Wow !! God's name be praised.

It's not easy. I'm not a technician but I did it all by myself.

Solar works and proper solar installation works effectively.

The challenge?

I'm a freelance writer and Kindle publisher and I live where we have light issues.

The main thing was that whenever I have customers work to do, nepa takes the light.

You know what I mean.

So I am left scrambling and scratching my head.

One day, I told a friend I wanted to try solar.

He said
Bros, solar does not work oo.

I answered why?

He gave me first hand experience of his kinsman who installed solar with around 1-3million naira and after 6 months, it was packed up.


I was afraid. I was like what is happening.

So I took it as a challenge. Let me find out why this thing isn't working.

How can onyinbo introduce something that does not work? That's me thinking

I asked him again to be sure and he gave me three examples.

He wasn't joking.

So that set the stage for my exploration.

To find out why solar does not work, but that's a lie anyway.

It works.


Yes it does.

The problem?

Installation technicians can shortchange you.

Still typing....

It's going to be an interesting thread.

Spreads mat on the floor, orders chilled Heineken and a bottle of groundnut.

So I decided to use Google for a start.

How to install home solar....

You Know what I mean.

Read a few pages and switched to YouTube.

I kept at this for two months.

After two months, I was overwhelmed.

So happy that this thing works.

YouTube is gold.


I began learning every aspect of solar installation.

But first, it was how to power a laptop with solar.

Who wouldn't?

So many terms to note

P= IV

Voltage, current, Power, etc.

3s connection
4s connection
Still typing....

Learnt so much.

Until I finally discovered the mistakes.

Why my friends relatives spent so much in solar abt 1-3million and it packed up.


1. Using wrong items.
I know must people who want solar in their abode may not know the kind of batteries or controller or system to install.

That is left to the technician.

God help you if your installer is dubious. You will install solar and complain.


BECAUSE they will want to cut cost. They can buy used battery for you and tell you it's new ones.

So many areas to cut corners.

You need to know the right ones.



2. Mistake number two is not calculating your

Electricity's consumption.

What power do you consume?

following

Knowing your electricity's consumption is very important.

So that's how I decided to calculate all power my electrical appliances use.

My TV set
My decoder and players

My refrigerator (optional)

And fans and light bulbs.

All use alternating current. AC.

Power is voltage x current.

So some appliance you won't see the power on them .

But 220v is general here. Then check their chargers.

It's a mistake to install solar without having an estimate of what you use.

A big mistake.

And from what I learnt, you need to double to he power.

What does it mean?

If you use 4000 watts of power, try to install 8000-10000 watts of power as back up.

So multiply whatever you consume by 2 or 3

following

lizdammy:
following

ok

Now we have AC power
And
D. C power.

All electrical appliances in Nigeria uses or comes with AC power.

Which means it uses nepa light.


Now DC power is rated 4volts, 12volts and 24, 36 or 72 volts.

You can connect your house purely on dc.

But it's possible when you plan it.

On the flip side, most houses solar are inverted from DC to AC hence the reason for the Inverters.



I connected my solar installation with DC

I ask myself

What do I want to power.?
Although I have a 32" TV which uses Nepa light,

I bought a Samsung 24 " TV. Uses power adapter .

Cos it uses less power.


I power my decoder through 12v port. Many decoder has it.

My new TV has 12v port.


I bought a 12v fan

And three to five bulbs all 12 v.


So you see I never have to use Inverter.

Inverter is not a must.

But if you want to power anything from whole flat to house, then go big.

Get aan inverter.

But calculate your power needs first oo.

I m following. What of your laptop? Are u using 12v laptop?

yetmao:
I m following. What of your laptop? Are u using 12v laptop?

there are mini laptop of 12v. My wife has one.


My laptop is 19v.

So I got a step up converter at AliExpress.com

For 1k. Or so.

So I step up from 14.4 to 19.2v to power my laptop.
link to the buck converter step down and step up
step down click here


get this step up converter too here


I connected 4 DC batteries. Of 3.7v each.

But for convenience, I bought a small 7000 naira inverter.


So I will make 12v battery x2 = 24v. Then Invert it with my inverter. (Just for my laptop)


But my apartment still runs on 12v.

If you want to use 220v a.c for your apartment,

Get a big inverter.

Gather enof original 12v battery

Get good panels.


But know what you need first. Do your research. Dont depend on technician advise. Use them for installation. Do the research yourself.


Just ask questions before you spend.

eliok:
there are mini laptop of 12v. My wife has one.


My laptop is 19v.

So I got a step up converter at AliExpress.com

For 1k. Or so.

So I step up from 14.4 to 19.2v to power my laptop.


I connected 4 DC batteries. Of 3.7v each.

But for convenience, I bought a small 7000 naira inverter.


So I will make 12v battery x2 = 24v. Then Invert it with my inverter. (Just for my laptop)


But my apartment still runs on 12v.

I need to have a chat with u. I m a website designer I need a quite power source that can run 15 hours workflow. Running gen is too noisy and even so too expensive. And I might need your experience in sourcing the DIY materials also. I beg teach me.

yetmao:


I need to have a chat with u. I m a website designer I need a quite power source that can run 15 hours workflow. Running gen is too noisy and even so too expensive. And I might need your experience in sourcing the DIY materials also. I beg teach me.

which state do you live?

As those in Lagos and Abuja will get all materials easily. Though I live outside Lagos.

That's why alieexpress will be handy .

As for teaching it might not be free. But I can give free advice as well.

yetmao:


I need to have a chat with u. I m a website designer I need a quite power source that can run 15 hours workflow. Running gen is too noisy and even so too expensive. And I might need your experience in sourcing the DIY materials also. I beg teach me.

@Yetmao. You sent me a message to my mail via NL message but I don't know how to respond via the mail sent to my inbox. I therefore searched out your username here on NL.

How may I be of help?

eliok:
there are mini laptop of 12v. My wife has one.


My laptop is 19v.

So I got a step up converter at AliExpress.com

For 1k. Or so.

So I step up from 14.4 to 19.2v to power my laptop.


I connected 4 DC batteries. Of 3.7v each.

But for convenience, I bought a small 7000 naira inverter.


So I will make 12v battery x2 = 24v. Then Invert it with my inverter. (Just for my laptop)


But my apartment still runs on 12v.

By 3.7v each that you mentioned, I'll wager those are lithium batteries, more likely the LFP.

If I'm correct, you will need to incorporate a BMS for those cells to last well and to stay within balance.

eliok:
You can connect your house purely on dc.

But it's possible when you plan it.

On the flip side, most houses solar are inverted from DC to AC hence the reason for the Inverters.



I connected my solar installation with DC

I ask myself

What do I want to power.?
Although I have a 32" TV which uses Nepa light,

I bought a Samsung 24 " TV. Uses power adapter .

Cos it uses less power.


I power my decoder through 12v port. Many decoder has it.

My new TV has 12v port.


I bought a 12v fan

And three to five bulbs all 12 v.


So you see I never have to use Inverter.

Using DC source has advantages and disadvantages. One of the advantage is that it provides more efficiency since you use it directly to power devices which mostly have DC powered internals even though they may have AC power input. Your average AC powered TV has AC-DC converter electronics inside to ensure DC source to power the ICs, boards and stuff. So the AC-DC converter of your 24 inch Samsung was installed as external part (probably for want of space in a small 24 inches form factor), ditto for GoTV, startimes and DSTV (except the explorer decoder).

One marked disadvantage of DC is the tendency for it to require thick cable guage over longer distances. There is a standard required cable gauge per specific distance of DC transmission that you have, below which power losses due to increasing resistance occur. That's why you may have 12v source at one end of a 10m DC wire but end up measuring 11.8v by the time it gets to the other end.

Also with DC voltage, different devices use different DC voltage source like you stated earlier. Therefore even if your DC source is 24v, you will require a 24v to 12v DC buck converter at the termination of a 12v device, and same principle goes for 5v and 3v devices. You will require a 24v to 48v boost converter to power 48v devices. Good boost buck converters are usually a bit expensive, more expensive that AC transformers required in AC power transmission. So you can expect another more expense from DC over AC in that regards.

AC transmission is above those limitations.

As for me, all lightings - LED lightings (except an AC powered chandelier like that) use 12v DC power. Every other sockets run AC source.

By the way, where did you get the Samsung 24 inches? Is it smart TV and is it brand new or Tokunbo? How much was it? I like for myself something of that form factor. So it'll also be great if you help with the model number.

ceaser:


By 3.7v each that you mentioned, I'll wager those are lithium batteries, more likely the LFP.

If I'm correct, you will need to incorporate a BMS for those cells to last well and to stay within balance.



Using DC source has advantages and disadvantages. One of the advantage is that it provides more efficiency since you use it directly to power devices which mostly have DC powered internals even though they may have AC power input. Your average AC powered TV has AC-DC converter electronics inside to ensure DC source to power the ICs, boards and stuff. So the AC-DC converter of your 24 inch Samsung was installed as external part (probably for want of space in a small 24 inches form factor), ditto for GoTV, startimes and DSTV (except the explorer decoder).

One marked disadvantage of DC is the tendency for it to require thick cable guage over longer distances. There is a standard required cable gauge per specific distance of DC transmission that you have, below which power losses due to increasing resistance occur. That's why you may have 12v source at one end of a 10m DC wire but end up measuring 11.8v by the time it gets to the other end.

Also with DC voltage, different devices use different DC voltage source like you stated earlier. Therefore even if your DC source is 24v, you will require a 24v to 12v DC buck converter at the termination of a 12v device, and same principle goes for 5v and 3v devices. You will require a 24v to 48v boost converter to power 48v devices. Good boost buck converters are usually a bit expensive, more expensive that AC transformers required in AC power transmission. So you can expect another more expense from DC over AC in that regards.

AC transmission is above those limitations.

As for me, all lightings - LED lightings (except an AC powered chandelier like that) use 12v DC power. Every other sockets run AC source.

By the way, where did you get the Samsung 24 inches? Is it smart TV and is it brand new or Tokunbo? How much was it? I like for myself something of that form factor. So it'll also be great if you help with the model number.

thanks for The enlighten comment. I use bms too. Can't learn solar half way.

As for the DC disadvantage yes I know but on the flip side, I plan powering any whole house project with AC.

So hybrid inverter comes into play.


And I use lithium battery for now. It's been serving me for over a year with no regrets.

And for the TV, just confirmed it's LG 24 inch led. Though they have so many sizes 26/28/32 inches.


You can get any brand of TV you like. Just ensure it has a 12v port.

Now back to the purpose of this thread.
So for my friends relatives, 1 million installation could probably have been a balanced spend..

How?

Assuming we're installing 30kva , to power an apartment, I.e a house

That would be

15 panels rated 260 watts. Price ito be determined
An hybrid inverter of 250-300k

Cables and mounts- 25k

Change over and switches - price is to be determined,


Technician fee -?
Battery - depends on type and size. But I prefer lithium anyway I can get it. Get 12v batteries to be connected until they add up to 30kva


My only worry is hybrid inverter. Cos that's what's I can't buy anyhow. Lots of Chinese in the market. But I have Penn down three names.


So for 1 million, my technician will do all the work.

I can run on all AC power.

There will be no Lister generator or nepa light near my house .till then Sha.

The reason I love solar is that you can start small.

For me , I started with 90k.
Which I bought what I needed small small.

When I'm going big, same process. Get what you need first. Then get a technician to work .



But if you hand them the money, put your eyes there oo.

We have both good and bad ones. And it's the bad ones giving solar business in Nigeria a bad
Image.

On a lighter note, you can start small to power one or two things.

Get a trailer or car battery,
Get a 100 watts panel
Get a charge controller
Get the cables . You can ask them at the market.
And get a small inverter 200-500 watts
This should power a laptop and give you light .

So that's how small it can be .

You can always get them one by one.


I suggest this because I have seen some use it.

It's ok.

All of us can't use lithium battery. Car battery can start it.

Great

Will update soon

Please update is needed

helpfulposts:
Please update is needed

yeah o will update.
I don't know how to post pics here . I would have love to