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How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) - Properties (5) - Nairaland

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Re: How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) by gosmoney(m): 5:15pm On Nov 30, 2021
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 cheesy
lovely
Re: How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) by yellowgarri2(m): 5:15pm On Nov 30, 2021
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 cheesy
It's call for celebration. Do giveaway bro
Re: How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) by angelfallz(m): 5:16pm On Nov 30, 2021
Na man you be.

lasthero:


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 grin cheesy, 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.

1 Like

Re: How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) by poiZon: 5:16pm On Nov 30, 2021
queenfav:
E no get how e wan pet am pass,GBM battery will not live up to 1 year.
Which battery be the best and can last at most 4yrs under supervised usage?

1 Like

Re: How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) by airsaylongcome: 5:16pm On Nov 30, 2021
dinomcjohn:
Op@laathero, I don't know if you will ever get this but this is what I have to say: First I'm happy you mentioned the energy from Baba God is free and guess what? It is the best. It is far better than any man-made source of energy. Ultimately, All energy sources on Earth come from the Sun. Your write-up is a most important piece of information Nigerians need as regards power issues. I have decided to go fully solar when I finish my house by the grace of God. It is a far wiser, better and far more rewarding!

The problem is that solar panels are not very efficient converting solar to electricity. The best you can get is 23% efficiency which is very bad to be honest. But considering the free availability of solar and potential cost of petrol in the new year, it makes a lot of sense to tap whatever you can from solar.

My own worry is that make state or federal governments no go dey bill people for owning solar panels like Lagos was planning to bill people for boreholes

9 Likes

Re: How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) by HEAVEN4444: 5:17pm On Nov 30, 2021
pat077:
is it possible to charge the battery with generator using the inverter incase there is no enough sunlight
yes i charge my battery with generator when they took light for 3 days. this is the process. get an extension cord. then get two wires. connect one end of the wire into the extension cord and other into gen. do the same with other wire. now connect your battery into another socket in the extension cord. now start your gen and watch the battery start charging

2 Likes 1 Share

Re: How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) by ofemigeorge(m): 5:17pm On Nov 30, 2021
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.

Re: How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) by airsaylongcome: 5:18pm On Nov 30, 2021
pat077:
wind turbine? Where can one get it and what is the cost?

Right now I do not have specifics. But I saw a small wind turbine somewhere in Jakande, Lekki in Lagos that was used to charge batteries for the inverter that powers street lights. It kind of made sense to have both solar and wind charging the batteries

2 Likes

Re: How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) by nesgeeek(m): 5:18pm On Nov 30, 2021
Noted.
Re: How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) by Lordswazz(m): 5:19pm On Nov 30, 2021
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 cheesy

@Op, how do you know when your battery is 100% full when charging? Is there a LED indicator somewhere that shows the battery percentage?
Re: How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) by remi1444: 5:20pm On Nov 30, 2021
Onyeka90210 no be this stuff fry your Gaming Machine?
Re: How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) by ogawisdom(m): 5:20pm On Nov 30, 2021
vigoj:
Youd be needing this for your phones, Bluetooth speakers, mifi, iPads....in the coming days,,



ultra high capacity Remax 50,000mah energybanks

Fast charging 22.5W, digital display, USB-C, Multiple protection lightning and micro USB fitted wires. Emergency torch light.
2 inputs, 2 outputs

Distributors wanted Nationwide

Number in pic below

It's pay on delivery

Call/WhatsApp:



Do u have the one that can charge laptop
Re: How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) by airsaylongcome: 5:20pm On Nov 30, 2021
poiZon:

Which battery be the best and can last at most 4yrs under supervised usage?

For inverter setups, the absolute best batteries would be Lithium batteries that you can discharge to a depth of 90%. But they are damned expensive. And scarce die to tech shortage from Covid.

1 Like 1 Share

Re: How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) by pat077: 5:22pm On Nov 30, 2021
HEAVEN4444:
yes i charge my battery with generator when they took light for 3 days. this is the process. get an extension cord. then get two wires. connect one end of the wire into the extension cord and other into gen. do the same with other wire. now connect your battery into another socket in the extension cord. now start your gen and watch the battery start charging
this method is risky and not safe, it will be better to get a smart charger to charge the battery.

4 Likes

Re: How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) by Reference(m): 5:24pm On Nov 30, 2021
This is the future of energy in Nigeria since I cannot see any meaningful progress in public energy services.
It is a pity that those with the resources, particularly government cannot spawn an industry out of household power solutions.

So instead of building factories to process coconuts and assemble automobiles, they can invest in the assembly, then manufacture of solar energy components to liberate millions of households from the energy crises facing Nigeria.

4 Likes

Re: How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) by HEAVEN4444: 5:25pm On Nov 30, 2021
pat077:
this method is risky and not safe, it will be better to get a smart charger to charge the battery.
works for me
Re: How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) by BalogunIdowu(m): 5:26pm On Nov 30, 2021
Doradorwa:
Very nice and so innovative of you. I'm quite envious of you grin grin.... Enjoy your new light

Where was his old light grin grin grin

1 Like

Re: How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) by Lordswazz(m): 5:27pm On Nov 30, 2021
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.

Please do you have an idea how someone can know the battery charge level for a solar system like this? Because, unlike our smartphone batteries that you can know the charge level (in percentage) from the phone's screen, these big Gel or tubular batteries have no digital display showing battery charge level, so there's always a risk of overcharging or consuming the battery power beyond the safe minimum threshold.

So, if there's a means of knowing the estimated charge level that you can share, it would be helpful. Thanks!
Re: How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) by Tabletuner(m): 5:29pm On Nov 30, 2021
lasthero:


Ikorodu, Lagos
This one you are giving out your location hope you don’t want “NEPA” people to come and disconnect it out of jealousy ?

1 Like

Re: How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) by akpota(m): 5:32pm On Nov 30, 2021
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.
boss I am a solar guy who loves DIY and done a lot of stuff like this.
You could even go cheaper if I saw this post before. But please don’t drain deep cycle to 0%. I would advice keep it within 50% depth of discharge(DOD).
Anyways me I don leave una for deep cycle batteries wahala lolz.

1 Like

Re: How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) by jesmond3945: 5:32pm On Nov 30, 2021
God bless you brother. It was the research conducted by whitemen that brought you this far. God bless them too
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 cheesy
Re: How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) by Ajibam: 5:33pm On Nov 30, 2021
HEAVEN4444:
i got this setup already but without the solar panel. i just charge it with light when light comes. below is my setup. 200 amp hour battery

Hey Bro

can you share more details about this and tag how I can get all of them?
Re: How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) by Onyeka90210(m): 5:34pm On Nov 30, 2021
remi1444:
Onyeka90210 no be this stuff fry your Gaming Machine?
Nah, na Normal light

1 Like

Re: How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) by Ajibam: 5:34pm On Nov 30, 2021
akpota:
boss I am a solar guy who loves DIY and done a lot of stuff like this.
You could even go cheaper if I saw this post before. But please don’t drain deep cycle to 0%. I would advice keep it within 50% depth of discharge(DOD).
Anyways me I don leave una for deep cycle batteries wahala lolz.

Can you clarify this deep cycle ish a little bit more?

1 Like

Re: How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) by slimmoney(m): 5:36pm On Nov 30, 2021
baba add more panel later, its always advisable to multiply ur consumption watts x2 when installing solar panels, it will take less time to fully charge nd u can also consume while charging.

5 Likes 1 Share

Re: How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) by akpota(m): 5:36pm On Nov 30, 2021
HIGHESTPOPORI:
What is the best battery to buy
I go for Qunta batteries if doing deep cycle these days all personal projects, I don’t use deep cycle.
I prefer value for money.

1 Like

Re: How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) by Oluwasaudy(m): 5:36pm On Nov 30, 2021
Bro think am interested ...can you put me through ....think this is more economical than buying fuel....
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 cheesy
Re: How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) by IamDavid(m): 5:37pm On Nov 30, 2021
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.
I like your mentality bro. It's just easier to pay experts. I discovered I make less money when I try to cook myself (due to the amount of time it takes) despite it's 3x cheaper compared to buying food. My Nigerian mind tells me to cook my food myself to save money I don tire

6 Likes

Re: How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) by remi1444: 5:37pm On Nov 30, 2021
Onyeka90210:

Nah, na Normal light
must have been some Thor Hammer kinda voltage. Lol.
Re: How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) by emilomona(m): 5:37pm On Nov 30, 2021
The OP has done well for himself with the DIY by setting up an Solar inverter system without the help of a professional but unfortunately this will become a case of penny wise pounds foolish if not properly done.

Don't get me wrong, am nt condemning the move but u shl ve research a little more before embarking on the installation.

If you don't mind i will offer a free professional advice here and now.

Looking at ur design, it is obvious that the solar panel installed is not enough to fully charge a 12v 180ah battery which is 2160w. The maximum u can get from a 150w solar panel in a day is around 900w or less due to some inefficiencies that often results to voltage loss.

In other to help the battery work efficiently throughout it's life cycle, you will need to scale up ur solar panel with additional 210w or augment the charging with grid power.

Note that sunlight is different from day light, the average sunlight u can get in a day is 6hr sometimes more or less depending on the season.

Pls note that you do not discharge a lead acid battery to 0% , the maximum recommended DOD is 50% else the battery health will start to decline and in less than 3 months the battery will no longer be functional.

Hope you find my little contribution useful.

6 Likes 1 Share

Re: How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) by FreeStuffsNG: 5:38pm On Nov 30, 2021
poiZon:

If he gets billings from whichever disco at 23k per month, in 10months that will be 230k.
He has saved probably 78k without blinking and also got light 24/7 without waiting for nepa or what ever to restore light.
If he is using gen, he just said 1kva is between 80 to 100k.
To power that gen for 10hrs, he will need to buy atleast 5litres of fuel which is approximately 1k multiply it by 30days = 30k.
Every month u must service the gen set, which will gulp additional 2k. Every 6months u must do general servicing where u change piston n rings and other stuffs.
So 30k approximately in 10 months is 300k..

Plus noise and most times heartbreak cos u will off gen, then the next morning u wan start am, it will misbehave.

If this wasn't sustainable, fashola won't be spending time doing it.
Renewable energy is the future...
Heard from 2022 germany will shut down 90percent of its coal plants..

You can actually work out his cost and I doubt if he will incur up to N23K per month.

According to IKEDC,
With the revised tariff regime, Non-MD customers in Band A, with a minimum of 20 hours daily will now pay N51. 22/Kwh. Band B customers with minimum of 16 hours daily will be charged N46. 93/Kwh; while Band C customers with a minimum of 12 hours daily will be charged [b]N37.[/b]

https://www.ikejaelectric.com/notice-implementation-of-revised-service-reflective-tariff-by-ikeja-electric/

Let's assume he is a customer of IKEDC and I factor in the fact that that he already confirmed that he hardly gets light so we can assume he gets for less than 12hours so he pays N37.

His total load is less than 500watts but let's approximate it,

His daily energy use cost plus vat is :0.5kwĂ—12hrsx N37 + 0.075 x 222(VAT)= N238.65


If he takes 31 days in a month ,then his energy cost is N7,398.15 per month not N23K ,then his payback time is 20months 2 weeks(1 year 8 months and 2 weeks).
If his battery and inverter packs up before then or power improves, he just bought a liability. There are some hidden costs like occasions when some of the devices may not function optimally on the alternative power source..
As regards renewable and reference to Germany, then you are not current. The world is still tied to fossil fuels at least for the next 25 years. Same Germany is investing heavily on gas pipeline from Russia to Germany and most of the wind turbines in UK did not function optimally during low wind speed for most part of this month.
I support renewable but we are yet to crack it as an economically viable alternative. OP did well but I would have factored in the payback time before investing in it.
All the enemies of Nigeria will lose las las. They always lose. God bless Nigeria forever.
Here's free book on business ideas & money sources directory for you,it's 100% free! https://www.nairaland.com/6666800/looking-business-ideas-money-fund. Cheers

4 Likes

Re: How I Managed Light Situation In My Apartment (DIY Guide) by sheguy(m): 5:39pm On Nov 30, 2021
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 cheesy


You are doing well brother.

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