₦airaland Forum

pranil:
How many of those installations were inspected by NEMSA- http://www.nemsa.gov.ng/home/index.html?
How many inverter manufacturers can give you certificate that they can follow the grid and distribution code set by NERC - http://www.nercng.org/index.php/component/remository/Codes-Standards-and-Manuals/orderby,4/page,2/?Itemid=0
(Btw Grid code for Solar PV installations is yet in making and not published yet )

In SMA's case they have a software called grid Guard But any changes in Grid Guard require separate authorization -
http://en.sma-sunny.com/en/service-tip-how-to-change-grid-parameters-for-sma-inverters-in-sunny-explorer/

Most of the inverter manufacturers will recommend a separate utility meter to detect feedback power and a islanding relay
In all countries Grid connected inverters must pass separate certification to ensure they do not compromise the grid - https://www.victronenergy.com/transfer-switches/anti-islanding

Since the inverter density is very low in Nigeria you have not seen any incidents yet . Or in big installation proper anti islanding has been applied . Wait till one in every ten households starts putting PV inverters

My Oga Pranil, you are getting it all wrong: Everything we are trying to explain is the use of grid-tie inverters via AC coupling in an OFF-GRID solar system. You are completely isolated from the "national" grid and all the codes and government certifications you are quoting are not applicable here. You create a "micro-grid" within your house with a battery-based bi-directional inverter that tricks the grid-tie inverters to continue to "pump their juice" into your load network. Grid-tie inverters are current sources and will dump 100% of their available power into the micro-grid. Excess energy that is not consumed by the load is routed in an un-controlled manner via the H-bridge bi-directional inverter into the battery bank. Once the battery voltage rises from bulk to the absorption level, regulation is required. You can simply switch off the grid-tie inverter and wait for the battery voltage to drop-off to a pre-determined level and restart the grid-tie or modulate the power coming from the grid-tie to maintain the battery bank at absorption level or divert excess battery or load current into a "dump load" . SMA and other grid-tie inverters like Fronius use frequency shift control (FSC) to modulate the grid-tie power level.The keyword here is : "grid-tie inverters in off-grid solar systems." A simple google search will enlighten you. Thanks.

chris81964:
A grid tied inverter is not illegal in Nigeria. Feeding back to the grid is what is not allowed. You can use a string inverter / grid tied inverter that works in conjunction with your battery inverter. They are called AC coupled systems. All the production is consumed or used the charge your batteries. The Battery inverter has to be able to do frequency shifting for it to work. There are a few people within this forum that do it using SMA Inverters and have yet to kill anyone.

Thank you Chris for the education. Many people dont know what AC coupling with grid-tie systems is. Grid-tie should NOT always be associated with back-feeding to the national grid. It can be used on simulated "local" grids where frequency shift control or load diversion can be employed to control excess power generation and protect the battery bank.

DMerciful:
Chairman,

Read your link very well and be calibrated. Like i said previously, do more research on what a grid means and where to use grid-tie. I have done this research but just for knowledge sharing, a panel with a micro inverter attached converts the panel DC voltage to AC. This AC is transported to the grid-tie inverter. The grid tie powers the house loads and feeds the excess to the grid while when the panel is not generating enuf, collects the deficit from the grid however it is used in a situation where there is constant grid power. the wisdom behind this arrangement is for cost savings as you can sell to the grid as well as not needing backup batteries. If you must have backup batteries then you will need to incorporate offgid inverter. Mind you, you dont need charge controllers in this case. Solar utility companies use the grid tie/micro inverters most especially

Sir, your summation above just shows you don't know much about gridtie nor microinverters. Why would u need a separate standalone gridtie inverter with microinverters? You have already converted DC to AC, so why feed it to another gridtie inverter? Like I said before, do a proper research before publishing on a public forum. Try googling AC coupling, gridtie with battery backup and the info is there for you.

efuro:
with plenty YouTube videos I have watched both of u have valid points. in Nigeria buying sophisicated grid tied inverters in order to roll back NEPA rates on your meter is useless. So the so called grid tie inverters is just to change over to NEPA where conditions are sufficient.

with technology we now have cross over factor whether transformerless or not they're becoming intelligent & more reliable.

Sir, I never implied that the sole aim of using gridtie inverters is to roll back NEPA rates. In fact, I mentioned that grid tie does not necessarily mean sell back to grid. I am trying to highlight the high energy conversion efficiency of using gridtie inverters off grid that are AC coupled to bi-directional inverter chargers if the primary loads are daytime AC loads. Pls don't mid-interprete my words. Thanks

DMerciful:
Kindly recheck these inverters and be specific. Grid tie is grid tie and micro inverter is micro inverter....different

Pls Sir, do some research. You are completely wrong, all microinverters in the market today are gridtie inverters also. Check out this link:
https://www.solar-electric.com/residential/inverters/grid-tie-inverters.html

DMerciful:
Micro inverters are different from grid tie inverters. grid tie inverters are different from offgird inverters. Hybrid inverters are different from standalone inverters. high frequency inverters are different from low freq inverters, transformer inverters are different from transformerless. Lets not mix grid-tie and micro inverters...they are very different

The microinverter I mentioned here is just an example. There are many inverters out there than can AC couple with a bi-directional inverter charger and they all have 1 common identity as grid-tie inverters. The microinverter I mentioned was to emphasize the high overall energy conversion efficiency of AC coupled system if your load is entirely or mostly daytime AC. Grid-tie does not mean grid sell back capability but the ability to synchronise with any grid, micro (local) grid or national grid. The sell back function is only a by-product of the grid tie: whenever there is excess PV generation than is consumed, the national grid can then become the reservoir to dump that excess energy becos someone on that grid is available to use it. In the other case for a local grid or micro-grid: if your local grid network is as large as a small town, like in certain small islands in the Caribbeans, that are 100% solar dependent, the excess energy can be dumped or sold back to the local grid. However if ur micro grid is just your house, then the excess energy must be dealt with properly. If not your battery voltage will continue to rise due to unregulated bi-directional charging by the H-bridge (or bi-directional) inverter-charger, and the batteries will get destroyed at some point. Gridtie inverters are current sources and will continue to drive excess PV energy through your system. At the point where your batteries are full and u have excess PV energy, there must be a mechanism to either shutdown the PV and/or divert the excess energy into a dump load.

DMerciful:
Grid tie is used when there is need to feedback to the grid esp during excess generation. In this arrangement, when there is less generation, the deficit is gotten from the grid while when the is excess generation, the extra is feed to the grid and the person gets credit from the utility company which he can consume later during deficit or paid in some other form.....not applicable to Nigeria but countries like Australia

The keyword here from Barezzi is "microgrid" and not the national grid. The overall efficiency of AC coupled systems, especially when microinverters are used, are in the high 90% and is suitable when you have high daytime AC loads to run.

Barezzi:

Grid-tie to the "AC out" of his bi-directional inverter-charger.
This creates a micro grid that the grid-tie inverter will synchronize with.

This is called "AC Coupling"....thanks Barezzi

ValarDoharis:
Banned by anti bot spam. Here is DMerciful

continuation

Anyways it has 16 cells of 3.7v each connected in series-parallel of 4 x 4 to give 14.8V and a BMS to ensure over discharging is avoided. It has a display with a push button to know the voltage. I connected the display permanently (bypassed the switch internally) to see the voltage at a glance

3.7v per cell is not LifePO4. It's probably LiMnCoO2 or LiCoO2. The cycle life of these cells are less than 500. Pls verify with the seller that you have the right product. LifePo4 should have a nominal cell voltage of 3.2v

kiekie1:
Yes I know BT for areas with high humidity , dehumidifier is available for purchase .. They work real good as I use 1 in my room. I don't run AC always as I save more with Chillers (Dehumidifier optional)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B013IJPTFK/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1488187874&sr=1-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65

Kiekie1, the above product is a humidifier and does not have any "de-humidifier" option. Humidifiers will not work in Nigeria because you will saturate the already humid air with water and raise the dis-comfort level a notch higher.

anidat77:
My people,I just received this panel I ordered through konga.
It looks really strange without the cell terminals in front of the cells.
I don't even want to test it yet.
Please can anyone tell me this is not a fake.
Nairalanders what do you guys think.

Hi anidat77, Konga is just a market platform; please who is the actual seller on Konga that sold you these questionable panels?

earthrealm:
NAAAH, STILL DOESNT ADD UP...THE TROJAN BATTS ARE RATED FOR 15 TO 20YRS, ....and cost abt 16% of the nickel iron batts.
comparing 120k......20yrs ------------------------------ trojans/us batts
700k.........30yrs and above..................... nickel iron
u can see that trojans carry the day, 2ndly i things change, in 30yrs newer and better batts wud hv been produced/developed, look at the 504/505 of the 70;s
anyway to each his own, this is just an academic exercise, i doubt any1 on this thread would go and buy such batts,,,,considering the price

A little point of correction: trojan deep cycle flooded cells are rated to 15 to 20 yrs float service and not for regular cycle service. The best cycle service you can get is from the industrial brands at about 2800 cycles at 50% DOD. Float service is like UPS type application where the battery is cycled a few times in a year.

Nickel iron 2 major drawbacks are: One, excessive gassing during charging, which means you will have to be topping up regularly with special alkaline electrolyte. And two, it has an inherent high internal resistance. This causes voltage sags whenever high current is being drawn from it. The voltage sags can be cushioned with super capacitors connected in parallel to them.

zeal22:
Here in the UK, everyone bears their bills, date or no date, if u like come with your village, OYO

Zeal22, u don already reach UK just now now....?

Gennextech:
ok sir please send me your email address

Hello, am still expecting the spec sheet for your 10kw hybrid inverter. Also include the spec sheets for your 5kw model too. My email is: eexege@gmail.com.

Thanks

Gennextech:
ok sir please send me your email address

You can reach me on: eexege@gmail.com

Thanks

Gennextech:
SOLAR PANELS
canadian solar (rated 2nd in the world) SOLAR PANELS (255W)
68,000
BATTERIES
GEL BATTERIES 76,000
INVERTERS
1KVA/12V(600W MPPT) 91,000
2KVA/24V(600W MPPT) 102,000
2KVA/24V(1500W MPPT) 133,000
3KVA/24V(600W MPPT) 111,000
3KVA/24V(1500W MPPT) 142,000
3KVA/48V(3000W MPPT) 150,000
5KVA/48V(3000W MPPT) PAR-A 208,000
5KVA/48V(3000W MPPT) PAR-B 224,000
10KW/48V(14850W MPPT) 928,000
MC4 CONNECTORS
CC4K (2.5-6.0mm) 500
CC10K (10mm) 650
BA21 1,800
BM21 2,300
BM31 2,700
SOLAR MOUNT
SM RAILS 132" - 3.35m 8,000
SM RAILS 168" - 4.27m 10,000
SM RAILS 204" - 5.28m 12,500
SM RAILS 240" - 6.09m 14,500
end-clamp 350
Mid-clamp 350
L-foot 500
Adjustable tilt leg 5800
Grounding lug 600
Splice bar 750
Grounding clip 400
all our inverters come with inbuilt charge controller , saving cost for you, please feel free to contact for enquiries -08145463278

Hello Gennextech,

Can you please send me the specifications and operating manual for your 10KW/48V(14850W MPPT) hybrid inverter? I couldnt find these info on your website. Thanks

kiekie1:
Yes I strongly recommend monocrystalline solar panels in this brands ; Solar world (German), CSUN (Turkish).. In Chinese brands , I have used , tested and will recommend Yachi/Yarsun , Perlight panels .. Joy & yingli panels are also good if you don't mind .. Please feel free to call me on any of your choice as some are out of stock for now. I also have professional solar roof mounts for sale .. Thanks

Hello Kiekie, which polycrystalline panel models do you recommend and their price range / availability? Regards

[quote author=odikimi post=44962512]It beats my imagination how you can't read a simple write up as this one.
Read the thread again and see if the reason they call for Umar to hands off the matter has to do with Supreme Court. Supreme Court for your information never ruled on "Fair Hearing " on the part of the corrupt Umar.
Please learn how to separate emotions from reasoning.
The issue here once agai is that, Umar has shown tenets of Partiality. The general position of the law is that, no matter how stupid a motion is, a judge is bound to take it but the corrupt Judge Umar was caught barking like a ....



So you can quickly judge Umar as "showing tenets of partiality" based on his body language; Yet you cry of fair hearing bla bla bla.

Only in Naija, when someone decides to do his work he is labeled "over-zealous." The corrupt elite will otherwise have us compromise our morals and integrity to their selfish end.

Saipro:
Somewhere along the line, I discovered LiFePO4 batteries. I kid you not when I say they are the best there is. Four of these babies would power my house nonstop for 60 hours. Best of all, they can be discharged up 80% (20% SoC) with insignificant degradation in performance. Mine even had automatic cutoff at 90% discharge. They also cost a fortune so I wouldn't recommend them unless you have a need for them.

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

badaru1:
Good day guys, I have this Auxano 2kva 24v inverter, recently it stopped working and it's showing this message on the led screen. What could be the solution?

Hi, you will need to explain in detail the nature of failure. Is it stuck in standby mode or it does not invert when the grid is down? Your screenshot indicates some form of circuit breaker failure or related to a breaker circuit.

abunafiu:
Its now raining almost on a daily basis. Performance is dropping drastically as expected. From 6kwh average to 3kwh and sometimes 3.5kwh. Panels are now clean and shining everyday. The atmospheric temperature is favourable for my mono panels.

Hello Abunafiu, I am new to this forum and have been watching from the sidelines. I would like to know your total installed panel capacity in KWp? Thanks

Very interesting development. Check out this article about the Chadian angle to Boko Haram:

http://leadership.ng/columns/389787/boko-haram-mystery-solved

These pictures were taken 5 years ago! what is the current condition of the vehicle? Please post most recent pictures!

This VW Passat has been jumping from one Nairaland owner to another......Buyers be very careful!

Please stop mis-leading potential buyers: Your car is a 2.0 TSI, I4 and not a 3.0L, V6 model.

obinna 222: In recent years, automobile manufacturers have developed advanced technology that makes diesel cars to become more environmentally friendly. My car is diesel powered, yet the exhaust still shines like crystal. I intend to set-up a garage to deal with diesel powered cars, i'm still planning though.

What has been your real life mpg's so far in your Golf TDI?

Imagine getting city range-to-empty of up to 700km on a single tank for the VW Jetta and Golf TDI's? Highway mileages can be in the excess of 1000km! Most countries abroad have introduced strict controls on the refining of diesel fuel to ensure it is very clean with sulfur concentrations as low as 15ppm; this has helped their citizens to quickly tap into the benefits of diesel engines without hurting the environment. A quick check at Nigeria's DPR website reveals that the benchmark given to importers for diesel sulfur concentrations is as high as 5000ppm!I hope we can quickly adapt. I was thinking of getting the Passat TDIto use in Nigeria, but the seemingly unavailability of DEF may sway my choice to the Jetta TDI which relies only on a DPF for emissions control.

@ishi kanda, that is a very smart business move because you may be among the pioneers in Nigeria to handle diesel-related auto issues.

obinna 222: Hi, i own a 2012 GOLF6 tdi, and i am also looking for where to get this. I have made an enquiry from the VW centre and they do not seem to know what i was talking about. Just in case you get a clue, pls could you holla me on; 0708 411 8160.

Its pathetic those rip-off so-called dealerships in naija only promote petrol cars and also drive the cost of importing new cars crazily expensive! How is the diesel in Nigeria faring with your Golf TDI? I hear you need Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) as low as 50 ppm for these cars to work properly. Do you get a reliable supply of ULSD in Nigeria?

As for the DEF fluid, you may need to find a way to import it in bulk and store it. You are required to top it up every 10k to 15k miles depending on your car model and manufacturer.

Do you mean Jetta?