"How Can I Maintain My Solar Panels and System to Get 24/7 Electricity in Nigeria?" Expert Advises

• A young Nigerian man who spent millions of naira installing a solar system in his house became frustrated
• Despite how much he had spent on solar panels and batteries, he still could not get longer energy backup hours
• A solar expert, David Osadebe, explained why power management is important when running solar and how to maximise energy

An anonymous asked:

"How do I maintain my solar panels and system to get 24/7 electricity in Nigeria?

Stable electricity has been one of the core challenges in Nigeria for decades. In recent times, the national grid collapsed many times.

With the high cost of fuel, running a generator is no longer a cheap alternative, as many are looking towards solar energy.

While setting up a solar system may be a good alternative, power management, and load sizing are things many still do not know. If generating electricity from the sun is the solution, how then does one achieve longer hours with a solar setup?

Read also

"It can carry 3 air conditioners": Man charged N22 million for complete solar power installation

David Osadebe is an expert in solar systems and mobile inverters. He specialises in the design/build, installation, and optimization of power conversion technologies. David's expertise encompasses various types of inverters, ranging from mobile inverters to DIY setups and full home installations, including grid-tied, off-grid, and hybrid systems.

Using solar for the first time: what you should know

A person wanting to use solar energy for the first time must determine how much power he or she will need. If they have no basic knowledge about it, they’ll have to call a professional installer and explain what home appliances he or she wants to run on the inverter and how many hours they want the system to run those loads during sundown. That will enable the installer to give them the right inverter KVA and the right battery KW to run the loads efficiently.

Read also

Electric cars credited with lower CO2 emissions in US neighborhoods

Power management and load sizing for solar

Sizing your solar system is very important if a user wants to maximize usage. It’s important to stay on the watts consumption you paid for. The mistake some users make when setting up a solar system at home or office is telling the installer what they want, and after installing, they overload the system by adding more appliances. Doing this will cut short the hours the inverter is supposed to run.

Solar system for a home with 32inch TV, 1 fridge, 2 fan

For this simple home setup, I’ll assume the TV will consume 120 watts of power, the fridge will eat about 300w, and the fans consume 45w each, making 90watts. Total watts consumption is 510 watts in this case.

It’s important to oversize your system slightly to avoid human errors, like overload. A 1KVA to 1.5 KVA inverter is okay to power them conveniently.

Read also

Why Tinubu’s govt increased electricity tariff by 300%, NERC explains

Solar installation and energy rating explained

Running 510 watts of appliances on a 2.5kw battery will give you about 5 hours of backup running only from the battery. But when solar panels are added to charge the batteries during the day, and the solar panel's total rating is higher than the battery kilowatt, then the battery gets fully charged during the day.

The loads will run from the excess power from the sunlight, keeping battery usage until nighttime. MPPT can better convert excess voltage to usilize while the sun is still shining.

You’ll have longer hours running your solar system when a solar panel is added. Your loads will run directly from the batteries at night.

MMPPT vs PWM charge controllers: Which is better?

The PWM controller is cheaper but doesn’t deliver the total power/amps coming from the solar panels. The MPPT(Maximum Power Point Tracking) is mainly used for larger systems, it’s used for tracking the maximum power point of solar panels.

Read also

Nigerian airlines risk shutting down as jet fuel increases to N1,500 per litre

The MPPT constantly adjusts its operating voltage and current, making sure the solar panels deliver fully. The MPPT is more costly because of the components it’s made of.

With the amps test I did, using the same solar panels and rating, the same battery KW, the same cables, connecting them to a PWM and an MPPT charge controller, the MPPT always delivers higher amps.

Reduce loads to enjoy more solar energy at night

For a user to maximize his or her solar energy system to last longer, he or she must minimize the total energy/watts consumption when utilizing the power from the battery, mostly at night.

Best solar panels for installation in Nigeria

We have three popular panels in the market this day. The monocrystalline, the polycrystalline, and the thin film. The most advised solar panel to use is the monocrystalline solar panels because of their high efficiency and their better performance in low light conditions.

Read also

"I withdrew N50,000 from the ATM, I was debited Despite no cash was dispensed, what can I do?

Why Lithium batteries are better than Tubular

Lithium batteries are the best to use because of their high depth of discharge, which ranges from 80% to 95%. Lithium battery is what I do advise my customers to use, if they can afford it.

Can solar last 24/7?

Yes, it’s possible to get 24/7 electricity via solar energy, if the user knows the battery kw at the time of installation. Knowing this will help the user limit the amount of loads he or she will power on the inverter. The fewer the loads, the longer the backup time, pending the time the sun will start shining again to charge up the battery.

In doing that, the solar will never go off till the next day it starts charging up again. Moreover, the amount of load on a solar system will significantly affect its performance. for every user to enjoy a solar system, let them stay below the rated watts/kwh.

Read also

Romania centre explores world's most powerful laser

Man installed solar in his house

Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that a young Nigerian man, @kanisuru7, shared a video of the house he completed. The moment he started the building project was captured on camera.

The TikTok clip showed the moment the building was at the lintel level and woodwork for the roof was about to be done. After the roofing was done, he installed solar panels on it for constant electricity.

Disclaimer: Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers' decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decision.

Have a story to tell? Need an expert's advice? Feel free to reach out to us at ask.an.expert@corp.legit.ng with "Ask An Expert" in the subject line.

Source: Legit.ng