bassdow:


I still believe this is the best approach. because who knows, dayTime load fit dey prevent the batteries from fully charging, but him talk say him don chheck those ones.

Also, that brand no be original Ooo. I never use anything from them, but I know say no be original brand.

na things such as this, dey dicourage people. I recall sharing an instance hhere where I met a man who wasn't interested in spending a dime again to revive his solar setup. The man pocket deep wella yet was reluctant. Na things such as this.

Hopefully it's sorted out. reason why I no dey suggest lithium batteries to people, no be say I no like Lithium technology, but you need really rely on whatever the dealer (since you rarely can get in touch with manufacturer) tells or gives you.

I prefer to buy maximum of 4-cells a time annd use for ttesting. that way, if e disappoint me, I go know to avoid you, except you confess to me say that batch really bad and you don get aother better batch and you're willing to give me good discount. But to count money, go buy box or bunch of cells, I jump and pass

casualobserver:


I would never advise any landlord to allow a tenant to install solar, talk less remove. Too much Incompetence and story telling in our environment.

Existing tenant no chance at all, if you don’t like move out. New tenant let them know before hand that solar on the roof is not allowed.

I won’t even allow a tenant who says he will leave it when he leaves. Nigerians are not honorable people. The same tenant that you bent over backwards will come with one story when it is time to pack out. Or he will remove it without you knowing and start with Nigerians’ favorite phrase…”sorry don’t be annoyed”.

It’s the quality of the installation/uninstallation plus the likely hood of honoring agreements… too many points of failure/damage/stress…...not worth the hassle.

IllRatherNotSay:
Isn't it the same situation with the battery type you recommend to people?
This is a problem of dishonesty in the market, not the battery type.

bassdow:


Really don't get you

BUT

what I meant is,

though [potential] customers could get cheated in anything (includes all battery types), some battery types makes it super easier, for instance, when you refering to a battery, it's mostly it's capacity + manufacturer's name, and one can't easily (if at all possible) bake a 100AH or 200AH battery into a box and tag it something else. Yes they could try to imitate a quality brand, but it's not so easy or simple that just about anyOne could do it, hence reducing such possibilities.

When shopping, all you need do is knowing what and what to look out for, or kukuma buy from the manufacturer or it's representatives.

Now issue with Lithium batteries is, access to it's manufactuueres or it's showrooms, is [almost] noneExistent; to make things worse, due to their sizes, anyone could buy / pickup cells, and cobble it into a battery. The cost of starting up such a business is so so low (almost as cheap as owning a blog), that just about anyOne could get into it, even when they have less than average knowledge of what they doing.

clevermugu:
The way u attack lithium battery eeh, u keep downgrading lithium and hyping leadacid.. a good lead acid like quanta is now 300k.even grade B 12v 135ah lifepo4 lithium will serve far better and outlast the quanta. u can also do well to share the bad experience u had with any lithuim battery u have used before, so we know where all these grouse is coming from

sintolord:
I concur with you. For those who think Landlords who refuse solar panels on there roof are unreasonable should go to the market & find out how much it cost to roof the same house & imaging about 15% to 20% of the cost to fix the damaged sections of roof, then they will see & understand what the landlord see & understand.

Another option is to put down caution fee of about 500k or more Incase of any damage on the roof.

casualobserver:


I would never advise any landlord to allow a tenant to install solar, talk less remove. Too much Incompetence and story telling in our environment.

Existing tenant no chance at all, if you don’t like move out. New tenant let them know before hand that solar on the roof is not allowed.

I won’t even allow a tenant who says he will leave it when he leaves. Nigerians are not honorable people. The same tenant that you bent over backwards will come with one story when it is time to pack out. Or he will remove it without you knowing and start with Nigerians’ favorite phrase…”sorry don’t be annoyed”.

It’s the quality of the installation/uninstallation plus the likely hood of honoring agreements… too many points of failure/damage/stress…...not worth the hassle.

sintolord:
I concur with you. For those who think Landlords who refuse solar panels on there roof are unreasonable should go to the market & find out how much it cost to roof the same house & imaging about 15% to 20% of the cost to fix the damaged sections of roof, then they will see & understand what the landlord see & understand.

Another option is to put down caution fee of about 500k or more Incase of any damage on the roof.

casualobserver:

It’s not just about damage to the roof. I have a cousin who had solar installed poorly and the roof started to leak during the rains damaging other stuff. It’s just not worth it deposit or no deposit. In any event inflation will render the deposit useless with time. What say N500k can do today it won’t be able to start in 5 years.

A solution may be insurance if there are reputable insurance companies that offer such a cover. I assume an insurance company that will do that must have certified the installer. I still wouldn’t as my general policy in Nigeria is to avoid situations that can lead to drama.

TooLongDon'tRead

bassdow:


NB:

TooLongDon'tRead

---

These talks about landlords and roof eh. is begining to sound overComplicated, or maybe na una dey make am sound complicated.

I don't know as a fresh Tenant, but you ought have little to no issues as an existing tenant of atleast 1-year in such apartment. Except you and the landlord no dey in good terms.

How many landlords sef dey here sef ?

See eh, Myself as an example, started using Solar panels while in 1-room apartment. The compound was on 1½ plots of land, with 2 units of 2 storey buildings each having 4 blocks of flats upstairs while the ground floor of the second building was 2 units of room & parlour selfContain, the ground floor of the first building was mostly faceMe-I-FaceYou rooms which was where I was living.

The building used SLATE as roofing material.

Now for the flats, they each have their own NEPA meter but for we in 1-rooms, we all shared a single meter.

Less than 1-year after I moved in, I bought 2pcs 150Watts solar panels that needed to be installed. I notified the landlady before buying the solar panels and she agreed BUT on the day I came with the carpenter (it's was my very first time having anything to do with SOLAR), one of the SONs refused I install anything - his reason which the others immediately picked on is - I would STOP PAYING NEPA BILLs to which I told them I have already told their Mom, the landLady that I wouuld continue paying NEPA bills but they still refused.
Of course that wasn't unExpected since I have blocked their way many times.
You see me eh, I no dey make wahala, BUT if you give me multiple good reasons to, na you go tire.

When I rented the place, the outstanding NEPA bill for our section (1-room apartments) was over 300,000 naira despite the fact most were paying their NEPA bills.
I asked earlier if their were outstanding before renting and they said NO, after renting, I found out they lied to me, I refused paying anything outside current month.
They threathened returning my money, I told them no wahala so long it's 300% percent of what I paid them + 6-months to find elsewhere so as to cover cost of relocations among other things.

Of course the agent who introduced me to them told them this person don take former landlord go court and still won to extent of staying 2-years further.
Actually it was those smaller courts in local governments. I think they call it MediationCenter or what not.
Also judging from ma nature, people are cautious by default because I look too ordinary yet weird, they let that slid.

Next I removed the handling of NEPA bills from their hands - I told them to allow we Tenants handle our bills, and not pay it to them. That one caused small wahala also before they asked I handle it BUT I refused. Me no dey like involve myself in community things no matter how juicy it might be.
At end of the day, A fellow tenant in our section took it. and for the first time, how much they were paying dropped. meaning say They were paying not just their own NEPA bills, but those of the landLady and her family (the husband is late so She's landlady, and most of her elderly children and grand children are all occupying last floor of second building), and still have small change left for them.

Of course, they tried controlling the tenant that was now handling our NEPA bill sometimes asking him to increase the money by 1,800 naira or more. Unknown to them, I sometimes ask to see the actual NEPA bill so it didn't take long for me to notiice that and stopped it. That one sef caused a little drama with one of the Son that behaves like a tout wanting to disconnect my Solar wires saying that was my I refused to pay, whereas my reason was that He stops as they inflate the bill.
At end of the day, I still won. Did I tell you I was given quit notice twice and I laughed at their faces ?
These people ain't that poor Ooo. Just that some of them weren't educated enough BUT they have atleast 3 educated brothers that were wealthy enough.
Reason I laughed at them was because I knew my RIGHTs enough you can't just kick me out without being affected and they were somewhat weary of that.

Anyways, I was almost mostly first to pay ma NEPA bills. If dem paste names today, I either pay same day, or next day. As for Security and Sweeping monies, unlike others, I calculated them all and paid for 1-year's worth.

Other than my not allowing them go out of line, you never know I exist, in fact if You don't see me go in, you would never see me again till further notice. Hardly do I even quarrel with people.

So you see why when they saw I wanted to install solar, they saw it as opportunity to show me who's incharge.

Well I didn't even beg them at all, I just packed everything into my room, gave the carpenter fuel money for his Okada, and asked Him to go. he asked me to go beg them but I told him no need. If they said NO, they have valid reasons.

Well 2 or 3 weeks later, na same dem ask me to install it, to which even one of the son suggested I buy them drinks and I said no issue.

Called carpenter, rented ladder, climbed the 2 storey building and it was very high, (na quality house, no be those houses wey dey short or weak) and the installation was done. Before I packed out of the apartment after over 4-years, I myself climbed same roof over 8 times going there to do different things. Only on 1 occassion that I made a little mistake that broke the slate small, no one knew till I called a carpenter to fix it on the spot and they were surprised.

Even while relocating, I just climbed with assistant from a fellow tenant to bring them down (they have grown from 2pcs of 150watts to 4pcs of 300Watts solar panels) and no one questioned me on anything.

Now I have equally done installations for about 7 or more clients who were all in rented apartments and never faced issues. Just one time, one of them had a lanndlord who wasn't so comfortable so much He literally stood outside watching us till we were done.

Now reading all these things you guys saying here is making me thing things are being blown out of proportion.

To me, Roof damage exists but not as rampant like you people are making it appear.

Of course, a landlord or landlady or careTaker who have experienced ugly incident, wouldn't easily accept except you can prove you're different. Most places, You're the first person using solar there hardly experience any issue.

Valentinooo:
A tenant can actually do something like this. Infact, me personally, I don't like panels on the roof.

Valentinooo:
A tenant can actually do something like this. Infact, me personally, I don't like panels on the roof.

Valentinooo:
A tenant can actually do something like this. Infact, me personally, I don't like panels on the roof.

mctfopt:


PowMr is a better controller compared with Yohako controller.

Valentinooo:
A tenant can actually do something like this. Infact, me personally, I don't like panels on the roof.

mikeayus:


Hello everyone,

Please how much can I get a 100A PowMr MPPT and where would you recommend I get it from?

Thank you

bassdow:


For which space ?

Except you're the only person in such compound, this's even more risky because anyone fit spoil or break am (un)intensionally.

To me, I prefer roof mounts because it reduces chances of someone coming in contact with them.
Moroever why waste space that otherwise could be used for something else. People like us with over 20 panels, how much space you wan make we use ?
Oyinbo wey plenty of us dey copy, don dey try roof-Farming,...

dollarnaira:



Note too that pv performs better in this form or on the ground because it allows for proper orientation,airflow and regular cleaning. These factors affect solar yield. INSTALLING PANELS ON ROOF WILL NEVER GIVE YOU OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE OVER TIME.

bassdow:
TLDR

A so-Called Professional Solar personnel connected 2pcs of 150watts solar panel with 2pcs of 250 solar panels to 
a brand new single 200AH battery.
Of course that was so little to charge a 200AH battery + concurrent loads which includes a chest freezer, hence 
the brandNew battery died or became too weak.

He then sold the client a used 200AH battery which He connected, in series, to the already weak 200AH battery.

Client has spent a lot already, yet actual beneficiary is the PROFESSIONAL. All items are overPriced & inferior.

Even if One has to be greedy, We should at least remain for the actual owner

bassdow:


My Conclusion, going by your comments in DM, and considering the fact you reside in remote part of Nigeria + ain't technical at all + don't have someone who would hhelp you at minimum fees. I would suggest the following:

1. Buy a used 300W mono-Solar Panel (at least 4pcs).

2. You already have a Tubular battery, so make use of it.

3. Buy a USED charge controller of better quality. PWM would work for you, just ensure you buy one of better quality.

4. You ditch the batteryCharger they constructted for you because now, the Solar Panels would replace that.

5. Please don't buy expensive cables, that wire that NEPA / PHCN cuts whenever you fail to pay your bills is more than enough. I have used it for companies, and use it personally myself. What's more, that Igbo man selling electrical things down the street sells it.

6. You continue using your UPS as inverter.

7. Don't buy anything else called accessoory, especially to install thhe solar panels on the roof or whatever. I rrarely need those things, except when working on specialized roofs.

with the above, you no longer need thhe USB ports as things would work well.

PS: I didn't get to watch any of the videos you sennt me because of reasons best known to me. But even without watching, I doubt it would make any difference

bassdow:





Be mindful + careful of those who come here to recommend some person(s) as being trusted. I could create multiple NAIRALAND accounts, and use one to recommend the other. or maybe recommend someone who's a partner (in crime) .

If you are spending more than 100,000 naira on Solar systems, I often suggest at least a 24-volts system. It's much cheaper, and much better.

If you don't have the money, focus more on buying more Solar Panels, buy your charge-Controller over-Sized so you could add much more solar panels. You could connect them all in Paralel so you could continue using your 12-Volts battery.

Then when you have more money, you buy more batteries say 2 or 4 pieces or more and reconnect the solar-Panels in series (and parallel) so as to make it 24 or 48 volts system. and if your inverter supports multiple voltages, then you don't have to upgrade it.

Also with 24 or 48 volts system, you would require slimmer wires, unlike the fat ones that 12-volts systems often require.

TechGeek777:


I am sure you are better off with 475w Jinko from Gennex.

Check this -> energymallDOTng/product/era-solar-450w-half-cut-mono-solar-panel/

bassdow:


For me, a non-metalic roof tiles e.g slate, with at least 4-inches gap between the solar panel and the roof should be enough most times. Then for those with Zinc or Aluminium roof sheet, if installer get time to help them, hmm. Most consideration mostly na for large installations.
Out of sight is safe abeg. For this country wey common to park motor go piss na wahala.

Since your journey on Solar business, how many have you installed this way ? I try to focus more on reality. Once again, I rather leave this to those who could afford it. And when I say "afford", I don't mean the space alone, but the security + safety also.

Imagine make children dey play (e.g football) for compound, or make person wey wan park motor go reverse put head another place OR make people wey dey play ball for street go fire shot wey enter una compound.

Say glass house + very low fence fine, no mean say na any how place dem dey get such house.

Polaris1:

I did a similar setup for a friend about 1 year ago.
-Get a used 150w - 200w mono panel
-A used, but decent 100ah battery
-A cheap pwm charge controller
Connect panel to cc to battery.
Connect 12v DC input directly to battery terminals (polarity must be correct, that is, positive to positive and negative to negative).
My friend's setup is still working ok.

dollarnaira:


Mine is on the fence.
Safety yes.

dollarnaira:


Mine is on the fence.
Safety yes.

Torg77:



I want to buy 200w mono solar panel but how do I know the original as fakes are everywhere. With this hard economy I really don't want to buy fake

bassdow:

What of people wey dey the other side of the fence ?