are not Pure sinewave, and Su-kam are the only on with an Automatic Temperature Control module in their low end sub 1.5kva 12v inverters.. which is also capable of 6 stage charging. However when it comes to Batteries Luminous has the upper hand.. At least their Tubular Battery uses HADI technology in casting and most of their SMF batteries are AGM not the sealed wet cell batteries sold by Su-kam as SMF.

It should however be noted that both Su-kam and Luminous are in the low mid range end of the Inverter and batteries business. When compared to the big boys like Trojan, USB, Victron, Outback etc.

AkoEja:
Thanks for your comments. .really useful
The freezer is made by Chigo and it says 110 watts on the label and the fridge is a small one..70 watts.
The TV is LG LED (42 LA620V) 42 inches and it says 110 watts on it. The fans are two standing fans 45 watt's each on the label. I am going to replace them with two Lontor rechargeable fans so that the inverter is not used at night....we use the rechargeable fan batteries only (lasts 12 hours at low setting). The Lontor fans say 20 watts at low speed.
All the bulbs are low energy 7-9 watts LED bulbs ( 5 of them with usually just 2 or 3 on at once)
As advised. .will invest in a watt meter. I will also get timers for the fridge and freezer with freezer on for like 3 hours during the day when it's sunny and the fridge also 3 hours...but not at the same time. TV will only be used when we have excess power and fridge and freezer are not on.
Where do I get tubular batteries.. and are they maintenance free? I'll answer this.....tubular batteries are low maintenance and last longer than twice that of ordinary deep cycle batteries. ..4-5 years or longer versus 3 years

I think you have it all figured out then. From all indications your estimation for the appliances should be between +-10% actual wattage which is fair. I will look into the Chigo freezer sha.. 110w is quite interesting. You TV would use considerably less watt that you are estimating though.. My guess would be around 60w and low if you select eco mode.. led tv consume way less. But setting a higher figure won't hurt.

I intend to go for Luminous Tubular Batteries.. because it is the only one made using the HADI casting which allows the battery to be more Corrosion resistant, Resistance to High temperatures, Low self-discharge, Resistance to abuse, Lightning fast Recharge.. You can also get USBatteries and Trojan who are also reputable brands but cost a bit higher

AkoEja:
Thanks, I think your explanation is very clear enough. The 450 watts is the total of all the watts for my appliances, as follows:
TV ..110, Fridge and freezer ..200W, 2 fans and lights ..140 watts making 450 watts for all . I just assumed I will run all for 7 hours to get a rough calculation. Obviously won't switch all on at the same time.

This means my total watt hour is 3150 watt hours and my total amp hour is 3150/12 = 290AH(12 volts battery-two 12 volts batteries in parallel connection ). My total watts to run for 7 hours is 450 x 7 = 3150 and I will need 3150/4.5 = 700 watts solar panels

But are two 12 volts batteries in parallel rated at 200AH each, equal to 400AH together?

How did you get the figures for the Fridge and Freezers? They seem very conservative IMHO. Did you get the figures from the equipment label or u used a watt meter? If it was just an estimate then you might want to review them up a bit to like 300 - 350w but it would be best to get a watt meter which would give a more acurate reading. Also it might be wise to get a programmable timer to set when the frige and freezer can come on.. Maybe at around 10-12 noon when everyone should be at work. 2 hours should be sufficient for an efficient freezer to ensure the soup dont go bad. Remember this is worst case (NEPA went awol transformer blew up) scenerio. Also note that both require an starting power of (sometimes ) x 3 of their rated input.

If you TV is LEd what is the size? Unless it is somewhere in the range of 50ish and or was bought 4 hours back.. The 110watt might be a bit high.. Most new led TV's are very efficient.. Most 32 led TV run within the 40-50w range.. Some even go lower.
For the fan ceiling or circulation.. Put 88w each to be safe.. And also ensure you use energy efficient light bulb.. It would help u alot. I got 12 8w Philip energy efficient bulbs from Jumia last year. All my about 11 bulb run for 88w.

Regarding batteries. I would advise you avoid the common SMF deep circle batteries. Unless you want to keep your dod at 50% even that would only guarantee you like 300 circles .. Get a tubular battery which can guarantee close to 1200 circle at 80% dod.

My humble submission

AkoEja:
Teslas battery tech is based on lithium ion battery tech- the type used in laptop. I am surprised there are not many manufacturers of similar large batteries. Tesla is like the iPhone of renewable energy packaging an old technology in a sexy form and hyping it's capability and price beyond what it is. The 10kwh battery is priced at $3500 in America which is rather steep for a relatively small battery by renewable energy standards

Cost of production is very very high which discourages making them in larger capacity. From what I read, the components have to be built and assembled across different countries from US, China, Japan and Back to US before you get a finished product. What Tesla is trying to do is to build a Giga Factory which would allow every aspect of manufacturing to take place under one roof and hence bring down the cost. Not many companies have the financial muscle to pull this off https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigafactory_1 It would cost them $5billion. Once complete it is estimated to reduce cost of making Lithium powered batteries by 30%.

Battery technology is currently the bottle neck and what is holding back lots of things. If this can be cracked we would be experiencing a complete revolution which would cut across all sectors.

Expertt:
Happy new year Gurus in the house. I stumbled upon this solar inverter (MUST PV18-4K/5K) and I would like to know if any body has used it. and according to the manufacturer Mustpower http://www.mustpower.com/pv1800-5kva-off-grid-solar-inverter-application/ you can parallel up to 4 units. I want to power a load of up to 3kilowatts 24/7 so that's why I am considering this unit. Money is actually a constraint so I am thinking of expanding by adding additional units over time. Is there any disadvantage in parallel inverter?. What is the estimate of batteries and panels that will power this 3kilowatt load, note the load includes heaters, water pumps, freezers. lights etc.

Solar inverters was one of the things I considered when planning my project. In fact it was what first draw me to starting the project. I wanted something simple easy and off the shelve. I considered Su-kam Brainy, MPP And Voltronic. The latter two are Chinese brand and bear a close resemblance to the must power posted. In the end I decided to go with the traditional offgrid setup. The most impressive of the hybrid inverters was the su-kam brainy 1100 which is not available in the Nigerian market. That shit had some smart features like ability to run your house completely off solar if you are producing enough energy and other smart priority settings. But my issue with them all is they all come with PWM CC which limits the type of panels you can use with them. For a simple setup they are very ideal. Although u have to be careful.. Most of this Chinese brand are known to fail after 6 month. The only product which seem to be very popular is Voltronic and their Axpert series which is hugely popular in south africa. And also sold in Nigeria as Ipowerplus by zinox computers.

I approve this message

jazzman2:
Compliments of the season Saipro, please can you shed more light on the LiFePo4 batteries you used: specifications, vendor and price (if you allow)? Thanks

How much is trimetric plus shunt

Anyone here has experience with this DC rechargeable fans some even have solar panel options. Inam looking to pick up one of those in anticipation of the heat season. I won't want to run a fan off on my small offgrid.

omotech:
Thank you for your response, please can you tell me how much you buy it from eBay don't be offended by my question

I got 8w Philips energy efficient bulbs off Jumia. You can find low powered led bulbs on both Jumia and Konga.

abunafiu:
A brilliant analysis. I personally appreciate the way you explained every bit in ur post. You have done nothing wrong sir. You have just demonstrated that one can start a solar power sytem even with a relatively small budget. I humbly request you come back with results so that many other sideline readers can equally benefit.
Being in a rented apartment is not a barrier at all.
waiting for ur results sir. Meanwhile, permit me to share ur story on my facebook page.

Thanks. You have my permission. I am expecting the items to arrive by month end (usual time for aliexpress ) so hopefully by then. I will definitely come back here with updates

Happy new year all the Pro and DIY gurus in the house. I have been following this thread from the sidelines for a very long time now while I put together my first renewable energy system.

I have very little electrical background coming mostly from IT. The idea is to have a very small offgrid system which will power essential appliances in my house. Basically Home Entertainment system and Lights. I knew for a long time that my future would be renewable and to prepare for this, I gradually installed energy efficient 8w philips bulbs in my house. I also have a 43inch LED tv, a 1100watt 5.1 sound system, a laptop acting as a media center, and a dstv satellite reciever. From my estimate my total load for this system would be Max 600w. I have 90% of the component I require for this project which I intend to DIY with an electrician friend who will assist with grounding and other areas. I would appreciate if all the gurus can looking into my plan and point out areas I can makde improvements etc

Design:

PV
I have 2 240w polycrystalline panels with the following specs
VMP=30.1
IMP=7.78

I intend to have the panels mounted on the ground. Reason for ground mounting are as follow:
* South facing part of my roof is completely shaded by 15:00 till sun set. (This is pretty much the main reason)
* Since it is a rented apartment, not comfortable with tempering with the roof
*Easy access to panels to carry out cleaning (Abuja can be very dusty) and ease of removal in case I leave the premise
* Phobia for height

Wiring, Distance and Losses
The estimated length of wire which would be required to the power from PV to CC should be about 60feet. Hence I intend to connect the panels in series to reduce resistance and allow me use a 6mm cable with estimated loss of 3-5% (depending on the weather, position of the sun etc). I plan to use 10mm between the controllers and the batteries and batteries and inverter.

Charge controller
3215RN Epsolar MPPT rated at 30A

Batteries:
2 200AH SMF Sukam (I know I know - But it is what I could afford) Deep cycle batteries, connected in parallel

Inverter
12v Sukam 1050v falcon plus inverter: would of loved to use something more industry standard but had to keep the setup within my budget. The falcon plus seem to be the best option availble to me (from all the low end inverter models out there) and here is why. It has built in temperature sensor for ATC and a SMPS for power factor correction and does the "6 stage charge" at least according to this review http://upsinverterinfo.com/su-kam-falcon-plus-inverter-unbiased-indepth-review.html It also could work in low current between 90v -240v. Anyway based on my budget it was what I could afford.

Charge current = 14A

Protection and Safety:

I put a 10A Cbi vdc breaker between PV and CC, a 40A Cbi vdc breaker between CC and Battery, and a 63 vdc Cbi Breaker between Inverter and Battery.

I also intend to put a 15A AC breaker between Grid and Inverter and a 20A AC breaker between Inverter and Load.

I also intend to ground all the equipment from the panel frames to the panel, cc and inverter.

Infuture and close to raining season I hope to get a thunder arrestor

I intend to have all the load the inverter would be powering to terminate to a separate DB from the main house DB. This is meant to reduce issues of overloading the Inverter since only the load to be powered by the Inverter will be terminated to the inverter nothing more.

Run time: I intend for the backup time for the system to be 6 hours. My max load is 450w.. lets say less than 500w * 6 = 3000 / 12 = 250ah.
Because I have a battery bank of 400ah. I hope to ensure I don't pass the 62.7 state of discharge.

considering that I will not be running all the loads at the same time. I expect the state of discharge threshold to be close to the 50% mark.

When am out during the day, I might consider running the freezer with a timer based plug and set it to run between 12-14:00 depending on the weather.

What I have:
CC, Breakers, Panels,Inverter, Cables.

What am expecting:

Ordered 10 mc4 connectors from Aliexpress, a Killawatt meter, an MC4 Crimping tool and MC4 disconnect wrench.

I hope to start the setup and installation once the tools arrive.

There is pretty much my solar plan. I would appreciate if all the gurus look through and point out mistakes and suggestions.

I have attached a schematics of the project.

Hi guys, putting together a small solar setup for my house to handle basic lightings and stuff. I was wondering if anyone knows where I can get a DC circuit breaker.. it is the only component I am yet to find.

Kia Rio is very good budget car. It has good fuel economy, a decent suspension system and the body is quite rugged. U didn't state the year of the car u have in mind. But I have a friends who uses the 2002 and the 2010 models respectively and both cars are running fine no issues. The only thing is u have to always be diligent when it comes to maintenance.

The latest model uses the Kia Gama engine which is one of the best auto engines out there in terms of reliability performance and fuel efficiency. It is what pushing my Hyundai elantra and I get about 33Mpg (mixed driving) and as high as 39mpg highway..

The cons for the car are: small engine means u don't get much power. The engine is usually 1.4 to 1.6 .. U won't be winning any road race any time.

Also toks part especially the engine can be very expensive although the original new parts are plentiful. Rio is a very good car u will enjoy it if you get one

Its physics.. the bigger the engine of your car the more fuel it will consumes. Hence it is generally advised to go for small engine cars if fuel efficiency is high on your list. I generally will recommend a 1.6 1.8 liter car. This (all things equal) will guarrantee you at least 27-35MPG depending on how you drive. Since moving to the outskirt of town, I sold my 2.3 liter car for a 1.8 liter one and my fual consumption average rose from 22MPG / 11 Liters/ 100KM to 34 mpg or 6.8L / 100km.

Lots of things factor into the fuel efficiency of a car but for a start. Get a car which with a small engine and work it out from there.

makzeze:
are u serious?

For real.

After having my rackspace monthly service payment declined several times. I decided to call GTBank and was informed that (about an hour ago) they received a directive from CBN that card services has been reduced from 3 million naira daily to $300.. I wonder who made this rule never thought of the thousands who use online services (lots of businesses) which require monthly payment sometimes as high as $1000.. this is just sad.

Lexusgs430:
All this grammar for high fuel consumption matter? OP go don almost suffer from fuel overhang after reading this Bible.

This is why standard of education in Nigeria needs to improve

insideout:
Please all car gurus in the house i need your help. I am new to nairaland. It was recommended to me by a friend. My altima 2008 2.5s guzzles fuel compared to what i read online. The trip computer shows 19.2mpg on city and 20.8 or 21mpg for hwy. A full tank shows a range of 320 miles against to 522 miles i read on samarins.com. The altima 2008 should be 23mpg city and 31 mpg hwy. I need help.

Before you give yourself sleepless nights, I would advice u to just ignore MPG figures u see online. They don't apply here. Calculating mpg tho one of the most objective means of accessing fuel consumption, it can be very tricky to calculate.

First off your mpg is probably lower than your computer is telling you. Most car dashboard mpg calculation is always overtly optimistic.. To get near accurate figures you need to calculate your mpg by hand/manually.

Secondly: MPG u see online don't apply here (I believe you reside in Nigeria) over there (western and developed countries whose mpg u mostly see online ) they have good smooth roads .. Most roads are tarred and paved allowing for the car to have less resistance .. Most of their cities don't experience the type of grinding traffic experienced here in major Nigerian cities .. All this goes to show that what is considered city driving in France is not same in Nigeria.. In the west city driving mostly means stop (traffic light stop) and go traffic .. Anything that causes u to apply break and downshift every km or half is considered city. Here city means hours on traffic grid lock.. Driving through pot holes and unpaved roads that causes much drag and resistance to ur car resulting in more fuel consumption..

So you see all city driving are not equal.. Even in Nigeria , city driving in Abuja is not city driving in Lagos.

Thirdly driving patterns matters alot. How u drive ur car seriously affects ur milage. Whenever I have someone drive my car. My fuel consumption goes through the roof. Because most Nigerians drive like their off to emergency unit of an hospital.. U see people break hard and and rev the car from gear one before shifting.. All this causes ur car to use fuel. Try shifting early and applying smart lane shifting instead of unnecessarily applying breaks.. Try cruising when you can to allow the potential energy of ur car move it before u apply gas... Generally don't be hard on ur gas. All this means ur driving won't be the fastest but will also save u considerable amount of fuel.

Lastly you might want to do a little tune up.. Start with ur air filter u would be surprised how much MPG u would lose to a clugged dirty air filter.. Dust it or get a new one if it has not been changed before

Check your plugs and ensure you are using the right one for your car. Many in Nigeria don't even know about spark plug specified for their car. Information is available online. Getting a spark meant for your car means it is well gapped to fit your engine. It would be an added advantage to have a torque wrench to ensure plugs are installed to the torque setting of car manufactuer (good luck finding a torque wrench in Nigeria)

You might also want to clean ur mass airflow meter. Those things gather dust over time which affects their ability to read accurating the amount of air entering ur engine which will affect your mixture ratio and your milage. I know a guy on NL who sells maf cleaners ( not available in Nigeria last time I searched) If you can't get one.. It is said methylated spirits can also work (never tried it before) just don't use carburetor cleaner.. that can damage the oring of ur MAF.
Ensure your tires are inflated to specs and not over or under.. U can see the specified tire pressure for your car from around the drivers door.. Below it (from the inside) if I are using a custom rim ensure it meets the car manufactuer specifications.

In all I think you car is OK for a 2.5 litre engine. Another reason to ignore online mpg figures is because most are reported by owners with car of smaller engines even tho same model.

That looks like a 3/8 torque wrench.. where did you get this?

Since when did cartalk become an avenue for propagating commercial post?.. Please take this to auto section

All I see here is someone desparete to find a flame where there is no fire. This post among to trolling for attention pure and simple. It is a shame that op choose to ignore the rationale for this decision i.e the disenchantment of the military high command with the situation in the NE and their disconnect with the boots in the ground. There is also the feelings that many of the top mil leaders are in no hurry to end the war due to benefits accruing to them.

Having the command center move to maid (which is relatively safe and free of BH activities) will bring new sense of urgency to the fight against BH. I would have both Service chiefs in close proximity and aid joint operations. High command can make faster better decisions because the routing of information through to abuja will be removed and decisions can be made which reflect situation on the ground. The fear of military base being overran will never be the case because the too ogas will be forced to bring their best to the table.. Drones, Helos, tanks will be readily on ground ... It does not mean every single central command personal will be moved.. And this is not a permanent movement but a temporary short term measure to curb deficiencies in our effort against bh

angels09:
this seems like unbridled greed at work! 700k for a used golf 3 made in 1998!
Haba Op fear God o.... Toks C class w202 is going for 750k! kilode..... na gold be the body?

May 29 things

More Pictures

Mazda 3 Special Edition. 6 CD Loader (Bose 7.1 Surround speakers) Moon roof Custom Alloy Beautiful Interior Well maintained by me (which service history receipt - 5w -30 Mobile 1 synthetic engine -oil) AC, Transmission, Engine and Body in great shape and performance. Fuel economy is great averages 27 MPG City driving. I used the car and maintained it very well. I am selling because I got an official car and would not like to maintain two cars

Mileage is 113,000
Auto Transmission
4 Plugs



Abuja

At that price.. It is going to be available for a very very.. Very very very long time.

ciphoenix:
Personally I discovered I can't shrink my drive beyond 70GB of free space. You could find out what yours is. If you have an unallocated space, you can't extend unless you free up from the other side

Usually thanks to shadow copies and check points usually created by windows to enable roll back.. But which also uses space.. The windows partitioner tool always set a soft limit when trying to shrink a partition to make room for future shadow copies .. This and the horrid fragmentation problems of NTFS is why you are unable to shrink beyond 70G even tho u have more storage.

You can try disabling shadow copies (google it last windows I used was xp and vista can't remember most things and lots have changed since ) and u can also delete created shadow copies (google)

Location and can u post the VIN