SOLAWY1234:
Please gurus in the house when is the next Treasury bills primary auction? The calendar reads that 29/11 was the last one. Has the market closed for the year? Thanks for your response.

It has closed for the year.

awesomeJ:

Bonds are kinda sold in units with each unit having a face value.
so if you buy a 15% APR 2023 FGN bond with 10m at its original price, you'd be having 100,000 units of the bond, and since the coupon is 15%, your annual interest would be 1.5m

Now when you buy at the secondary market, you often don't buy at the original unit price. You may get to buy at say N90 per unit, which implies that you'd only be paying 9m to get thesame 100,000 units.

But at the end of the year, both you who bought at 9m and the other person that bought at 10m, you'd each get 1.5m as interest, because you hold the same number of units. But while his own yield is 15%(1.5m on 10m input), yours is 16.67%(1.5m on 9m input)

So coupon rate indicates the rate at which interest is paid on a bond based on its face value, while yield indicates the actual rate of returns to an investor.

The coupon rate is always indicated in the name of most bonds, and it doesn't change throughout the lifetime of the bond.

Only changes in purchase prices bring about changes in yields to bond investors.

Bonds bought at prices below their face values have higher yields, and vice versa.

Kindly ask for any further clarification if....

Please help clarify. Would the guy who bought at N90 get 9M or 10M at maturity?

oneshowguy:
3.64KW PV LG (Lot of 13) solar panels 280w mono at 260 Naira per watt .... Available in Nigeria..... 08123329521

LG Panels are cool and perform very well. Shout out to Back2Back.

Happy New Year!!!, Solar Enthusiasts.

condomuser:
The last time i checked on Eurobonds which had its subscription in February i was told i can only subscribe with USD contrary to the name EuroBond and the minimum subscription is $5000.

The interests is around 6% per annum and it is very much possible to cash in USD and run to Aboki

Please which bank or investment house did you approach? Do they have a website with relevant information on how to proceed?

udy821:
MR i bought from yingli office in opebi from one chinese man. they retail dir product der stop misleading people dat can only afford one panel at a time. original yingli products o, cheaper than d ones d scammer on dis forum sell at high prices n continue to spam d forum. imagine him giving account details for me to pay when we have not reach an agreement yet.just google yingli site n get dir opebi address on d site with dir fone number. http://www.yinglisolar.net/en/Contact.asp

Between yinglisolar.com and yinglisolar.net which one do I regard as authentic?

Why should a company have two sites? One for the rest of the world and the other for Nigeria.

Can someone please assist?

Saipro:


The true Yingli panels work like a charm. I have a few and I can attest to the fact that they currently outperform my other JoySolar (mono and poly) and a few other brands at the moment. It's true you might be hard pressed to find quality ones right now. Likely you'd meet rebranded panels with the Yingli tag. There are a few out there though. Few people stock them (marginally pricey for a Chinese brand).

I know a such a guy, should you need directions.

Thanks @saipro for your comments

Please make the contacts of this guy who deals in genuine Yingli panels public on this forum

We need to encourage patronage of such dealers no matter how marginally pricey.

Lest people loose faith in RE and waste hard earned funds to dubious dealers.

olagunju2000:
Please has anyone used Yingli mono solar panel in the house? how is it?

I've not used it but have my doubts about genuine Yingli panel availability in Nigeria.

I recently considered it but on further investigation I realised what is been sold in Nigeria is of questionable quality not genuine Yingli.

Even the datasheet document appears to be fake when compared to the original.

My conclusion is double check any panel been sold to you because there more substandard panels in Nigeria than genuine ones

bigrovar:

Takw the made in UK with a pinch of salt. Same guy behind the company claimed he invented the company's PSC inventers after years of research. Even got a news paper to carry his story when infact the "made in Germany" inverter is nothing but a rebranded powerstar w7 inverter like MUST, Prag and Felicity. Even the manual is same with powerstar word for word. I can't attest to the quality of his solar panels but they are mostly a rebrand of a Chinese Tier 2 producer.

Thanks @bigrovar

Hi Solar Enthusiasts,

Please has any one used PSC Solar Industries panels?

Are they worth buying given it's quite pricey?

What are your experience whether directly or not with the quality of their panels compared to other brands?

Is the bold claim of "Made in UK" real?

Thanks.

bodeface:
There is currently a very thin gap between the Poly and Mono PV panels nowadays, gone are the days when the mono used to be the king, with more research and improvement in production process of the Poly Panels, the gap between the two - efficiency of conversion which boils down to the area required to generate the same energy (e.g. 300W) has been closed up and very soon, Poly will become the king when the gap is fully closed and the wining advantage for the Poly will be the cheaper production cost compared to Mono.

For an example, lets me use the SUNTECH PV Panels to show you what I am talking about, Mono-crystalline 325W and Poly-crystalline 345W, these two panels has same dimension, the same wattage, their difference currently is just that the efficiency of conversion of Mono-crystalline is 17.7% while the poly-crystalline is 16.7% and if you do the calculation just 1% efficient than the Poly-crystalline, apart from the efficiency everything is same. Please see the links (copy it as a whole into your browser)

http://shangde.fanyacdn.com/imglibs/files/iec_stp325_vfw(mc4_325_320_315).pdf
http://shangde.fanyacdn.com/imglibs/files/stp345s_vfw(mc4_345_340_335).pdf

Currently, I use SUNTECH Poly-crystalline PV Panel and the performance has been extremely satisfactory, my advice though is know what you are buying, in Nigeria most vendor over rate the panel they are selling for you, 250W are re-branded as 300W and so on, so be careful, but there is little or no difference in Mono and Poly PV Panels performance.

@bodeface

Please where did you buy your genuine Suntech panels and how long have you been using it?

Thanks

efuro:



sorry for your loss my brother.



i will like to know the following:

1. Did you mix PVs of different watt ratings?
2. What is the make of the PV?
3. Did you cut off the MC4 connectors to make ur 3x 2 strings? (check the possibility of insulating tape wearing out and short circuiting the string);
4. Check the surface to see if the burnt section has affected the module (if yes,
you can loop/byepass that section/solar module of the PV, you can PM for a link to how to fix it)?
4. Use screwdriver to Open the Terminal Box and take readings directly from the terminals (you can get a local electrician to read-off amps etc if you can't), (also where you can't get an electrician or a meter, as a DIY -get 12v motor vehicle bulb, wires and trace & check each of the strings within the PV to determines which can be salvaged).
5. You will need to get / replace all diodes. i have seen a case where 2 diodes were plugged in and not soldered in-place and you know what that means).

you will get over it, cheers.

@efuro and @NiyiOmoIyunade thanks for your responses I really appreciate.


1. Did you mix PVs of different watt ratings? No, All panels are same brand and watt ratings
2. What is the make of the PV? JXSOL
3. Did you cut off the MC4 connectors to make ur 3x 2 strings? (check the possibility of insulating tape wearing out and short circuiting the string); Yes, I did cut off MC4 Connectors

The Junction Box is insulated with some silicon white gel when opened.

nisol:


Looks like a problem from a prolonged short circuit.

Please could you elaborate.

Thanks

Good morning beautiful People,

I observed recently that my production performance dropped significantly.
I suspected the panels and on checking the roof I realized that a whole string is damaged.
Please see pic below of the first panel in damaged string.

In your experience what could be the cause of the wire burning in this way and affecting the whole string.

My configuration was 3x2 and is now 3x1.

HeartforGod:
Thanks bigrovar.

The cc is Fangpusun 70a mppt with an external display. I have my HT freezer (240w name plate, though my prag inverter displays 1.8a as current draw for the frezzer) connected to it and runs during the day. fans and TVs stay on once my children come back from school.

On the cc, the bulk indicator light stays on all day while the solar is charging and never goes into absorb or float mode at all. my location is PH.

Extra info i can provide is the battery OC voltage stays around 25.0V (6 units of mercury 220ah FLA connected in series-parralel) after night use. I plan on adding washing machine to the inverter but not having the batteries go into absorb/float is posing as a show stopper for me

(

How many hours during the day is your Freezer, TVs and Fans on?
If freezer is on all day, I'll recommend you get a timer switch and control when it comes on and off, say between 1pm and 5pm.

When children go to school is anyone else at home?
If not then on a sunny day it is possible you hit float by 1pm or absorb atleast before children are back from school by 1pm or 2pm

Today marks 12 months since I embarked on RE journey and 10 months living off-grid.

It's been a rewarding experience to say the least, even though much improvement is required.

Hence, I give profound gratitude to the Eternal Source of Light that gave us the sun to give warmth and light.

And more blessing to all who ask questions and those who lovingly respond for the progress of everyone on this forum.

GeorgeD1:


mcci,
the panels are in 3 x 4 configuration making a total of 12 units for both sides.

Do you not risk damaging your CCs on very cold mornings? It may exceed the recommended 150Voc

bigrovar:

Your strong advocacy and time you take to stabilise us newbies is what gaves us the confidence to take the renewable leap. Keep the flag flying.

My question is what influenced the decision to install panel on the north side? Is it a case of available space? I ask because since Nigeria above the equator I have always thought and in line with what I have read that panels in Nigeria should be inclined towards south. Would appreciate your thoughts.

Also are the controllers charging different banks or the same battery bank.

@GeogeD1, Weldone and congrats.
Please in addition to questions already asked what configuration did you use 3x4 or 2x6 for such high watt panel?

Chuckdee:
Hi all,

I want to share my setup with the house so as to serve as a source of motivation to new DIYers that would come across this thread because it's the same way i got the needed info to do mine. I have read, watched and studied so much in the past years as regards to solar and renewable energy that I was able to design, procure and deploy my setup all by myself and with help of a couple of friends. I did make use of some carpenter guy to help mount the panels on the roof following my instructions through, and also got my electrician to run load separation cables for me. However, there are members of this forum who have been immensely helpful to me by answering my plenty questions and worries, I am very grateful to Mr. Chris of AWPS Renewable Energy, your love n passion for the job is unquestionable!, Dunka, your motivation is next to none, Frankie the able supplier and a brother, George_D da boss!, thanks for the emails! and all the contributing members here, y'all are the best. it has been a very wonderful experience and I thank God for the opportunity.

My rig consists of:

15 X 300W yahSun Mono Panels (4,500W)
8 X USL16EXC2 6V L16 360AH USA Flooded Batteries
1 X Midnight Solar Classic 150 96A MPPT Charge Controller
1 X Magnum Magnasine 4300W Pure sinewave Inverter
1 X Magnum MERC Advanced Remote
1 X Trimetric 2030A + 500 Mv Shunt
1 X 48V BLS Desulphator
1 X 6Ft Earthing Rod
2 X Midnightsolar MNSPD Surge protector (1 for AC side, 1 for DC side)
1 X 10KVA Servo Stabilizer ( Pre-owned for about 4 years now)
4 x Complete galvanized aluminium Roof Mount
Various quality Breakers, Fuses and Accessories.

EXTRAS:

1 X TP-Link AC750 Dual Band WiFi Range Extender, Extends WiFi to Smart Home & Alexa Devices (RE200)
2 X TP-Link Smart Plug w/ Energy Monitoring, No Hub Required, Wi-Fi, Works with Alexa, Control your Devices from Anywhere (HS110)
1 X TP-Link Smart Wi-Fi Light Switch, No Hub Required, Single Pole, Control Your Fixtures From Anywhere, Works with Amazon Alexa (HS200)
1 X Amazon Echo dot 2nd gen.
.....More on those later.

It is important to state that these items were acquired over a long period of time, infact, it took me one year plus of self disciplined money management, savings and forfeiting so much to make this happen maybe because of my taste in quality but from experience, i have learnt to go hard and go once! at a point i was sending money monthly to Frankie so as to secure a price point on the panels when the dollar was climbing like crazy. The most expensive item to get were the batteries as you had to buy them once. My candid advice to anyone is to start small, make a checklist of needed items and bit by bit, you will be striking off the ones you get as time goes on.

Panels were run in series/parallel strings of 3X5 to a combiner box with 5 breakers. All panels, inverter, CC and Combiner box were Grounded. 6MM ammoured cables from panels to combiner box, 10MM from combiner box to CC. Battery interconnect cables, CC to battery bank, Inverter to battery bank all 50MM Extra fine stranded Welding cable. Although a little more expensive, these cables handle any load comfortably and have never felt a tad warm to the touch at all and trust me, i have pushed them to the max all in the name of testing.

Seeking to achieve an 'almost' off grid setup, I went for that much number in panels and the result of having an array sized to cover the worst time of year, is that you get quite a bit of spare power at peak sun times. Therefore it makes sense to divide your loads up into base loads and opportunity loads. My base loads are 1 large Refrigerator (on a timer running 7AM-5PM daily), 1 always-on 24/7 Freezer, water pumps, computer gear, chargers of all sorts, lighting, security lights consisting of 8 X 15W energy saving bulbs (looking to change them to LEDs of less than 10W if i find them), an always-on Apple MacMini I use as my media server running a PLEX server serving movies to all TVs and smart devices like Roku box, Amazon fire Tv stick, and one Xiami Mi Android TV in the house, 2 standing fans, as well as sundry occasional appliances,power tools and other usual stuff; washing machine, iron, juicer, blender, microwave and hair blowers.

Most mornings, I wake up to a battery bank that is between 68-75% except on days i play the PS4 pro or xbox1 all night, i have seen 66% in the mornings, still under 50% DOD so not too bad and I know that my batteries have not yet been broken into very well. By 1-2PM batteries are already in float so the excess power are dumped into opportunity loads like running ACs, boiling water and cooking using the Induction cooker running at max power till like 4PM. I have seen max PV output of 3600W+ and my area in Abuja is very dusty, so many untarred road around my hood, panels were covered in dust from the next day after installation! and we have not seen any rains yet so i believe there is tendency for better output when the rains come.On average i harvest around 14-18Kwh daily. I have been running the system TOTALLY off-grid since the 10th of March.

I used the Wifi extender to extend my WAN and use the Ethernet jack to plug in the Midnight Classic CC to my home network, so i can monitor from PC and phone w/out having to run a long lan cable to my router inside. Got for less than $20 on amazon and works like a charm.

I use The smart plug to plug in my fridge and set it on a timer so it automatically comes on @ 7am and shuts off by 5PM daily. I also use it to monitor energy consumption in real time or over a period of time, very helpful to calculate all your energy consumption.

The smart switch i use to automatically turn on the whole security lights @ 7pm and turn of @ 6:15 am daily. and just like the smart plug, they both can be controlled from anywhere in the world from the app as long as u have internet and i have tested this, it works perfectly.

I am a geeky kinda guy so I love me some home automation and i have had some Phillips Hue lighting in the house, all devices in my Home theater setup are controlled using just a single remote-- The Logitec Harmony elite and all these devices can be controlled via voice with Alexa on amazon echo dot, pretty neat and works for the TP link switch and smart plugs too. I hv 10 Terabytes of Movies, TV series and Anime all in HD and running perfectly on the media server 24/7 with the beautiful interface of PLEX (guys u need to check it out, its simply your own NETFLIX @ home) For internet i use the NTEL unlimited package so everything is always ONLINE... I share my home wifi for my neighbors and they can watch movies on their phones and tablets as the media server can comfortably handle multiple media streams at once without issues. All these are possible because the sun gives me free Energy!

I cannot state how lovely it is to have uninterrupted power supply, something people in other countries take for granted. I think going solar is the best way forward for us here.

Ok!Sorry guys for the long read , however, Your comments, criticism, corrections and questions are welcome..

To say I'm amazed or impressed is an understatement.

Welldone Bros, I hope to learn from your experience.

I wish you more success and enjoyment of the fruits of your labour.

Solar is indeed a viable option for Nigeria to free herself from the "demons of darkness", we need to decentralize power production and embrace the "Angels of Light" that smile on us everyday without fail.

Thanks Guys.

All panels are poly.

Hello Gurus in the house,

Please advise

Current System Configuration:
6 x 250W; 3 x 2 Series-Parallel Configuration; Vmp=30.1, Imp=8.31, Isc=8.71, Voc=36.4
CC: TS-MPPT-60; 3.5KVa 48V Inverter

Proposed new panel specification:
6 x 260W; Vmp=31.4, Imp=8.37, Isc=8.94, Voc=38.4

Proposed System Configuration (1):
3 x 4 Series-Parallel Configuration
My concern from varied online source is that old panel would negatively impact new panels and mppt would have a hard time identifying Vmp

Proposed System Configuration (2):
3 x 3 Series-Parallel Configuration; I eliminate 2 old panels and connect remaining 4 in series and parallel to new panels (3x2)
I suppose new panels would give maximum power but old panels (1000W) would be pulled down to a max of (780W) I guess.

What do you think the impact on system would be? Please advise.

Thanks

samnaija:
compliments solar gurus and the ogas at the top. this harmattan wheather is really affecting solar harvest. none the less we must forge on to overcome this obstacle..

i use an epsolar itracer series 60a charge controller to charge my 48v 200ah batteries.my solar array is 12* 250 watts 3000watts total. according to epsolar charge manual pv input max is at 3200watts. can i keep adding more panels over this 3200 watts just to beat the bad wheather effect on solar harvest..is it of any benefit. guys pls advice

Please what is your average daily power production in this weather?

Dishtech:
hello house! how many solar panel of 200watts is required to load 5kva inverter and charge 200ah x 4 in series. quick response is anticipated. Thank you!

I assume your 5Kva Inverter is a 48V system, hence the 200ah x 4 batteries in series.

If you strictly want to charge with no load during charging, I'll suggest 6 * 200watts panel in 3x3 series-parallel configuration.

If you want to charge and place some load on the system then you need to specify the total load when charging.

Of course the type and configuration of charge controller is also important.

Thanks to all contributors on this forum. The solar energy revolution is spreading fast. I'm also enjoying it's immense benefit.