₦airaland Forum

heydora:
Hi guys, Pls I need your advice.
Just procured the ffg
- 1.5va 24v inverter
- 2 x 220ah tubular batteries
To charge this I supported it with 2 x 250 watts solar panels and 40A PWC controller.
My observation : battery never fully charged with a load of a mid size freezer from 8am- 4m.



Pls what do I need to add for battery to be fully charged for evening according to the above.
An mppt controller or additional solar panels.

Thnks

Hello,
You need to add what your freezer's power rating is.

jethro2:
Free On Farm Vegetable Practical Training For Farm Managers.

Due to constant request for experience farm managers from our clients, we have decided to train unemployed youth who on successful completion of the training will be recommended and reffered to the various agribusiness companies that requires their service.

Our core training crops are vegetables such as Tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, ugu, okra, lettuce, chilli peppers etc.

What it entails.
Succesfully growing vegetables
Green house farming
Diseases and pest control
Marketing your produce
Targeting the right season
Irrigation system
Oppourtunity in Dairy farming
Preservation of vegetables
Etc

Requirement for Participation

* Participants must have passion for agriculture and agribusiness. Be prepared to learn as we work.

* Participants should be prepare to undergo training for minimum of 3 months. 80% participation level is required

* Participants should be prepare to follow stipulated rules and regulations on the farm.

* Participant will be responsible for their feeding and maintenance for the training period.

* Participants who will like to be accommodated will be require to pay N15,000 for the 3 months period.

* Registration starts immediately.

* Its on first come first serve basis.

Training Location:
Ago Amodu, Saki East LGA of Oyo State.
Resumption Date.
June 6 2016
Send mail to adesola_yinka@yahoo.com
Or call 08188540096 to register.

You now train for greenhouse farming. Well done ma. I should be your student but I work in the north. 3 months is too long for me to be off work and that's why some of us are hoping to get training via audivisuals

ishayaauta:
if you are in the north please avoid net house, I learned from my bitter experience. but the leather and glass green house works like magic.... Ehen ma, please do you have an idea on where I can get in-determinant tomatoes seed? I can't find it in the north, thanks ma. please keep on your good work, you've helped many 4 dat I still see u as a mentor thou we have never met. but I've consumed most of your write ups tnx a million my success story can never be completed without mentioning you.

Sir, do you do green house farming? Also, where are you located in the north?

abunafiu:
Many thanks to these awesome guys.
Their individual support assisted me in many wayways towards achieving the desired result.
My oga richmond74 for his behind the scenes tips.

Coogumo for his discounts despite the exchange rate wahala on 16 units of US BATTS and 60 units of 150w panles.

One and Only sharp marketer for prompt delivery of 3 units of outback FM80 even though he later withdrew his discount. ..I really owe you guys my deepest appreciation.
My juo and babs KP as well as chris81964 for being a positive inspiration.

Kindly visit https://m.facebook.com/apexsolarnigeria/ for more pictures. I also count on your likes too.

My oga, kudos to you. You got my +1

To house, does anyone have experience with Arnergy inverters? I like the idea of an inverter and CC in one unit but is it any good?

007Power:
Hello Tundebabzy, unless you are one of the few who walk into shoprite to buy big beef tomatoes at N1,999 per kilo (yes, you read it correctly!), then there is no reason why you should encourage people to invest in LARGE SCALE hydroponic tomatoes when the market is very tiny!

Again, you wrote and I quote: "If you can produce healthy looking, big tomatoes, trust me, you will sell out every time because there's a big demand for such products." Trust you Do you own a LARGE SCALE hydroponic tomato farm that makes you speak with such certainty? If you do, I will love to visit your farm! And if you don't, again why are you encouraging people to go into such a high risk investment with very little market opportunity. I say "high risk" because there is one similar farm near Enugu that failed woefully after the owner had invested millions!

The problem with hydroponics is that it is too scienfific. One, just one overlooked factor will cause your entire farm to fail within minutes or hours, not days!!!! As I write this, I have a hydroponic garden at my backyard and if I may use your words; trust me, I speak from experience! Just one wrong mix of nutrients, or direct exposure to sun or improper ph adjustment or rainwater increasing alkalinity or acidity of nutrient, or the nutrient solution exceeding 25 deg centigrade or excessive humidity or improper lighting (I have even tried them indoors and provided supplemental light, but NEPA contributed to my woes! If I rely on generator, how much sef I go even make out it!!!!);Just one if these factors gone wrong will destroy your crops not in days but in minutes or hours! NOT TO MENTION THAT IT IS A FULL TIME JOB!!!! You don't do hydroponics part-time!!! I repeat - if one factor goes wrong, your entire crops are at risk! Think of doing this on a large scale when there will be even more factors - the pumps, pipes, valves, uninterrupted power, air pumps, leakages, diseases (all these must be inspected 4 or 5 times daily) and you will see how next to impossible it is to have workers as diligent as you that will ensure that nothing goes wrong without it being remedied within few minutes!!! IF THE PUMP BECOMES FAULTY AT NIGHT OR NEPA BEHAVES AS USUAL FOR JUST ONE HOUR AND THE GENERATOR REPAIRER IS YET TO FINISH HIS MAINTENANCE ON YOUR GEN SETS, SAY FAREWELL TO YOUR ENTIRE CROPS !!!!

Most importantly, The reason why I said that hydroponics is beyond us now is that the available information you can ever find in hydroponics are all tailored to the western world with their distinct climate from ours. Before hydroponics could be viable in Nigeria, we need our chemists, agricultural engineers, scientists, botanists and the others to work together and come out with a method of hydroponics suited for our climate.

An example to illustrate what I am saying is this: All the nutrient formulas you can ever find in a good hydroponic book works best within the temperature range THAT DOES NOT EXCEED 25deg centigrade during the day! In Nigeria, you can have this 25deg only at night, during the day, the nutrient solution gets real warm if not slightly hot! At that temperature, the nutrient solution starts undergoing other imperceptible chemical reactions leaving the already mixed solution practically useless and your crops taking eternity to grow! Not to mention that this high temperature greatly offset the ph balance! So we need the people mentioned above to come out with nutrient formulas that remain intact UNDER HOT WEATHER!

So I repeat, as far as Nigeria is concerned, hydroponics is far ahead of our times (and maybe I should add) UNTIL ADEQUATE ATTENTION IS GIVEN TO IT TO COME OUT WITH WHAT WORKS FOR OUR CLIMATE, PERIOD!!!!


As a aside note; curiosity they say, is the Mother of invention; while waiting for our team of experts to give us a viable nutrient solution for our hot climate, I have been able to come up with a means that works for me in hot weather as far as the nutrient is concerned. My ugu plants love it! Only that in direct sunshine, they bend as if to break! I have moved them to shade and they are Happy there. I have tried the trick on tomatoes and so far so good. Again, the tomatoes need shade, they wilt under direct sun. Until these tomatoes grow to harvest then I can beat my chest and boast of success! Then and only then, I can think of LARGE SCALE since my method works under our hot climate!!.

One more thing tundebabzy, the farmers can't accuse you of inorganic produce because it is the same chemicals used in making the fertilizers they use that you always use in hydroponics. Infact, the chemicals used in hydroponics are even more purified! It will be like kettle calling pot black!!!!

Sir,
In my post I said it can only profitable on a large scale. I also mentioned that good technical knowledge is important. That's because It is highly technical and prone to failure like every other endeavor including earth farming. It will require temperature control, lots of sensors, data collection and physical monitoring. And because it's commercial scale, all these are big time. Even when cooking, any wrong addition will spoil the whole pot. That's not unexpected.

As for failing generators and equipment, I don't know any wise commercial scale producer that doesn't have backups for their production systems.

About the price, Shoprite tomatoes are that expensive because you can only find them in Shoprite. If there is more supply, the price will drop. Similarly, oil price is low because there's too much supply in the market. Besides, I'm sure the owner of Golden gate restaurant was also told that there is a small market for his expensive cuisine.

About a Nigerian nutrient mixture and hot climate, the problem isn't the mixture, it's the temperature. There's no place in the world where the climate is 100% perfect for tomato growth and that's what spurred the invention of greenhouses.

About the Enugu company that packed up, how does one company's failure prove that everybody else must fail?

This is on the boundaries of being off-topic. However, I'm sure I didn't make commercial hydroponic farming sound easy. If I did, I apologize. It is not a piece of cake and it's a big investment. If you have the capital and technical know-how, explore it. Also know the risks and make sure you can stomach it. The period where soil farmers can't produce enough causing the price of tomatoes to skyrocket, the hydroponic farmer is still churning out high quality tomatoes at the same price. Aeroponics is even a better option because it uses like 95% less water and nutrients formula. Every business has got its risks and there's no business that's fail safe.........just like hydroponics

@johnstin
I sent you a pm. Please respond. I need to make contact with you.

007Power:
Hello Ronnie,

What lofty ideas you have BUT before you dash out to spend those millions, you might first want to check out the current price trend of tomatoes. The 50 - 55kg baskets are currently selling at N2000 or N2400 per basket; which is about N36 to N40 per kilo. Unless you are running a charity Organisation, I do not see how your hydroponic farm will be able to compete by selling even lower than N36 per kilo in other to break the cartel as you nobly intend to do.

Why I do not intend to discourage you, the hard fact is that Nigeria is not yet ripe (and may never be ripe in our lifetime) for hydroponic tomatoes. A lot of input capital is required and the result is a pesticide free and herbicide free tomatoes that are very heavy and healthy. ONLY THREE PIECES OF THESE HYDROPONIC TOMATOES MAKE 1Kg. Now, in America, hydroponic tomatoes (depending on variety) are sold at around $3 - $4 per pound which in kg will be around $5.7 - $7.4 per kg.

In Naira equivalent and using N208 per dollar, that will be a mouth watering N1,200 - N1,500 per kg for about 3 pieces of tomatoes! (How I wish this country is like America, I would have long been into hydroponic tomatoes!) Now, the Best you can do is to START SMALL and focus on making supplies to FIVE STAR HOTELS ALONE. Then slowly expand to high-end stores, restaurants and that is just about it!

Now you tell me, if you have N2400 in your pocket and want to buy tomatoes (IN THESE HARSH TIMES) would you rather buy 6 pieces of hydroponic tomatoes or a BASKET-FULL of our local tomatoes? You might want to visit a nearby market to sample their responses! I myself had bubbles of these dreams just as you do now but these bubbles got bursted with the reality of feasiblity studies.

Yes, hydroponic tomatoes are a beauty to behold, very fresh and spotless, very hygenic and disease free. I remember how startled I was the first time I saw and held one in my hands (during one of my travels abroad) and I couldn't help but compared it to our little-sized, unhygenic and diseased local varieties here in Nigeria; BUT WHO CARES? AND AS LONG AS NO ONE CARES, HYDROPONIC TOMATOES IS FAR AHEAD OF OUR TIMES!

Actually, Nigeria is very very ripe for hydroponics. The only thing is that it is only profitable when done on a large scale. Period.

Another thing to note is that hydroponics grown food grows faster than soil grown food therefore hydroponics generates more harvests than others. Also, hydroponics ensures all year production.

Hydroponics is more efficient for the plant because everything it needs is provided to the plant in the form it can utilize. For plants in soil, the plant has to wait for the water to dissolve the nutrients, then for bacteria to break down other nutrients to the form the plant can utilize. That's why hydroponics produces bigger and faster growing plants. If you can produce healthy looking, big tomatoes, trust me, you will sell out every time because there's a big demand for such products. The only issue you will face is when soil farmers start condemning your produce as inorganic or chemical made.

If you have the fund and technical expertise, I encourage you to do further research and start reaping your profit. Start the market now before there won't be space for any market anymore.

jethro2:
It must have been an omission on my side.
Please pardon me

No problem ma. I call you later to reserve a seat after I plan. I'll be coming from Katsina plus I have a full time job so I won't be able to make the one month class.

jethro2:
Want to learn tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, radish etc
step by step practical on farm training?
Be your own boss.
Let's create job together
Join us for the 1st batch of our on farm vegetable
practical training.
We will take you through all the challenges
1. Soil management
2. Nursery making
3. Pest and diseases control
4. Staking/trellising
5. market access for your crops
6. Irrigation process
And so many others
Location. Ago Amodu, Saki East LGA of Oyo State
Duration: 1st - 26th February 2016
Participatory fee
For a month N25,000
2 weeks. N15,000
1 week. N10,000
Accommodation will be provided for the duration
Participants take care of their feeding
contact 08064688501, 08188540096 or
mail adesola_yinka@yahoo.com.
www.facebook.com/
entrepreneuryouthmultipurposecooperative

Hello. I emailed you about your next training but you didn't reply. Anyway, this post answers my questions. Thanks

Barezzi:
Ride on bruv... any pics?

+1 Pics will be nice and appreciated

[url]anontales.com[/url]

temizeee:
SOME PEOPLE THINKS SOLAR SETUP IS CHEAP IN MY HOOD,SO THEY ASK ME `YOU WILL HELP US TO DO OURS` THEN THEY WILL ASK ME`TEMI HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? WHEN I TELL THEM,THEY JUST WONT`T TALK ABT IT AGAIN...LOL

You must be a very rich guy

NoMoreTrolling:
Another cool device (don't know if it's been mentioned already in one of the many pages), is a power meter to tell what power individual devices in your household draw.



https://energenie4u.co.uk/res/images/products/large/ENER007_lifestyle.jpg




I hooked my 80 watts fridge into this and was shocked at the current surge of the small fridge to over 500 watts. Obviously I knew there'd be surge current with the fridge, but I was thinking more like 300 or so

With accurate measurements of loads, proper planning and load shedding can be done to maximize battery life among other things.

HI. Where did you buy the meter. I'm interested.

Angelstartups:
Hello,

Come to www.angelstartups.com.ng, sign up as an Investor. If you identify a business and want us to advice and assist you with DD-due diligence, contact us via admin@angelstartups.com.ng.

Regards.

I like your gig. You don't have a website though. It needs to look professional.

Saipro:
Yes, they're called cycling loads and can actually punch a hole in your calculations. The fact that their energy consumption varies (non-linear load) is one aspect. By the same fact, there will be periods of low drain and higher current surging through your system (the batteries should mop that up if your system is set up right and you're not always at 100% charge state). Surge drains have a way of pulling out more power (thereby shorteneing the runtime) of your power bank too.

I live in Ilorin and just got my own system up (80%) and running (with assistance from Abunafiu on this thread). If you're anywhere close by, I could volunteer to take a quick look at your setup and offer advise. Inspection gives a lot more detail than description (from experience I speak).

Finally, cloudy spells can appear unexpectedly (I've had a three day spell which doesn't seem ready to let up yet). Or your renewable energy setup might for some unanticipated reason require maintenance runs. You would be wise to consider a small backup generator powerful enough to run your freezer.

Wow! Thanks. I got advice from abunafiu also but I live in katsina which is very far.

earthrealm:
140w x 24hrs = 3kw approx.
for the 50% rule u need a batt bank of 6kwh min is required wch u can achieve by 3 to 4 units of 12v 200ah batt bank
for the panels, to harvest something meaningful...assume only 5hrs of sunlight, and u need minimum of 3kwh harvest, thus u need 3 units of 200w panels, or 250watss panel.....the more the better.

if the estimate is much..you can buy a programmeable timer socket for the freezer, that way u can programme it to run for only 8 to 14hrs or whatever you want...that wud reduce ur load and other related components...........a 30/45 amp mppt charge controller would be suitable

note: this is a rough calculation n shud serve as a guide...other peeps r free to correct/amend

Thank you but I need to make some clarification. The energy consumption figure I wrote is the figure stated by the manufacturer. The 140w is the surge current but its rated energy consumption in 24 hours is 1200wh/24hrs.

Energy efficient fridges and freezers don't use the same amount of power all through

Hello
i want to power a freezer offgrid. Here are details from the back of the freezer:

Energy consumption: 1200wh/24h
Watt: 140w

I showed this to some clown here and he told me to get 15 200w panels, 8 200ah batteries, etc

From my novice calculations, I estimate 1 200w solar module, 2 200ah batteries, 1 20A charge controller will suffice for 50% dod.

Please advice. Also, is a PWM CC a no go area?

I once tried but gave up. Its documentation is not great so it makes the learning curve steeper

Sorry this is old school but in-built migrations came in Django 1.7.
I.8 has been able to decouple the templating system.

bodejohn:
I am going completely off grid (Nepa abi na Phcn switched off) till the end of 2015.
I want to prove to madam that "I have fully delivered my promise on power"...LOL

The Count up Started on February 15th, 15 days downed already...

Who is joining me?

Off-grid is still dream land for me. I was charging my batteries with phcn before now. It worked well from last quarter of last year till February. Now 4 hours of light isn't even assured and gen has had to cut short its sabbatical leave. Its my inverter that is now on sabbatical.

The only advantage is the price. Thin film is the cheapest of the three but the least efficient.

Mono packs a lot of silicone and is the most expensive and efficient. Poly has less silicone, is a little cheaper and a little less expensive than mono.

I hope that helps.

Nice. Sir, do you have numbers to show the improvement of your setup. Since the panels are no longer directly on the roofing sheets I reckon your harvest should be on the increase

JUO:
one month and counting without switching off my inverter. Thanks to Nairaland, richmon74, GeorgeD1, abunafiu and all Nairalanders

Congratulations! I don't think I have ever experienced staying in a place where the light didn't go off for 2 complete weeks throughout my whole life.

ilenaira:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nhNWB4WsVfg

Cool. I'm not an expert but that fan looks small. This is something I'm definitely going to try out

@ilenaira
Any chance you will open source the design of your generator silencer box? Please?

Barezzi:
Yup you did... You say they're under-rated. I say they are not

Case dismissed then

Barezzi:
... Tunde, you still don't get it...

The koko of the matter is if its possible for a 250w solarworld panel to deliver 260w, hence producing more than its nameplate rating.


The 250-watt Solarworld panel with a +5%/0% power tolerance can actually produce anywhere from 250 watts to 262.5 watts under ideal conditions.

I never disputed the fact that solar modules can produce more than produce more than its rated output.

tundebabzy:
I also agree with@ bodejohn and basic physics that there's no energy conversion that can be 100% efficient. From the article you posted, Solarworld panels ratings are under-rated when installed under right conditions in Nigeria

Or did I?

Barezzi:
At bolded, it refers to CELL energy conversion. That is its effectiveness in converting solar energy to heat and electricity. This is purely a function of cell design, and the quality of materials used in its construction.
No panel has 100% cell efficiency. What's the industry average??

For your post in red, I suggest you read up on solar panel technology, it'll clear up a lot of misconceptions

PS, I'm not holding brief for solarworld, suntech or sharp.

The cell is the core of solar panel technology. By the time it used to make solar panels the efficiency would have further reduced. Because I know you know your onions, I had to ask Google. A search on 100% percent efficient solar cells turned out that its still a dream. World record efficiency is still in the 40s and lower for solar panels.

Here is an article from Yale published 3 days ago (today is 15 December) discussing how nice it will be to hit 50% efficiency - http://e360.yale.edu/feature/will_new_technologies_give_critical_boost_to_solar_power/2832/
and then another published in February that listed efficiency records - http://cleantechnica.com/2014/02/02/which-solar-panels-most-efficient/

tivta:
Gbam, this says it all. Stc is the rating used under normal conditions but due to the weather in Africa we are above standard conditions. Bodegeorge take note. Traveling around the world does not guarantee knowledge.

The article you quoted mentioned that the highest achieved efficiency is around 47% at STC. The efficiency will increase under other conditions but I don't see any mention of 100% efficiency.

I also agree with@ bodejohn and basic physics that there's no energy conversion that can be 100% efficient. From the article you posted, Solarworld panels ratings are under-rated when installed under right conditions in Nigeria