This island is now powered almost entirely by solar energy
By Chelsea Harvey

The new solar project on Ta

ENERGY ELECTRICITY
by Joseph Hincks DECEMBER 15, 2016, 11:44 PM EST

And there

This is a story that has been told for decades. We have every excuse in the book but no solutions. It started with Kainji Dam, maintenance, the generator mafia, now it is gas and sabotage.

Posted by Osahon Date: December 08, 2016:

Nine of the nation

“I would rather go to any extreme than suffer anything that is unworthy of my reputation, or of that of my crown”. Elizabeth I

During our interactions with our competitors clients, we are surprised by the compromises and the pain the clients have to endure in other to own solar. Some even with solar accept that they have to run a generator every day because they have no choice. Some endure inverters and controllers that fail after rainstorms. Many endure batteries that fail months after the installation. The worst we have seen are failed inverters with bulging damaged batteries.

What did we observe. Look at the pictures and then we will point out what could possibly be wrong.

Obviously not very imaginative. It installs quickly at minimal cost. The inverter is plugged into an outlet. No way to isolate or prevent feed back in the event of an electrical fault or surge. The inverter selected is not really suitable for a client that lives 100% of the grid. It is not heavy duty / rugged enough. The installer placed the inverter on Styrofoam packaging. Inverters get hot as they invert. The packaging traps heat and can cause premature failure or a fire. The Styrofoam is placed on top of the battery. Batteries including maintenance free batteries will vent when overcharged. The cover can blocks the vents. When the battery can’t vent what do you think will happen? It will bulge and damage the plates, in rare instances they will explode. Your batteries are the 2nd most expensive part of your system. They need to be properly charged. The charge controller (the black thing on the wall) can’t do it very well. This is why after a few months, your batteries lose capacity or you are forced to run your generator daily. Finally. There are no protections. No fuses, battery disconnects or PV disconnects. This is why, when you experience thermal runaways they fry the inverters and controllers. There is nothing to disrupt that.

Take a look at our installation and you can immediately see the difference. The quality of the installation and equipment stands out.

The picture speaks for itself. It looks very professional (comparable to anything you will see in Europe or America), all the protections are in place. The wires are tucked away and the battery box looks like a piece of furniture.

We spend money and time on the installation so that you can enjoy your investment for a very long time

In Nigeria we have been hungry for so long that a cracker looks like sumptuous meal. Hunger no more. The bar has been raised.There is a minimum that you should demand. With you on board we can raise the standard.

Final thought for the day. How much more did we cost? You will be shocked when you find out that we are pretty similar in price. We just spend more making sure that you get value for the money.

We are experts and it shows in our work. We do expert designs based on how you intend to use the system.

Come today and see why they call me Dr. Solar and learn why AWPS Renewable Energy is #1 in customer satisfaction.

Go to sleep in Nigeria and wake up 30 years later and the headlines would not change.

December 1, 2016
Ejiofor Alike

Power allocation to the 11 distribution companies, which had averaged 4,000 megawatts in recent months has further dropped to below 3,000MW following the inadequate supply of gas to the power stations as a result of the impact of the militant attacks on oil and gas facilities, THISDAY has learnt.

THISDAY gathered from the

This is a request we get daily. The range is so huge that we wonder if 5 kva and 10 kva are nothing but numbers that have no real measurement to the individual making the request.

5 kva is 4 Kw and 10 kva is 8 kw.

Let is do actual measurements for you to get an actual idea of how much power you consume.

I currently have a 3000 watt inverter, two 30 amp mppt charge controllers, 480 AH in flooded batteries and 2000 watts in panels.

Connected to my 3000 watt inverter from 8:30 am to 6:00 pm Monday thru Friday are:

1. refrigerator
2. A freezer
3. A ceiling fan
4, 2 walls fans
5. 1 standing fan
6. 5 laptops
7. 1 laser printer

All these pull between 550 and 600 watts.

I also have a pumping machine, an electric iron that I use when I want to iron, a 32 inch TV, another wall fan, a microwave and my lights at night.

The pumping machine is over sized for the house 2 hp, it pulls 1500 watts. The microwave is defective it pulls over 1300 watts. The iron is an iron it pulls over 1200 watts. My TV, fan and lights are negligible next to the others.

The question that you will ask is; what is on at the same time?

Number 1 to 7 are on during the day. We turn off number 1 if we want to pump water. We do the same if we are ironing.
At night the freezer, 2 fans, lights and on some evenings the TV (for a few hours) are on till the morning.

On sunny days I average 6000 to 8000 watt hours in production which is more than enough to handle my consumption and put something back into my batteries. In the morning I wake up to batteries that have over 75% left. Some mornings I wake up to batteries that are over 90% full.

My 3 kw is equivalent to 3.6 kva. In January we will add additional panels so that we can power a 1 hp AC on a sunny day.

So when someone asks for a 5 kva and or a 10 kva, I ask myself what are they thinking about? Do they really need a machine that big or could something smaller do the job?

So when next you want to purchase solar or an inverter ask for a calculation of your loads. Don’t assume the size that you want.

I am Dr. Solar like us on Facebook and subscribe to our newsletter. Better yet, purchase a system today and see why we are revolutionizing the solar power business

Nigerians should not expect improved power in next five years

This weekend I visited two of our clients in Magboro Ogun state. The both live in Gateway Sparklight Estate. The last time the grid was present was in 2011. People who live there either run a generator or are on solar power.

Customer A

Vast Moroccan Solar Power Plant is Hard Act for Africa to Follow

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I have been on solar power since June of 2014, we started with a 1.5 kw Inverter, 200 Ah batteries and 1 kw in panels.

Later that year I upgraded to a 3 kw inverter, an MPPT charge controller and