After our actual verification, the charging loss computed on the wattage of the solar panel is 19%. Thus the ratio of of input to output is 1.24:1 and not 1.5:1. Our revised cost in using colar is 1,960 x1.24/1.5 or P1,633, thus narrowing the gap. Still, this is not yet taking into account price escalation of Meralco's price which is reported to be close to 300% every 10 years.
Now, going back to the cost of a 120watt solar panel,it is P24,000 and the controller is P1,000.The battery will be P5,000. Total of P30,000.
BK
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
COST COMPARISON
Meralco charges P10 per KWH. A 40W flourescent lamp, used, say for 10 hours log 400WH or .4KWH . On an annual basis, that will be 144 KWH x 10 or P1,440. What will it be if we use solar energy?
Here are assumptions:
1. Solar Panels last 25 years. P200 per watt.
2. Controller last 25 years. P1,000.
3. The battery last 5 years. P5,000.
We first have to determine how much solar panels we would need in watts to light up the same bulb. Unfortunately, the relationship in watts is not one to one. There are losses when batteries are charged. It means , a 40W solar panel is not necessarily what we need to charge batteries for the 40W lamp. THERE IS THE TIME ELEMENT TO CHARGE AND THE TIME IT WILL BE LEFT ON. We will make one loose assumption at this point, that it takes 150 % more power to charge a battery. This means for example that a 15W panel exposed for one hour can supply 15watt-hour but the battery will accumulate only 10 watt-hr. Or, a 10W panel should be exposed 1.5 hours to light up a 10W bulb for one hour.
Ok, with this assumption, we would need to produce 400WH x 1.5 daily to power up the lamp for 10 hours a day. That will be 600 WH a day. To produce that in day, we need to know how much average sunlight we have available daily. In the Philippines, 5 hours is used. Thus, 600WH/5 is 120 watts. To get the cost, a 120W solar panel, costs P24,000. Over 25 years, that will be P960 pesos. The cost of the battery will be P5,000/5 or P1,000 per year. The controller is negligible. So, the total cost to produce the same power with solar cells is P1,960. Not a good proposition on the surface when Meralco would only charge P1,440. BUT IF WE TAKE INTO ACCOUNT PRICE ESCALATION, WE MIGHT BEAT MERALCO'S COST.
There are other benefits to the country like LESS OIL IMPORTATION AND LESS POLLUTION.
NOW SWITCHING TO LEDS WILL HALF THE COST! Now, that makes sense.
BK
Meralco charges P10 per KWH. A 40W flourescent lamp, used, say for 10 hours log 400WH or .4KWH . On an annual basis, that will be 144 KWH x 10 or P1,440. What will it be if we use solar energy?
Here are assumptions:
1. Solar Panels last 25 years. P200 per watt.
2. Controller last 25 years. P1,000.
3. The battery last 5 years. P5,000.
We first have to determine how much solar panels we would need in watts to light up the same bulb. Unfortunately, the relationship in watts is not one to one. There are losses when batteries are charged. It means , a 40W solar panel is not necessarily what we need to charge batteries for the 40W lamp. THERE IS THE TIME ELEMENT TO CHARGE AND THE TIME IT WILL BE LEFT ON. We will make one loose assumption at this point, that it takes 150 % more power to charge a battery. This means for example that a 15W panel exposed for one hour can supply 15watt-hour but the battery will accumulate only 10 watt-hr. Or, a 10W panel should be exposed 1.5 hours to light up a 10W bulb for one hour.
Ok, with this assumption, we would need to produce 400WH x 1.5 daily to power up the lamp for 10 hours a day. That will be 600 WH a day. To produce that in day, we need to know how much average sunlight we have available daily. In the Philippines, 5 hours is used. Thus, 600WH/5 is 120 watts. To get the cost, a 120W solar panel, costs P24,000. Over 25 years, that will be P960 pesos. The cost of the battery will be P5,000/5 or P1,000 per year. The controller is negligible. So, the total cost to produce the same power with solar cells is P1,960. Not a good proposition on the surface when Meralco would only charge P1,440. BUT IF WE TAKE INTO ACCOUNT PRICE ESCALATION, WE MIGHT BEAT MERALCO'S COST.
There are other benefits to the country like LESS OIL IMPORTATION AND LESS POLLUTION.
NOW SWITCHING TO LEDS WILL HALF THE COST! Now, that makes sense.
BK
Sunday, April 10, 2011
THIS PORTION IS FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN TECHNICAL CONSIDERATION IN USING SOLAR ENERGY
The first step is to define the energy need/purpose. For example, the need is for a 20W flourescent lamp to be turned on 3 hours a night for a school child to study. Check the ampere that the bulb takes in and for a 20W f-lamp, it is about 1 ampere. So the need is for 3 ampere-hour daily.
Factor in the loss of energy in charging a battery. A good guide is theratio of 1.5:1,meaning 1.5 in and 1 usable. In short the battery has to be charged at 150% of the desired usable power.
In our case, 1.5 x 3 AH is 4.5AH. Thus, we have to put 4.5 AH into the battery. So, we must a battery that can absorb and DELIVER the 4.5AH. |Solar Panels usually delivers 17 voltsD.C., enough to charge a 12V battery. But battery capacity is in AH. The smallest car battery is 40AH.
That is excessive four our need.We can buy a 7AH battery or a 12AH battery. The one shown in the pix is the latter.
Now, producing 4.5AH with solar cells is a function of the ampere the cells can deliver and the time charging. First, we have to estimate average sunlight available. The standard established for the Philippines is 5 hours. ok, let's use that. To produce 4.5AH over 5 hours,we would need a Solar Panel delivering 4.5/5 ampere or that is .9 ampere or 900 milliampere.A 15watt SP delivers .87 amp and a 20W SP delivers 1.16 amp. |We sould be conservative to use a 20W SP.
However, we can reduce the requirement if we use more efficient lightbulbs such as the LED. Whilethe claim is that the LED power consumption is 1/5 of the conventional bulbs, it is on the prudent side to just use 1/2 or 50%.Thus, if we used LED bulbs above, we would need only a 10W Solar Panel such as the one hled by the author in the picture.
From hereon, it is easy to "extrapolate". If we wish to double our bulbs, well, double our SPs. But we also have to raise the capacity of our battery.
THE ROLE OF THE CONTROLLER
The controller protects the battery from overcharge and from overdischarge. When the battery is fully charged, the controller "dumps" the energy from the SP. That is why it is foolsih to have excessive SPs to what the battery can hold. The controller shuts off the load(the lamps) when the battery has reached a criticallevel and in the test done,it is 11 volts. Some controller, has an auto switch to turn on the lamp at dusk and off in the morning. The SP itself is the sensor.
Next, we shall discuss cost effectiveness of Soalr Energy.....
The first step is to define the energy need/purpose. For example, the need is for a 20W flourescent lamp to be turned on 3 hours a night for a school child to study. Check the ampere that the bulb takes in and for a 20W f-lamp, it is about 1 ampere. So the need is for 3 ampere-hour daily.
Factor in the loss of energy in charging a battery. A good guide is theratio of 1.5:1,meaning 1.5 in and 1 usable. In short the battery has to be charged at 150% of the desired usable power.
In our case, 1.5 x 3 AH is 4.5AH. Thus, we have to put 4.5 AH into the battery. So, we must a battery that can absorb and DELIVER the 4.5AH. |Solar Panels usually delivers 17 voltsD.C., enough to charge a 12V battery. But battery capacity is in AH. The smallest car battery is 40AH.
That is excessive four our need.We can buy a 7AH battery or a 12AH battery. The one shown in the pix is the latter.
Now, producing 4.5AH with solar cells is a function of the ampere the cells can deliver and the time charging. First, we have to estimate average sunlight available. The standard established for the Philippines is 5 hours. ok, let's use that. To produce 4.5AH over 5 hours,we would need a Solar Panel delivering 4.5/5 ampere or that is .9 ampere or 900 milliampere.A 15watt SP delivers .87 amp and a 20W SP delivers 1.16 amp. |We sould be conservative to use a 20W SP.
However, we can reduce the requirement if we use more efficient lightbulbs such as the LED. Whilethe claim is that the LED power consumption is 1/5 of the conventional bulbs, it is on the prudent side to just use 1/2 or 50%.Thus, if we used LED bulbs above, we would need only a 10W Solar Panel such as the one hled by the author in the picture.
From hereon, it is easy to "extrapolate". If we wish to double our bulbs, well, double our SPs. But we also have to raise the capacity of our battery.
THE ROLE OF THE CONTROLLER
The controller protects the battery from overcharge and from overdischarge. When the battery is fully charged, the controller "dumps" the energy from the SP. That is why it is foolsih to have excessive SPs to what the battery can hold. The controller shuts off the load(the lamps) when the battery has reached a criticallevel and in the test done,it is 11 volts. Some controller, has an auto switch to turn on the lamp at dusk and off in the morning. The SP itself is the sensor.
Next, we shall discuss cost effectiveness of Soalr Energy.....
INTRODUCTION ON ENERGY
Most of the energy we have here in our planet came from our SUN, the star nearest us. And it is a medium size star among stars in our Galaxy alone, the Milky Way. But its energy is tremendous. We would fry before we can get halfway. By astronomical standards, our SUN is very near to us, only 8 light-minutes away! Living things on earth are protected from the deadly rays of the sun because of our atmosphere. The earth has its own natural energy like its gravity and it's movement.When we use waterfall to generate electric power. that is purely from the earth's energy. Of course, there is also the wind. But the most abundant are the sun's light! The primitive concept is that if only we can save some of the day's light and use it at night! Perhaps, cavemen thought of this when they encountered luminous rocks! Imagine a rock brought outside during daytime and rolled back into the cave at night.Hmmmmm...There were some primitive ideas in the past like putting a giant mirror aloft to reflect sunlight to the dark side of the planet. We have a natural one, the Moon.Perhaps in the future, Man can put giant mirrors on the moon! Ah, but there are some drawbacks other than costs. Healthwise, we have to sleep in complete darkness to develop some human chemistry. It's not fair to eliminate night time. Today, we have discovered and developed a way to store sunlight.
A bit of energy in general. Energy cannot be multiplied but it can be converted to different forms. Physical energy can be converted into electricity. Crank a magnet around a coil and we can produce electric energy in the coils. Push this energy into a jar with electrolytes, then we converted the energy into chemicals.The reverse is also true. electricity can be converted to physical energy with motors. And the chemicals can be converted back into electrical power(the battery). Now WHAT ABOUT LIGHT? IF WE CAN PRODUCE LIGHT WITH ELECTRICITY, CAN WE CONVERT LIGHT BACK INTO ELECTRICITY? The answer is YES! The material which is abundant on earth that has revolutionize everything on earth is SILICON. A device called a semiconductor or transistor using silicon when exposed to light creates electricity. Today they are called Photovoltaic Cells or Solar Cells and eventually Solar Panels because of the shape.
The present popular energy is hydrocarbon, the bunker oil running generators, diesels, and gasoline. How did this kind of energy come from the sun? Well yes,millions of years ago when trees sprouted and grew via photosynthesis(light from the sun), eventually got buried, petrified and compressed and liquified underground. Today, they are called black gold.
The problem with using Sun's energy of years ago is extraction, refining,and POLLUTION. If we imagine a chart showing sun's energy of the past that we can use, near the present is the wood we burn. It is perhaps from a tree that grew only a year ago. But it is still polluting. Remember the world started with wood during the steam engine days.
THE BEST ENERGY IS THE SUN'S ENERGY TODAY! That is what Solar power is all about. We can demonstrate using the sun's energy today. Line a can with aluminum foil, point to the sun and at its focal point put an egg on a dish with water. It will boil the egg. Or WW2 tanks in the desert getting so hot that soldiers were frying eggs on top of the hot metal. Today, we have everything we need to store the sun's energy conveniently until needed. BATTERIES. So:
PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLLS + BATTERY + CONTROLLER + LIGHTBULBS = A SYSTEM FOR COLLECTING AND USING TODAY'S SUN ENERGY.
The results: RENEWABILITY,LESS POLLUTION, LESS INPUTS TO GATHER, THEREFORE LESS COST TO US. The cost savings is not just the actual monetary cost but cost to mother earth. Not to mention the risks now well known to us as to what is happening with the nuclear power plants in Japan.
to be continued.....
Most of the energy we have here in our planet came from our SUN, the star nearest us. And it is a medium size star among stars in our Galaxy alone, the Milky Way. But its energy is tremendous. We would fry before we can get halfway. By astronomical standards, our SUN is very near to us, only 8 light-minutes away! Living things on earth are protected from the deadly rays of the sun because of our atmosphere. The earth has its own natural energy like its gravity and it's movement.When we use waterfall to generate electric power. that is purely from the earth's energy. Of course, there is also the wind. But the most abundant are the sun's light! The primitive concept is that if only we can save some of the day's light and use it at night! Perhaps, cavemen thought of this when they encountered luminous rocks! Imagine a rock brought outside during daytime and rolled back into the cave at night.Hmmmmm...There were some primitive ideas in the past like putting a giant mirror aloft to reflect sunlight to the dark side of the planet. We have a natural one, the Moon.Perhaps in the future, Man can put giant mirrors on the moon! Ah, but there are some drawbacks other than costs. Healthwise, we have to sleep in complete darkness to develop some human chemistry. It's not fair to eliminate night time. Today, we have discovered and developed a way to store sunlight.
A bit of energy in general. Energy cannot be multiplied but it can be converted to different forms. Physical energy can be converted into electricity. Crank a magnet around a coil and we can produce electric energy in the coils. Push this energy into a jar with electrolytes, then we converted the energy into chemicals.The reverse is also true. electricity can be converted to physical energy with motors. And the chemicals can be converted back into electrical power(the battery). Now WHAT ABOUT LIGHT? IF WE CAN PRODUCE LIGHT WITH ELECTRICITY, CAN WE CONVERT LIGHT BACK INTO ELECTRICITY? The answer is YES! The material which is abundant on earth that has revolutionize everything on earth is SILICON. A device called a semiconductor or transistor using silicon when exposed to light creates electricity. Today they are called Photovoltaic Cells or Solar Cells and eventually Solar Panels because of the shape.
The present popular energy is hydrocarbon, the bunker oil running generators, diesels, and gasoline. How did this kind of energy come from the sun? Well yes,millions of years ago when trees sprouted and grew via photosynthesis(light from the sun), eventually got buried, petrified and compressed and liquified underground. Today, they are called black gold.
The problem with using Sun's energy of years ago is extraction, refining,and POLLUTION. If we imagine a chart showing sun's energy of the past that we can use, near the present is the wood we burn. It is perhaps from a tree that grew only a year ago. But it is still polluting. Remember the world started with wood during the steam engine days.
THE BEST ENERGY IS THE SUN'S ENERGY TODAY! That is what Solar power is all about. We can demonstrate using the sun's energy today. Line a can with aluminum foil, point to the sun and at its focal point put an egg on a dish with water. It will boil the egg. Or WW2 tanks in the desert getting so hot that soldiers were frying eggs on top of the hot metal. Today, we have everything we need to store the sun's energy conveniently until needed. BATTERIES. So:
PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLLS + BATTERY + CONTROLLER + LIGHTBULBS = A SYSTEM FOR COLLECTING AND USING TODAY'S SUN ENERGY.
The results: RENEWABILITY,LESS POLLUTION, LESS INPUTS TO GATHER, THEREFORE LESS COST TO US. The cost savings is not just the actual monetary cost but cost to mother earth. Not to mention the risks now well known to us as to what is happening with the nuclear power plants in Japan.
to be continued.....
Saturday, April 9, 2011
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Hi friends;
The purpose of this blog on alternative energy is to record and share my experience in creating alternative energy systems here in the Philippines. So far, I have started in Wind Power and Solar Panels(photo voltaic cells).
My write ups will follow.
BK
The purpose of this blog on alternative energy is to record and share my experience in creating alternative energy systems here in the Philippines. So far, I have started in Wind Power and Solar Panels(photo voltaic cells).
My write ups will follow.
BK
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