Solar power may not be very cheap, but more people now see it as the solution to incessant outages, CHUX OHAI writes
During the 2015 Silverbird Man of the Year event, which was held in Lagos about a month ago, Chairman of the Silverbird Group, Ben Murray-Bruce, unveiled a solar-powered car said to have been built to his specification by Kia Motors.
Murray-Bruce told his awed audience that the electric car, as some people now call it, required neither petrol nor gas to function. The vehicle, which was different from any other that Nigerians have ever known, could only be fuelled with energy sourced directly from the sun.
Once fully charged with the aid of sunlight, he had added, the car could be driven for a total of eight hours.
The event had attracted mixed reactions across the country. Although some people treated it as just another novelty, others, who were more discerning and, probably, aware that scientists had predicted that by the year 2050 solar power would become the largest source of electricity, did not.
From grid power to solar power
Indeed, investigation shows that more Nigerians, daily battling with the challenges of getting regular supply of electricity, especially in the urban areas, have begun to gravitate from grid power to solar power.
Not to be left out in this season of migrations, those who can afford the cost of residential rooftop solar plants, which is high initially, have started doing so in earnest. Some of them, like Akin Akinlade, have gone further to tell their neighbours about the benefits of getting hooked on solar power and their testimonies signal the beginning of a quiet revolution south of the Sahara.
One day, like many Nigerians, who are tired of waiting for government to solve the problems affecting the power sector as promised, Akinlade found himself making a crucial decision a few months after moving into his current residence, in a part of Ogun State where residents hardly enjoy electricity for several weeks at a stretch.
Having discovered that he was spending an average of about N5,000 on fuel every week to power his generators, he had no other choice than to seek an alternative source of electricity, particularly for domestic uses.
Shortly afterwards, Akinlade met somebody who introduced the idea of generating electric power from the sun to him. The man, Dr. Tunde Fashipe, who is a medical doctor and lecturer at the Bowen University Teaching Hospital, was also formally trained in matters relating to solar technology.
“Fashipe joined us when he returned to the country after spending many years in the United States. At the time, his primary concern was to ensure that the community was lighted up. So, he sold us this idea. I am one of those who have benefitted from his expertise,” he tells our correspondent.
With technical assistance from Fashipe, he was able to acquire 10 solar panels and two batteries at the cost of N650,000. And to enable his solar set-up to power high-capacity electrical and electronic appliances, what he did was to buy the energy-saving types. And that includes a refrigerator, air-conditioning units and electric iron.
Similarly, Leo Omosebi used an inverter for almost two years. Unable to contain his aversion for power generators and the challenges of sourcing fuel for home use, he had decided to install solar panels in his residence a short while ago.
“A friend of mine also inspired me to switch to solar power. He used to say that each time there was a power outage in his neighbourhood, he had to rush back home within three hours to switch on his generator because his wife could not handle it. It wasn’t until he acquired an inverter that he realised that he could be absent from home the whole day and not worry about electricity. So, he gave me a link to somebody that came to design what I use in my home,” he recalls.
The recent strike action by independent marketers of petroleum products and the resulting urgency for an alternative source of electric power also drove him to embrace solar technology.
Manna from the sun
Explaining why sunlight is essential to the generation of solar power and how it can be converted to any other form of energy, especially in this part of the world, electrical engineer, Sola Fakegbe, says, “When we talk of solar power as an alternative source of power, especially in Nigeria, it means we are talking about how to convert it to electrical energy for domestic use. We are also talking of solar panels, the charging panel or circuit and the inverter.”
Indeed, the first thing that Akinlade and Omosebi did, after making up their minds to switch to solar power, was to acquire inverters and connect them to solar panels.
An inverter set-up, our correspondent gathered, consists of one or more batteries and a UPS device. While the battery stores up the charged energy, the UPS releases it. Apart from this, there are two types of inverters: the digital and the pure ‘signwave’. The latter is the perfect one for electricity generation in the home.
Further investigation shows that a solar panel is required to specifically convert ultraviolet rays from the sun to electrical energy. After trapping energy from the sun, it stores same in a battery.
The solar panel comes in different configurations and with different voltages, depending on the load and available space.
Benefits of solar power
Ever since Akinlade started using solar power in his home, his expenses on fuel for his generator have dropped sharply.
“There is light in my residence all day long. I have no regrets for switching to solar power whatsoever,” he says, counting his blessings.
Also, with a solar configuration that guarantees electricity in his home for eight straight hours, Omosebi has no reason to worry about power supply any longer.
“At any point in time, I could get power without having to bother about using a generator or depending on PHCN. So, using solar power, especially for our daily supply of electricity, is just the smartest thing to do,” he says.
Fakegbe notes that in spite of the complaints about global warming, increased use of power generators in this part of the world contributes to further depletion of the ozone layer of the earth crust.
“Each time we switch on a generator, carbon monoxide is released into the atmosphere. But the use of solar power for domestic purposes is cheaper and safer than any other known means. Solar technology will not only reduce the risk of environmental pollution, it will also help to improve the quality of life in this part of the world. In the long run, we will be able to exploit other sources of energy,” he says.
On the other hand, Omosebi has every cause to be grateful to nature for providing the sunlight that has made it possible for him to generate an alternative means of power.
“Sometimes I laugh when other people complain that the heat from the sun is becoming stronger and hotter. For me, the hotter it becomes, the happier I am because I know that my batteries are getting charged and power is being stored,” he says.
Too expensive for ordinary Nigerians
Now that he depends on solar energy for his daily supply of electricity and has seen the benefits, Omosebi wishes that he could, as he put it, take his residence “off the national grid”.
But that will have to be determined by how much financial resources that he can muster to acquire a better UPS that can power his refrigerator and air-conditioners, even though inverter technicians warn that the use of such home appliances may affect the life span of the batteries in the long run.
Although he agrees that using solar power for domestic purposes is relatively cheap and worth the investment in the long run, he says, “The snag is that the initial capital investment is on the high side. I had to save up some money over a period of time in order to be able to afford the set-up I have at home.”
Indeed few people are able to afford the initial costs of shifting to solar power. And since it is the privileged elite that are mostly into the technology, it is not uncommon to find that in some parts of Abuja and Victoria Island in Lagos, nearly half of the roofs on the homes of the affluent are padded up with solar panels.
Financial implications
Further investigation shows that the cost of generating electricity with solar energy depends on the load required and the size, as well as the wattage of the solar panel. To power just two electric fans, TV and home stereo sets, about 1.5 KVA of solar-generated electricity is needed.
According to Fakegbe, the more solar panels you have, the more batteries that will be needed. A solar panel that will charge a battery of 200 amps – about the size of a battery for an articulated vehicle – will cost not less than N65,000. This excludes the cost of the inverter. If a user wants a panel to supply electricity at night, the size must be bigger. It must be capable of charging the battery and supplying electricity at night.
To get started, for example, Omosebi had to acquire four solar panels of about 150 watts each. At the time he bought them, each panel cost N35,000. Also, he acquired four 200 amps batteries at N45,000 each and I bought a UPS for N50,000.
“In fact, the cost of my current set-up is in the region of over half a million naira and the configuration is 1.4 KVA, including an array of solar panels,” he says, adding that while the number of batteries can determine how long the power supply will last, the UPS determines the load that the set-up can carry.
But, with a 1.4 KVA instead of 2.5 KVA UPS, as he observes, it will be impossible to power appliances like air-conditioning sets and refrigerators.
Dos and don’ts for users of solar power
Although solar energy can be used to power all the electrical appliances in many homes, experts advise against using it to power high-voltage appliances and gadgets, such as electric cooker, air-conditioning units or electric iron, because of the high costs involved. But it is best for electric fans, TV sets, high-fidelity stereo systems and electric bulbs.
Warning against unnecessary waste of solar power, Akinlade says, “You don’t use solar-powered electricity the way you use normal electricity from PHCN. But, at the peak period – when the sun is shining brightly – you can pump water and do everything else you want to do with it.”
Also, Fakegbe urges those making designs of their ideal homes to accompany it with a specific design for solar panels and to set aside about one-third of the budget meant for purchasing roofing materials for solar panels.
He says, “The solar panel should be wide enough so that when it is cascaded, it will be able to cover a sizeable portion of the roof. In the case of rented apartments, the panels can be assembled and installed on the roof. It is better to install it on the roof of the house so as not to be tampered with or vandalised.”
Although Omosebi believes that the alternating current from hydro-electric power is best suitable for charging the energy-storing batteries, he advises users of solar power to seek an alternative in a 3.5KVA generator. “What happens is that the moment power is restored, the UPS automatically switches on and as it supplies power, it charges the batteries. While the alternating electric current from PHCN charges them faster, the solar panels take a longer time to do the same thing,” he says.
On his part, Akinlade has devised a unique way of preserving his batteries. “What I do is this: in the morning when there is nobody at home, I make sure that every appliance, except the refrigerator, is switched off. By that time, the batteries would have been fully charged. So, when we return, the fridge is turned off and we would have saved up enough energy to last through the night.
“Anybody using an inverter in his home needs to bear in mind that batteries can be drained. He should not let it drain beyond a certain point. When a battery is fully charged, the solar charge controller – which comes with every inverter – makes sure there is no unnecessary flow of resources,” he says.
When powering electricity with solar energy, he adds, energy-saving electric bulbs should be used. The reason is that an energy-saving bulb of the lowest wattage supplies brighter light than a 100-watt filament bulb.
Omosebi also urges those who want to move from grid power to solar power to ask their technician not to connect certain appliances or gadgets to the inverter. In his own case, a technician had to run an alternate wiring in his residence, isolating some sockets.
“Anytime there is an outage, the inverter, which is the pure sign-saving type, automatically switches on to the inverter without being noticed. So, when dealing with the inverter technician, you calculate what you need and you make sure that all the appliances in the house work through what has been designed,” he says.
Not harmful to ozone layer
Also, contrary to common belief, Fashipe says, in a telephone interview with our correspondent, that constant use of solar energy for domestic settings cannot in any way affect the ozone layer protecting the earth from harmful radiation from the sun.
“It does not deplete the ozone layer. Only substances that emit carbon particles do that,” he says.
Source: The Punch
