Affordable solar power?

[pup2]

Eto storya. 2 years ago, sa sobrang mahal ng meralco for commercial use, nag-research ako at nag canvass ng alternative renewable energy. Turns out, the cost of RE, particularly solar energy, declines by over 10% per year. At the time, I figured to hook up a 2000-watt system (dating kinakabitan ng gen set dahil pinaka important circuit power-wise) running for 9-12 hours a day, kung ang cost ay mga 800 thou, break-even na with napocor power.Since 1M pa yung qinuote sa akin at that time and since naubos na ang budget ko, pinostpone ko muna. Recently, though, nag-canvass ako ulit. Guess what? Yung dating 1M cost, ngayon less than 600thou na lang!!!Kaya this summer, grineen-light ko na itong project na ito kasi tipid na, enviro friendly pa, scientific curiosity pa. BTW, 20 years ang warranty nung solar cells. Baterya lang ang replaceable kung sakali and 2-3 years ang expected life ng isang set (madami eh -- 10 yata).Ano sa tingin ninyo?

[wildthing]

okay yan...saan ka nagtanong ng solar cells?

[userfriendly]

I'm also interested but want to clarify a few things. You said you use it for
2000 watts. This is a small amount of power only, less than 1.5kw. How much are you paying Napocor per kw? How much does solar energy cost per kw?

If you don't mind, who is the supplier and what is the contact number?

[hitomi]

^i second the motion.

supplier and contact number sir?

if solar power is feasible for your business, why not take the plunge?

[niky]

I'm interested in solar power, myself... but I still can't afford it.

For business, power requirements are huge... airconditioning and lighting alone eat up a huge chunk of budget... I think our monthly bill for the school is seven figures, already.

But putting panels on the buildings? Ten million or more kaya yung cost? Wehehehe...

[pup2]

okay yan...saan ka nagtanong ng solar cells?

Dalawa ang major supplier sa 'Pinas pero madaming contractor. I'm currently talking to Shell and First Gen (Lopez Group). Ang shell maraming experience since a whole slew of houses in Palawan are actually shell solar powered. Ang Lopez group parang mas mura OTH.

[mmanson]

wow..i was also thinking of using this one sa province namin. sobrang scarce kasi ng energy source dun lalo na ngayong dinaanan pa ng bagyo

[pup2]

I'm also interested but want to clarify a few things. You said you use it for
2000 watts. This is a small amount of power only, less than 1.5kw. How much are you paying Napocor per kw? How much does solar energy cost per kw?

If you don't mind, who is the supplier and what is the contact number?

Kaya siya 2000 watts kasi yun yung output nung circuit na naka-kabit sa gen set namin noong panahon ng brownout. It's smallish pa kasi experiment pa nga lang. I want to see any downsides to the project, if ever.

Pero kahit 2000 watts lang yun, dahil malakas ang gamit (essential system nga eh), it operates NLT 10 hours a day kaya in 1 month, that's 2000x10x30 wh (60 kwh). I don't remember the cost I used for Napocor but I remember just dividing the Kwh figure by the total bill para kasama na lahat ng taxes, distribution charge, etc.

Take note though -- commercial establishment ito kaya mas mataas ang rate kesa sa households dahil sa commercial establishments yata galing ang lifeline subsidies. Hindi ko kinompute using households as a basis eh.

Solar doesn't cost anything after installation -- yung replacement lang ng baterya every 2-3 years or so. If I remember correctly, I also put that in to my analysis. Thing is, mahaba ang payback niya kaso since 20 years naman ang warranty nung solar panels, huwag lang maaksidente OK na.

I also took note that our power increases in price by around 10% every year. While the cost of the panels decreases by more than that every year. So talagang eventually, only the large initial cost will be a hindrance. Hinihintay ko sana magka-subsidy ito pero mukhang wala pang liwanag sa gov't kaya mauuna na me! harharhar!

[pup2]

I'm interested in solar power, myself... but I still can't afford it.

For business, power requirements are huge... airconditioning and lighting alone eat up a huge chunk of budget... I think our monthly bill for the school is seven figures, already.

But putting panels on the buildings? Ten million or more kaya yung cost? Wehehehe...

You're in school admin also? Ako din! Actually, pilot project pa lang ito kasi mahilig kami mag-experiment. There are some EU schools on 100% solar but I imagine the total cost would be huge -- plus the area devoted to the panels!

Kaya nga 2000 watts lang muna. Kung maganda ang results ng experiment, puwede ko i-implement ng circuit-by-circuit para hindi mabigat sa bulsa.

[pup2]

wow..i was also thinking of using this one sa province namin. sobrang scarce kasi ng energy source dun lalo na ngayong dinaanan pa ng bagyo

Try to contact somebody based in Palawan. Masama ang power situation doon at madaming naka-solar. Yung shell nga may retail solar stores doon eh kaya lang dito wala . At least now, may idea ka na of the cost.

[theveed]

Saw a feature years ago sa province na puros naka solar panels yung isang town (as in barrio lang sya) dahil di inaabutan ng kuryente... That was pretty cool..

I've always been interested in this, kahit pang power lang ng ref/fan/tv (constant on devices) laking tipid din yun in the long run.

[pup2]

Saw a feature years ago sa province na puros naka solar panels yung isang town (as in barrio lang sya) dahil di inaabutan ng kuryente... That was pretty cool..

I've always been interested in this, kahit pang power lang ng ref/fan/tv (constant on devices) laking tipid din yun in the long run.

True. Dati payback was 20 years yata eh. Now, it should be down to 10 or less lalo na kung tuloy-tuloy ang increase ng kuryente (2-3 times inflation yata yun eh).

Would that be in El Nido or Taytay, Palawan by any chance? Gulat ako noon when I went there 10 hours a day lang kuryente pero andaming tao naka-dream satellite. hehehe.

[mmanson]

yep. di naman actually lahat ng gamit e dapat nakadepende sa solar power pag nagpalagay ka.

[theveed]

pup2: di ko na maalala hehe, mga 5 years ago ko pa nakita yun... Pretty sure it's not Taytay, kasi talagang wala roads halos yung lugar na yun...

[pup2]

pup2: di ko na maalala hehe, mga 5 years ago ko pa nakita yun... Pretty sure it's not Taytay, kasi talagang wala roads halos yung lugar na yun...

AFAIK, Taytay Palawan (not Rizal) would've been like that 5 years ago.

[pup2]

yep. di naman actually lahat ng gamit e dapat nakadepende sa solar power pag nagpalagay ka.

I agree. The appropriateness of using solar would be directly proportional to hours of use and inversely proportional to absolute wattage. Yet another reason I chose the gen set circuit for the experiment.

[theveed]

Ah ok hehe kala ko Rizal...

Keep us posted

[laklak]

*pup2

would the solar panel power be a backup system only, or would it be like all, lighting systems powered by solar and all power circuits supplied by meralco? I guess the major concern would be the efficiency of the panels, does the material of the panel degrade over time? If i am not mistaken, you would have to re-orient the panel with respect to where the sun is pointing at different times of the day.

[boybi]

Malaki ang risk maglagay ng solar panels dito sa Philippines since we average around 20 typhoons each year.

[laklak]

naisip ko lang, solar cells would output DC voltage.You would need power inverters for this. Typical power systems would use AC single phase(for residential) 3-phase for industrial/commercial. Would your solar panel system be able to support this? Or would you have to spend an additional amount to address this? Baka naman the cost of converting your existing system become to prohibitive for this venture. Siguro if you have a highly inductive load in your business, why dont you try first to install a capacitor bank (industrial/commercial grade) it would really improve savings in your consumption