Journalist Who Installed 12 Pieces of 500-Watt Solar Panels in His Village Home 3 Years Ago Speaks
- A Nigerian journalist who installed solar in his village home has shared his experience as he decried the terrible power situation in Enugu
- He said one of the best decisions he made three years ago was installing 12 pieces of 500 watts solar panels, a 10 kilowatts hour lithium ion battery and a 5kva inverter in his village home
- With two solar panels, he can pump his borehole in the village, comfortably power three freezers and give light to two of his tenants in their nearby shops
Charles Ogbu, a Nigerian journalist and human rights advocate, has decried the poor electricity situation in Enugu, which he claimed has been at its worst for the past month.
In a Facebook post on March 6, Charles shared a photo of his solar setup and opened up about how he installed solar in his village home three years ago, as an alternative to the poor power supply.
Source: Facebook
Journalist shares his solar installation experience
According to Charles, he installed a 10 kilowatts hour lithium ion batter, 5kva inverter and 12 pieces of 500 watts solar panels.
While noting that solar installation remains the best alternative to electricity, he advised people to be very careful when going for it, claiming that most inverters, panels and batteries in the market are fake.
For the past three years, he said he has been pumping his borehole with his inverter installation, adding that his solar setup comfortably carries three freezers.
He also gives light to two of his tenants in their nearby shops. His Facebook post read:
"One of the best decisions I made three years ago was installing a 10kilowatts hour lithium ion battery, 5kva inverter and 12 pieces of 500 watts solar panels in my village home.
"For over a month now, the power situation in Enugwu has been at its ‘worstest worst’. As in, it has never been this bad despite being in the so called band A. And sadly, I don’t see the situation improving anytime soon. Nigeria, a country of over 200 million people struggles with around 4,000 MW. Even with that 4k MW sef, the grid still dey collapse every eke market day. Asorock that is occupied by a man who told Nigerians never to vote him again if he failed to give them steady power supply, has since installed solar everywhere.
"With our reliable sunlight, the best alternative remains to go solar IF YOU CAN AFFORD IT but please be very careful; MOST of the inverters, panels and batteries in the market are FAKE, concocted and fraudulently branded by our people. Some inverter they sell to you as 10kva may not even have up to 5kva capacity. Ditto panels. They will buy 200watts solar panels, for instance, and brand it 350 watts.
"Too many fraudsters in that sector. Ditto the installers. Many of them either in a desperate move to get the job or out of sheer ignorance, give quotation without checking the appliances/loads in your house and end up promising what is clearly not realistic. After you’ve spent millions installing it, your light will now be offing before 7pm. I lived through all these horrible experiences before I finally got some right and decided to manage the rest. Even from this picture, you can see that my inverter is not hybrid while the 5kw hour battery is two pieces instead of just a single 10kilowatts hour battery. I learnt a great deal from that experience.
"Now, for the past 3 years, this inverter installation pumps my borehole (that one requires only two solar panels) comfortably carries 3 freezers, gives light to two of my tenants in the shops closeby (they have just fan and light bulbs) and carries two ACs but we don’t use both AC at the same time and it’s only during the day. Once the sun is down, no AC but it can comfortably carry the inverter freezers overnight if need be. And the solar panels charge the batteries 100% before 2pm everyday except on rainy or cloudy days."
When asked in the comment section how much his solar setup cost, Charles replied:
"I’m not exactly sure but a 500watts solar panel hovers between 120k-130k.
"I think I bought the 5kilowatts hour battery 1.4 million each.
"I have forgotten how much I got the inverter.
"Plus other accessories.
"But I’m guessing around 6 million. I am not exactly sure because the price of stuff is never stable."
Source: Facebook
See his Facebook post below:
Solar installation: Man's village experience triggers reactions
Legit.ng has compiled some reactions to the journalist's experience below:
Favour Okechukwu said:
"It has never been this bad! I can't even have a proper sleep at night because of the heat.
"Can't even store foods in the freezer because there's no light.
"I don't understand what is happening!"
Able Boss said:
"Solar ooooooo.
"Generator ooooooo,
"None would be or could be ever compared to NEPA light,
"There's this feeling and peace of mind it comes with."
Nelson Ejiofor said:
"I am scared venturing into solar, the fear of charles experience has kept me out installing solar in my house. The amount is too big to gamble with."
In a related story, Legit.ng reported that a Nigerian man had installed solar at home to enjoy constant light and used Cworth lithium batteries to power his two air conditioners.
Landlord stops tenant from installing solar panels
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that a landlord had stopped his tenant from installing solar panels on his roof.
According to the installer, the client's landlord stopped them from installing 10 pieces of 650w solar panels on his roof, leaving them to the small space on the security house.
In a viral video, the solar installer showed the Jinko bifacial solar panels they wanted to mount on the roof.
Source: Legit.ng
