Solar System.

shahoo

Well-known member
Jul 2, 2010
1,061
0
41
Karachi
Do you guys know any reliable company/person in Karachi for installation of solar system in home? Secondly, is solar system worth it or there are better alternatives available. Thanks.
 

aura

Proficient
Apr 5, 2009
538
0
21
KARACHI
what equipment/appliance do you intend to run on solar? how much power does it consume? do you get periodic loadshedding?
answer these question please and then I can properly guide you.
just fyi
broadly speaking there are two types solar setups
off grid
on grid.
off grid : solar powers load and goes to utility/battery (i.e. K electric) in absence of solar power. also solar power output should match or above required load. most cases requires batteries
ongrid: also called grid tied usually doesn't require battery. combines solar and utility power to adjust load and sells excess solar power back yo grid ( requires system be installed by AEDB approved vendor). downfall. system shuts off when utility fails i.e. loadshedding.
 

shahoo

Well-known member
Jul 2, 2010
1,061
0
41
Karachi
what equipment/appliance do you intend to run on solar? how much power does it consume? do you get periodic loadshedding?
answer these question please and then I can properly guide you.
just fyi
broadly speaking there are two types solar setups
off grid
on grid.
off grid : solar powers load and goes to utility/battery (i.e. K electric) in absence of solar power. also solar power output should match or above required load. most cases requires batteries
ongrid: also called grid tied usually doesn't require battery. combines solar and utility power to adjust load and sells excess solar power back yo grid ( requires system be installed by AEDB approved vendor). downfall. system shuts off when utility fails i.e. loadshedding.
First of all,thank you for responding. 5 fans,5 led bulbs,1 computer. That's all! Yes,loadshedding is a major issue in our area.
 

StrikerX

Moderator
Moderator
Apr 6, 2009
6,636
52
54
Islamabad
Secondly, is solar system worth it or there are better alternatives available. Thanks.
Worth it? Definitely.

I have a 6kW hybrid solar setup @ home with net metering enabled, just waiting on the electricity meter to be replaced. As per the calculations that I did before installing it, I am most likely going to zero out on the electricity bill (i.e. No bill, will go surplus on bill).

If you have any questions, shoot.
 

aura

Proficient
Apr 5, 2009
538
0
21
KARACHI
fan has power consumption of 80 watts. that's 400 watts. lets say computer has good gfx card so it will take around 200 watts. 12watt led bulb going to have 60 so total load is going to less than 700 watts.
here is thing about solar panel power rating, a 325 watt solar panel only produces 325 watt at 25 C and at 1000 W/m2 of sunlight. this 325 rating is STC rating (standard test conditions). so don't assume 4 x 325 watts are going to cover your load.
what you need to look at is NOCT rating which is less (around 240 watts) and their is temperature derating as well. higher temp. means lower output typically and if temp. is low ( less than 25 C) output is higher.

usually when sizing PV power you take panel power and multiply by .70~.75 to get idea of how much power you will get at peak times.
rest is choosing solar inverter and battery capacity.

regarding installation I suggest you visit market and search facebook/olx to get quotes. I did it myself small setup 2 panels and inverter (already had UPS installed wich was replaced with solar inverter) so no additional wiring.
One thing to remember is to consult datasheet of inverter you are going to buy because usually inverters are rated for higher capacity then the PV power they support at least low power models. for e.g. 1 KVA axpert inverter only takes 600 watt of PV power. same goes for some 3 KVA modes , max PV power is 1500 watts.
 

shahoo

Well-known member
Jul 2, 2010
1,061
0
41
Karachi
Worth it? Definitely.

I have a 6kW hybrid solar setup @ home with net metering enabled, just waiting on the electricity meter to be replaced. As per the calculations that I did before installing it, I am most likely going to zero out on the electricity bill (i.e. No bill, will go surplus on bill).

If you have any questions, shoot.
How much did this system cost you?

- - - Updated - - -

fan has power consumption of 80 watts. that's 400 watts. lets say computer has good gfx card so it will take around 200 watts. 12watt led bulb going to have 60 so total load is going to less than 700 watts.
here is thing about solar panel power rating, a 325 watt solar panel only produces 325 watt at 25 C and at 1000 W/m2 of sunlight. this 325 rating is STC rating (standard test conditions). so don't assume 4 x 325 watts are going to cover your load.
what you need to look at is NOCT rating which is less (around 240 watts) and their is temperature derating as well. higher temp. means lower output typically and if temp. is low ( less than 25 C) output is higher.

usually when sizing PV power you take panel power and multiply by .70~.75 to get idea of how much power you will get at peak times.
rest is choosing solar inverter and battery capacity.

regarding installation I suggest you visit market and search facebook/olx to get quotes. I did it myself small setup 2 panels and inverter (already had UPS installed wich was replaced with solar inverter) so no additional wiring.
One thing to remember is to consult datasheet of inverter you are going to buy because usually inverters are rated for higher capacity then the PV power they support at least low power models. for e.g. 1 KVA axpert inverter only takes 600 watt of PV power. same goes for some 3 KVA modes , max PV power is 1500 watts.

Thanks man!
 

StrikerX

Moderator
Moderator
Apr 6, 2009
6,636
52
54
Islamabad
How much did this system cost you?
160k 5kW on-grid 3-phase inverter (for net metering)
340k for 6.125kW PV panels (market rate is Rs.55/w)

70k for off-grid/backup inverter (for when wapda goes down)
220k for a 48V battery bank (24 x 2V cells of 300AH capacity)

100k misc for wiring/frames/earthing/net-metering consultancy etc

We overspent on the battery bank, you can simply get the 12V UPS battery and reduce 100-120k on that.
 

imranirfan

Beginner
Aug 18, 2014
37
0
11
160k 5kW on-grid 3-phase inverter (for net metering)
340k for 6.125kW PV panels (market rate is Rs.55/w)

70k for off-grid/backup inverter (for when wapda goes down)
220k for a 48V battery bank (24 x 2V cells of 300AH capacity)

100k misc for wiring/frames/earthing/net-metering consultancy etc

We overspent on the battery bank, you can simply get the 12V UPS battery and reduce 100-120k on that.
Which brand/model of inverter and PV plates. How much warranty?
 

StrikerX

Moderator
Moderator
Apr 6, 2009
6,636
52
54
Islamabad
How is your experience so far with GoodWe? Does the model you are using have built-in WiFi?, to view your daily/weekly/monthly PV production and other parameters?
Mind sharing the vendor name?
The inverter hasn't been in full day usage yet (waiting for IESCO to install netmetering capable meter) so I can't really comment yet.

Yes, it has built-in wifi and it shows daily/weekly/yearly etc data on GoodWe's online portal/app.
 

wasifhassan97

PG Darth Vader
Jan 15, 2014
167
2
23
Karachi
www.playstation.com
I have a question.
Is it possible that we completely switch to Solar power or maybe just for the big loads like, (A/Cs, motors etc) and only running lights & fans on K Electric limiting the units consumed in a month to not more than 300?


We consumed 1219 units (1219 KWh) this month, avg 40.6 KWh per day, and got a PKR 25,370 electric bill. [emoji26]
while we consumed 331 units prior to this, in the month of May, avg 11KWh per day

Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:

StrikerX

Moderator
Moderator
Apr 6, 2009
6,636
52
54
Islamabad
Just out of curiosity, how much do you save in terms of electricity bills with this system? Just trying to figure out how long before it pays itself back.
It will differ from household to household. Yesterday, the inverter produced 34kwh aka 34 units. If the house consumption is lower than that then this is all savings and if its higher then you reduce your electricity bill by a good margin.

In our case, our daily usage in summers tends to be 40units+- with 2 AC's, 1x pressure pump, 1x motor and other misc things.
 

StrikerX

Moderator
Moderator
Apr 6, 2009
6,636
52
54
Islamabad
I have a question.
Is it possible that we completely switch to Solar power or maybe just for the big loads like, (A/Cs, motors etc) and only running lights & fans on K Electric limiting the units consumed in a month to not more than 300?


We consumed 1219 units (1219 KWh) this month, avg 40.6 KWh per day, and got a PKR 25,370 electric bill. [emoji26]
while we consumed 331 units prior to this, in the month of May, avg 11KWh per day

Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk
During the day yes, not advisable to run entire house on batteries (battery bank will cost more than the entire PV system) during the night/rainy days.
 

fayaz88

Intermediate
Oct 13, 2013
157
2
23
During the day yes, not advisable to run entire house on batteries (battery bank will cost more than the entire PV system) during the night/rainy days.
Have you heard about the Islanding feature? I have heard that in net metering, if Wapda supply goes off, the UPS cuts off supply to home as well to protect anyone who might be working on the poles.
 
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