Mordecai:


Congratulations on crossing over to the league of independent power generators/consumers. At some point, you would not understand it when people ask you, "you get light for your estate?"

When I decided to begin using solar power, a friend of mine recommended that MTN solar device that costs 4500 monthly for 5 years. After looking at it, and seeing they were clearly ripping Nigerians off, I decided to explore solar energy on my own.

The biggest impediment to having solar power was the tendency of the solar power resellers to place a high price on otherwise cheap items.

They offered me a 1.2kva/100ah installation for 300k. I ignored them, struck out on my own and eventually set up a 2.4kva/200ah system, for about 250k inclusive of cabling and installation. These included two monocrystalline solar panels of 250w each. The only extraneous cost was that of hiring a scaffold to take the panels to the roof.

When I decided, after two years to upgrade my batteries, I got two Viforce batteries 210ah each for 190k less shipping costs. That is 95k apiece. I have ordered for another 250w panel at 36k. Little by little, I can simply get another inverter, and add my refrigerator to the circuit.

I have also observed these resellers servicing people's inverters monthly and I know they are just exploiting their customer's ignorance. In case you don't understand, servicing an inverter is like servicing a television. They don't need any servicing.

This is partly why I am posting this thread. If people know they can generate their own power cheaply, we would be able to set off our own micro industrial revolution in Nigeria.

Our offices, hospitals and schools will benefit. Our dependence on government for power will dwindle. Our homes will have cleaner air. Our night sleep will have less noise disturbances caused by petrol generators. All at a meager charge to our wallets.

I wish you the best of luck on your solar power journey. Encourage others to hop on the train too. Hopefully, one day our country will be better than Korea...

Amazing.
Well done too.

Sirlancelort:


I don't think this is a sine wave inverter

Pure sine wave inverter aren't cheap

Ournolly:

I don't clearly have the list. Made payment last week and expecting it to arrive on Monday.

The people in charge gave me two options because I requested for the strongest battery - Monbat and Quanta. I picked Monbat which costs 145k each.

300 x 3 mono solar panel 42k each.
1 Diamond mppt solar charge controller @50k
Wire and workman @50k or thereabout.

Everything is not clear yet but they requested for 650k which according to them will take care of everything.

Expecting them on Monday.



I am no multi millionaire but I won't refer myself as low income earner.

they are just ripping you with this ridiculous price I am seeing here. Wtf! 50k for charge controller and 50k for workmanship? 145k for 200ah batteries? I am sure they will buy a plot of land in their village after dealing with u.

agarawu23:
they are just ripping you with this ridiculous price I am seeing here. Wtf! 50k for charge controller and 50k for workmanship? 145k for 200ah batteries? I am sure they will buy a plot of land in their village after dealing with u.

How much come be mppt charge controller? I am sure you saw workmanship with wire for 50k there

agarawu23:
they are just ripping you with this ridiculous price I am seeing here. Wtf! 50k for charge controller and 50k for workmanship? 145k for 200ah batteries? I am sure they will buy a plot of land in their village after dealing with u.

Even CAT Battery is not sold at that price sef

agarawu23:
they are just ripping you with this ridiculous price I am seeing here. Wtf! 50k for charge controller and 50k for workmanship? 145k for 200ah batteries? I am sure they will buy a plot of land in their village after dealing with u.

I doubt you know the price of the above listed products.

When I inquired about batteries I was given many options, including tubular batteries.
The 2 top dry cells were Quanta and Monbat.
Quanta is Indian product while monbat is European. Most atm points use monbat battery for their machines.
Monbat was 125k then and Quanta was 115k. After the lockdown which saw sudden burst in Dollar to Naira rate to N450 per dollar the price increased to 145k, I heard it's 150k now. Jumia sells at 160k - 170k.
I know about 80k and 90k Chinese batteries but I rejected them.

Solar charge controller has many models, mppt is by far the best and costliest. I was presented pwn which cost about 15k and then the Diamond mppt and I opted for mppt as I want durability.

As per the 50k workmanship, I believe I mentioned wires and accessories too.

fashrola:


Even CAT Battery is not sold at that price sef

I don't know what you mean by cat battery but if lithium ion battery is what you mean trust me 200ah new one will cost you close to 600k.

As per monbat price, I saw this on jumia

Now, it's time to setup our solar controller, inverter and battery.

A typical PWM controller has 6 points as indicated in the diagram below.

There are six points on the controller labelled 1 to 6.



On the battery there are two points labelled (+) and (-).

On the inverter, there are two points, red and black.

Now do this carefully:

Using the cables, connect, point 4 on the controller to the (-) point on the battery.

Then connect point 3 on the controller to the (+) point on the battery.

I'd advise you first connect the solar controller end, then the battery end. When you connect the second battery point, there might be a spark. Expect it. It's normal.

Note to tighten the connections properly. Loose connections can cause partial contact, leading to power loss, battery drain and can damage your equipment.

Next, we'll connect the battery to the inverter.

Connect the red point in front of the inverter to the (+) point on the battery.

Then connect the black point in front of the inverter to the (-) point on the battery.

Double check that your connections are tight and not shaky.

See below a picture of the recommended battery connection cables.

@agarawu23, @fashrola, the mppt solar controller works better than the PWM, and is actually more expensive.

Ournolly chose to buy the best of what he needed. It could be his personal preference or as advised by his technicians.

It will serve him in good stead whenever he decides to upscale his generator to say 5kva. So, at this point, I'm happy for him and pray he derives maximum benefits from it.

We'll also appreciate it if he can update us with his experiences from time to time to guide most of us starting up on the solar journey.

After his second year, he'll be the one dishing out orders to the technicians, I'm sure

Mordecai:
Let us assume a household with 6 light bulbs, 2 ceiling fans, a standing fan, a couple of phone and laptop chargers.

Can it power led tv with dstv decoder?

zenith4biz:
Good evening, the current market price of some of the equipment.

500w inverter #5000 1000w is #7,500

Charge controller #4,500

I was given a quotation of 65k for 1kva and 80k for 1.5kva inverter. Is there any difference from yours? To cause a big price margin

Mordecai:
@agarawu23, @fashrola, the mppt solar controller works better than the PWM, and is actually more expensive.

Ournolly chose to buy the best of what he needed. It could be his personal preference or as advised by his technicians.

It will serve him in good stead whenever he decides to upscale his generator to say 5kva. So, at this point, I'm happy for him and pray he derives maximum benefits from it.

We'll also appreciate it if he can update us with his experiences from time to time to guide most of us starting up on the solar journey.

After his second year, he'll be the one dishing out orders to the technicians, I'm sure

I will keep you guys update.
Thanks for creating this thread.

Mordecai:
@agarawu23, @fashrola, the mppt solar controller works better than the PWM, and is actually more expensive.

Ournolly chose to buy the best of what he needed. It could be his personal preference or as advised by his technicians.

It will serve him in good stead whenever he decides to upscale his generator to say 5kva. So, at this point, I'm happy for him and pray he derives maximum benefits from it.

We'll also appreciate it if he can update us with his experiences from time to time to guide most of us starting up on the solar journey.

After his second year, he'll be the one dishing out orders to the technicians, I'm sure

Great job! This is informative and educative

emmaodet:

I was given a quotation of 65k for 1kva and 80k for 1.5kva inverter. Is there any difference from yours? To cause a big price margin

There is a big difference, the one in your quotation is powerful pure sine wave inverter, but you can contact justcallmanuel, ojesky or ewizard1 for technical advice

emmaodet:

Can it power led tv with dstv decoder?

Yes, currently using 500w inverter for 32 inches led TV, decoder and ceiling fan but the duration depends on the capacity of the battery

zenith4biz:

Yes, currently using 500w inverter for 32 inches led TV, decoder and ceiling fan but the duration depends on the capacity of the battery

Ok. Thanks

zenith4biz:


There is a big difference, the one in your quotation is powerful pure sine wave inverter, but you can contact justcallmanuel, ojesky or ewizard1 for technical advice

Okay

zenith4biz:

Yes, currently using 500w inverter for 32 inches led TV, decoder and ceiling fan but the duration depends on the capacity of the battery

some guys also connect a 75aH or 100aH even 200aH batteries to UPS 650va...1200va....1500va....2200va...etc and use them as inverts. whats your advice on that?

Mordecai:


Congratulations on crossing over to the league of independent power generators/consumers. At some point, you would not understand it when people ask you, "you get light for your estate?"

When I decided to begin using solar power, a friend of mine recommended that MTN solar device that costs 4500 monthly for 5 years. After looking at it, and seeing they were clearly ripping Nigerians off, I decided to explore solar energy on my own.

The biggest impediment to having solar power was the tendency of the solar power resellers to place a high price on otherwise cheap items.

They offered me a 1.2kva/100ah installation for 300k. I ignored them, struck out on my own and eventually set up a 2.4kva/200ah system, for about 250k inclusive of cabling and installation. These included two monocrystalline solar panels of 250w each. The only extraneous cost was that of hiring a scaffold to take the panels to the roof.

When I decided, after two years to upgrade my batteries, I got two Viforce batteries 210ah each for 190k less shipping costs. That is 95k apiece. I have ordered for another 250w panel at 36k. Little by little, I can simply get another inverter, and add my refrigerator to the circuit.

I have also observed these resellers servicing people's inverters monthly and I know they are just exploiting their customer's ignorance. In case you don't understand, servicing an inverter is like servicing a television. They don't need any servicing.

This is partly why I am posting this thread. If people know they can generate their own power cheaply, we would be able to set off our own micro industrial revolution in Nigeria.

Our offices, hospitals and schools will benefit. Our dependence on government for power will dwindle. Our homes will have cleaner air. Our night sleep will have less noise disturbances caused by petrol generators. All at a meager charge to our wallets.

I wish you the best of luck on your solar power journey. Encourage others to hop on the train too. Hopefully, one day our country will be better than Korea...

Bros na wa oh. So after spending 250k on power I still won't be able to use my refrigerator or washing machine? Omo las Las we all need generator in one way or the other. A 120k generator can power 2 refrigerators and a washing machine with 3 TV's, all light bulbs, 3 fans, PlayStation 4, etc. In fact some can even power a 1hp AC. Can still be used to pump water. To get a solar energy that can do all these how much would one need? Probably up to 1 million.

For me generator is inevitable even when u have solar. Its in this order: phcn- generator- solar (in order of importance).

maxjax:


some guys also connect a 75aH or 100aH even 200aH batteries to UPS 650va...1200va....1500va....2200va...etc and use them as inverts. whats your advice on that?

It is quite workable, and can serve. However, it can only replace the inverter unit. You will still need the other components of the solar generator.

Also, you will need to make certain adjustments to the UPS circuit, as it contains some circuit breakers and other such stuff.

On another note, getting an inverter off the shelf is a lot more cheaper than this, and more effective.

greenhulk:


Bros na wa oh. So after spending 250k on power I still won't be able to use my refrigerator or washing machine? Omo las Las we all need generator in one way or the other. A 120k generator can power 2 refrigerators and a washing machine with 3 TV's, all light bulbs, 3 fans, PlayStation 4, etc. In fact some can even power a 1hp AC. Can still be used to pump water. To get a solar energy that can do all these how much would one need? Probably up to 1 million.

For me generator is inevitable even when u have solar. Its in this order: phcn- generator- solar (in order of importance).

While it sounds cheaper to get a 120k generator to power all the items you listed, you might need to sit back, and recalculate the real cost of running that petrol generator.

I own a 4.4kw generator. While it can do everything you listed, I found out the hard way, that it did so at enormous cost.

First of all, at minimal load, it consumes a liter of petrol per hour. With the utilities you listed plugged on, the consumption skyrockets. I know this because, mine runs my washing machine (LG side load machine, I believe it's power efficient), my microwave cooker, my refrigerator, lighting and fans, TV and decoder, and all other small devices like chargers. But I would also tell you that I really paid good money to keep it running. Petrol, engine oil, servicing, plugs, rope etc. At a point, it appeared we lived to serve the generator, and not the other way round. We would spend some nights in the dark because it was in servicing.
I can tell you, without a shadow of a doubt that spending 250k on the solar power was one of my best decisions. For almost two years, I forgot I had a generator. PHCN filled in just fine.

My brother, my brother, when you enjoy the convenience this system brings, you'll not turn back again.

Even when we had just the petrol generator, we do not put it on just to run the refrigerator or washing machine. If we needed it, it was for lighting, the fans, charging our devices and watching TV. All those were additional benefits, which come with increased fuel consumption.

On the other hand, with my solar power, I spent 250k and that was it. The only thing renewable in it was the batteries. After 2 years. If I spend 100k on that, it could take me another 2 years again without hassles. That's 350k in four years. 450k in 6 years. That's real cheap, bro.

I chose to increase the battery capacity.

To get my present system to run my refrigerator, I would simply buy a 3.5kva inverter. That will cost me 160k. Same thing your generator will cost you after 2 years. But while I'd go in and sleep afterwards, you'd be at the fueling station buying petrol.

Lastly to set up a system to take all those things would cost me about 850k, assuming from scratch. If I decide to buy from China directly, it'd be cheaper.

And I'll be fine for about 3 years. Then buy batteries for a cheaper amount. Because the cost of batteries will keep decreasing, not increasing, unlike the cost of generators.

Mordecai:


It is quite workable, and can serve. However, it can only replace the inverter unit. You will still need the other components of the solar generator.

Also, you will need to make certain adjustments to the UPS circuit, as it contains some circuit breakers and other such stuff.

On another note, getting an inverter off the shelf is a lot more cheaper than this, and more effective.

ok.

wheres your location bro?

Back to our solar generator set up...

After connecting the battery to the solar controller, and the battery to the inverter, it's time to test the connection.

It's simple. Just push the inverter power button!!

The power indicator on the inverter should light up.

Plug in a phone charger on the socket at the back of the inverter. The phone should begin charging.

You can go ahead and plug in the inverter load selected for you by the electrician.

The inverter is ready for use !!!

One thing though - we are yet to connect the solar panel.

You're almost through, though.

Interesting.

Mordecai:


While it sounds cheaper to get a 120k generator to power all the items you listed, you might need to sit back, and recalculate the real cost of running that petrol generator.

I own a 4.4kw generator. While it can do everything you listed, I found out the hard way, that it did so at enormous cost.

First of all, at minimal load, it consumes a liter of petrol per hour. With the utilities you listed plugged on, the consumption skyrockets. I know this because, mine runs my washing machine (LG side load machine, I believe it's power efficient), my microwave cooker, my refrigerator, lighting and fans, TV and decoder, and all other small devices like chargers. But I would also tell you that I really paid good money to keep it running. Petrol, engine oil, servicing, plugs, rope etc. At a point, it appeared we lived to serve the generator, and not the other way round. We would spend some nights in the dark because it was in servicing.
I can tell you, without a shadow of a doubt that spending 250k on the solar power was one of my best decisions. For almost two years, I forgot I had a generator. PHCN filled in just fine.

My brother, my brother, when you enjoy the convenience this system brings, you'll not turn back again.

Even when we had just the petrol generator, we do not put it on just to run the refrigerator or washing machine. If we needed it, it was for lighting, the fans, charging our devices and watching TV. All those were additional benefits, which come with increased fuel consumption.

On the other hand, with my solar power, I spent 250k and that was it. The only thing renewable in it was the batteries. After 2 years. If I spend 100k on that, it could take me another 2 years again without hassles. That's 350k in four years. 450k in 6 years. That's real cheap, bro.

I chose to increase the battery capacity.

To get my present system to run my refrigerator, I would simply buy a 3.5kva inverter. That will cost me 160k. Same thing your generator will cost you after 2 years. But while I'd go in and sleep afterwards, you'd be at the fueling station buying petrol.

Lastly to set up a system to take all those things would cost me about 850k, assuming from scratch. If I decide to buy from China directly, it'd be cheaper.

And I'll be fine for about 3 years. Then buy batteries for a cheaper amount. Because the cost of batteries will keep decreasing, not increasing, unlike the cost of generators.

@Modrdecai

You are simply wonderful! This is from a pure heart of gold. You made my search.

I follow this class with all amount of seriousness.

Ride on!

maxjax:


ok.

wheres your location bro?

You can PM me, please.

psucc:
@Modrdecai

You are simply wonderful! This is from a pure heart of gold. You made my search.

I follow this class with all amount of seriousness.

Ride on!

Thanks a lot for the encouragement.

Mordecai:
We'll also need a solar panel. I would recommend the 12v/150w mono solar panel. It costs about N25000. There are smaller cheaper ones.

Important thing is, the voltage rating should not be less than 12v. And the power rating should not be less than 100w.
A picture of the 12v/150w panel (culled from Konga.com) is shown below:

I have a question please. Between the mono and poly solar panels, which one is the best? Any advantage over the other?

uboma:



I have a question please. Between the mono and poly solar panels, which one is the best? Any advantage over the other?

Mono is better but more expensive, I won't advise you to use poly unless you resides in a very sunny side of the far north like Maiduguri.

Ournolly:

Mono is better but more expensive, I won't advise you to use poly unless you resides in a very sunny side of the far north like Maiduguri.

Thank you Sir for the information.

Thanks for helping everyone understand mire abut this Solar Energy

I had to take the DIY( do-it-youtself) step last month when i was asked to pay an outrageous amount for the setup.

I bought the battery (gel 200ah) and inverter then learnt how to connect it. i only asked an electrician to change some connections in my house.

Having an inverter has been a life saver my brother. i have light almost 24hrs and stress of buying fuel or going out at night to turn it off has been avoided

Now am looking to get solar panels soon and may be add 1 more batter to make 2 200ah gel batteries with my 1kva inverter.

Now my question..... i hope the 2 batteries can work fine with the 1kva inverter.

can i use my 70w fridge with the two batteries?

if i get 3 (150w) solar panels connected to the setup, can i use the fridge during the day alone so as not to drain my batteries?

Mordecai:
To do this, five pieces of equipment are required. Just five. And they are:

Solar panel
Inverter
Solar controller
Wire cables.
Batteries

The long stories solar power professionals tell, the whole chimichaga (dogon turançi, akukó) comes down to these five. No more, no less.

Thanks for this.


Please how much can I get the 100watt solar panel.

and the charge controller.