My Off Grid Solar Panel System in Ghana
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ก.ย. 2024
- instagram/ericisfree
ericmcnealisfree
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Living Completely Off Grid in Ghana Using Solar
I was asked to highlight my efforts to live completely off grid in Ghana and having to depend totally on solar energy and explain what would I do different the next time.
My solar system is approximately 7000 watts (7kw). It consists of two inverters, 12 batteries, and twenty solar panels. Each solar panel is 350 watts a piece giving me a total of 7000 watts. The panels were manufactured in Ghana by a company called Strategic Power Solutions (SPS).
SPS is the first solar manufacturer in Ghana and they have an absolutely unbelievable facility out in the Tema area. They are Ghanaian owned and they proved to be very easy to work with and overall I was happy with their service. They are indeed a very impressive and professional outfit.
Solar does not equate to free energy. It is fairly costly. However, it is less costly than depending on the power company. But you do have a significant upfront expense to buy the system and have it installed properly.
I live completely off grid and there is no option to connect to the power grid even if I wanted to. Although a charcoal factory down the mountain from me brought powerlines closer to my home the powerlines are still far enough away that I would not pay the expense of trying to have them brought to my home.
I would recommend that anyone buying land consider purchasing land that already has access to power lines even though they may be planning to live off grid with their own solar power system. The reason is so you can potentially connect your solar inverters to the power grid and get paid from the power company when you generate more power than you use. Doing this has actually become a business for some people.
Had I not sold my home and was planning to be here for a long time, I would also add some windmills to my system because it is very windy in the mountain where I live - especially at night. Windmills would virtually eliminate the need for batteries because at night the windmills would produce energy and then during the day the solar panels would produce energy. And if my system was connected to the power grid, I could send lots of energy back to the power grid and get a credit. This means that when I wasn't able to produce energy I could just use my credit stored at the power company. I would effectively be using the power grid as my battery.
Knowing what I know now, I would recommend not installing tankless/instant water heaters if you plan on using solar. Tankless/instant water heaters use way more power than traditional water heaters with tanks. I installed two of them in my home and can tell you they are a drain on the system and definitely the batteries.
Another mistake I made was allowing the workers such as the carpenter to run their power tools on the solar. This contributed to prematurely running my batteries down. The type of batteries I have are rated for 5 - 7 years of use, but they are already very weak after 3 years.
I discovered that the type of batteries I used should not be ran all the way down. Once the batteries reach about half or quarter charge the system should be programmed to cut itself off until they are recharged. The system was not programmed to do this and I did not know it should have be done. If there is one thing I felt the company could have done better, this would be it. They should explain this to customers who may not know. Once I discovered this, I learned how to reprogram the system myself.
However, even after 3 years with batteries that I can clearly see are failing prematurely the system still carry me through the entire night as long as I don't try to do something like run fans all night. Only my refrigerator and a couple computers may stay on all night.
During the day, I have no problem whatsoever because the batteries are not being used. Because I have 7000 watts I can run virtually everything in my house including air conditioners and they work just fine so long as the sun is out. However, because my house remains cool because of the material it is built from, I never use my air conditioners.
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Usually, the reason you may have two inverters instead of one large inverter is that you have 2 independent solar arrays. Sometimes the home's roof design prevents the entire solar array system from having the same degree in tilt and direction. Therefore the array design has to split into independent systems to accommodate the inconsistency in the rooftop surface tilt or direction. I prefer the split systems because of the redundancy. The inverter is the weakest part of the system and they will fail eventually. If one inverter fails, you will have another inverter in service which will provide power at 50 percent. A single inverter system would cause total inconvenience at any point of failure.
Good information Kevin. It's nice to know about the tilt and direction. I added a note about the redundancy in the video because I forgot to mention that.
@@EricIsFree I'm an Electrical Designer, I've worked in solar system design for over five years before working in the Oil and Gas Industry. I approach solar from an engineering perspective in lieu of a consumer perspective. Consumers tend to approach the decision making based on normality (basically what they see other people doing). In regards to solar, the decision to mount a solar array on the roof, vs. a ground mount system is to solve a pending problem. The research efforts to reduce the size and weight of batteries are to solve pending problems, and not a stylistic approach.
People tend to mount solar on the roof because they have limited usable land (live in the city, or dense community) and need to take advantage of the unused footprint on their roof. People who live on multiple acres of land are without the problem of limited space. For rural area living, roof mount arrays are not necessary, and actually create other problems such as maintenance and limits the size of your system.
The same idea is valid for choosing your battery technology. When you only have a small garage in a dense community, a wall mount compact battery system like Tesla’ Powerwall solves a specific problem. However, when we live in a rural area, the problem of limited space may not exist and cheaper heavier batteries can be considered such as deep cycle lead acid. Instead of having the batteries close to your home a small shed house can be used to house the larger batteries.
@@MrD215 Okay, yes I recall you asking me about opportunities here to start a solar business. Thanks for the additional info. I actually originally considered a ground mount system, but decided against that because I didn't know the area here at the time and didn't want them to be an easy target for thieves or vandals. When I do this again, it will be on a larger scale so the batteries will definitely be housed in a dedicated space for them. I considered the Lithium Ion batteries, but someone suggested that the best alternative would be Lithium Iron batteries.
@@EricIsFree, I wasn't the one who inquired about the opportunity, but if I were to take the leap to Africa, solar would be one of the opportunities I would consider. In regards to the battery technology, Lithium-ion batteries are far superior in every aspect to anything on the market, except for the up-front cost. Lithium-ion is expensive, but you don't have worry about replacing them within a decade and your off-grid system will perform better due the the battery's charging efficiency and discharge depth.
My only question is that, are u able to run a wall unit AC with the 3500 watts, or even the 7000 watt system and if so, for how long during the day and how long at night when u go to bed. We all know that humidity factor out there is extremely unbearable
Eric you can use a large tank water heater, change the elements to low power 120v (500/750 watts) element and capture all that solar power you are throwing away everyday. You gradually heat your water all day, less solar wastage and reduced instant power demand even on cloudy days.
Do you install solar systems?
Lithium battery is the way to go. You should have the company come back and install conduit foe you electrical wires.
I am so happy to see a black brother making good in the Motherland on behalf of our brothers More success to you
Well done Eric, I always used to wonder why hot as it is in West Africa, why do people love to use generators instead of Solar Panels. No noise, no fumes and environmentally sustainable.
Yes, they're just really becoming affordable enough here for residents to deploy solar. I think soon they will become very common. But much of Africa is a "pay as you go" economy. For example, in Ghana people may only buy a few dollars worth of electricity and when they use it up the power shuts off whereas in the West the power company typically bills you after you have used it. That is not very common here. So, people don't usually have enough money for the upfront expense required to buy solar to take advantage of it. Solar investments will require large companies here to set up solar farms and then resell solar to residents.
Not all west Africa mostly in nigeria
Great video, beautiful home and a magnificent view you have. Your a lucky man. Congratulations.
Thank you!
Lithium ion batteries are the best I started with gel batteries and when I went with the lithium ion batteries more energy storage and more amp per dollar ! Knowledge is power ,my brother . Using Nissan Leaf batteries and 8400 watt solar panels and magnum inverters
Cool. Sounds like you have a nice system. I'm learning.
Mining crypto! Now that's food for thought. Living off of solar and earning at the same time, win win .... I really like the way you think. All power to you brother.
Thank you!
@@EricIsFree you're welcome
million dollar view very nice home and you put shaky camra on ground and tent one day you might be glad to have two inverters when one goes out god bless you my friend
Yes, the two inverters are great for redundancy.
Great info. There is no other logical choice for batteries than lithium iron for many reason from cost to safety. Please be careful using used batteries.
I prefer lithium ion batteries. Yes, batteries can be a dangerous thing.
David Poz is also a good youtuber for DIY solar solutions
Good deal. Thanks for the tip. Will definitely be checking him out.
levelling your landscape with some green grass and plants and tress would give the house a good look.
The new owners will be doing more landscaping. Now sure it will involve any leveling as that is very expensive.
Completing things in ghana can take time. Folks take years to complete a house or a project. I love this because it teaches patience... also you are less likely to make impulsive decisions like we commonly do here in America
@@ronaldchatman9144 Very true. They know how to keep you in debt in the US with that instant gratification.
Also keeping a lawn might be very unsustainable in an arid region. There are very pretty alternatives that are less costly, involve less maintenance and don't waste water like crazy.
Wooow this just reiterates everything that I have self taught myself about solar so I'm super stoked that you shared this video. Thank you 👊🏿👍🏿
Cool!
That washing machine about to take off lol
Thanks Bro u have just dispensed some valuable information for me...Much appreciated
Thank you!
I'm just going to buy 2 Bluettis and some panels....dont know why people hassle themselves with these complex setups...
Good video. As a footnote, I found it interesting that the inverter's moniker(MS or SL) is interchangeable...I wonder what the engineers intended with these messages.
Thanks Ronald. Yeah, nothing is permanent. ;-)
What would be interesting to know is, If that same (MS or SL) Acronym is used outside of Africa. It's very interesting that Master/Slave moniker is installed in that system. Thanks
Really thanks for your expertise. Genius my brethren, or teacher. What is the name of teachers in Ghana 🇬🇭? Native language term, or tribe.
My Growatt inverter is a 5KW load capacity. And there are even bigger ones for sure.
Great information Eric. I'm not sure if EWG do net metering. Worth checking this. Stay blessed brother.
Great content Eric- You produce wonderful content - But remember Electricity Company of Ghana won't be paying you for selling your unused solar power to them- Their meter Technology are not that updated -In other words they haven't gotten there yet-Like the west where it's standard practice - FYI - Overall fantastic videos - You're my guy
My brother can I recommend you get a few desulvator. My seal 6v batteries are 14yrs old and still going strong thanks to my desulvator. By the way respect from Jamaica. And yes I am looking at going lithium myself.
Thanks for the information. I've read about that in the past but it has been so long ago I forgot about it as a solution. Will check it out.
@@EricIsFree respect thanks hay that is what it is about sharing the knowledge and experience. Will you permit me to add something else? I every six months shuffle my batteries especially the end ones as the work the hardest and this method also keeps my battery bank in balance. Trust me the desulvator does work plus these days you can also buy the Agm battery balancer which keeps your Agm battery bank balance. Oh one more thing I envy you man you are in Ghana you know it is most Jamaicans dream to visit Ghana.
@@howardescoffery4950 Thanks. That's good information about shuffling the batteries. Yes, many Jamaicans in Ghana. My friends that own the Jamaican Village in Ghana (th-cam.com/video/FqI_6cySf0s/w-d-xo.html) are not to far away from me.
What Desulfator do you use for your Agm batteries? any link of the Desulfator?
@@howardescoffery4950What Desulfator do you use for your AGM Batteries?
Thanks for sharing
Thank u very much Eric look u reading my mind am just thinking about sola for my house n there u r,just u use 110 appliances with it
Yes, solar appliances are very expensive.
great work I love it.
Thank you!
@@EricIsFree Thanks to you brother, you opened our eyes.
ty
Very Educative
I understand what you're saying about having one large inverter but the way you have it is better because if one inverter Fales you have one to back it up if you have one large inverter and it failed damn you are in trouble because I'm in United States and I have off grid system on my house and I have to inverter the only problem I have is I did not research the inverter and I should have bought the same brand you have but for America why do I pay for my inverters I could have bought six of the ones you have or a lot more solar panels
Yeah, you're right. I do have the redundancy.
I bought two samlex 3012 Evo $1,800 a piece that is a lot of money now I should have resurgent some more
Hey what’s the name of the cable u bought from China pls ???
is your full house completely off grid and how much was the installation costs including materials and labour ?
You're talking about 18650 batteries. And jehu could build a diy tesla wall for half the price.
Okay yes.
Yea these aren't available in Ghana
Great video! Yes, using one solar inverter would have been much more efficient because you could undersize it by almost 50%. Also use a boiler with a heating element that uses power in daytime when the sun is shining and at a power that is at peak efficiency of the battery inverters.
hello brother, i'd be glad if you could tell me the efficacy of your batteries 2yrs after this video please? again, your kitchen cabinet, is it proper Ghanaian wood? if it is how much did you pay for it to be made? is it more expensive than the mdf boards kitchen cabinet?
Thank you
you should monitors your videos
I've thought about it. Will likely start soon.
@@EricIsFree u have thought about it? U don't want money? just do it
@@ab.jalloh4165 Thanks, but I have other issues to consider.
Where’s my friend, Akity ❤️?
She's around causing trouble. Lol
Eric McNeal awwww sweet little Akity😍
I,m monteur solar Afrikaan i wanne work in Afrika
I'm curious do any limitations or issues arise during rainy season when there is less sun?
You're more dependent on the batteries. But as long as you get some good light at least a couple hours out the day you are usually good. Just don't plan for any heavy power usage during that time like using the dehydrator. But usually the rain comes and goes so it's not a big problem.
What material is your house built from ?
Nice piece, what was your cost in total?
When purchased a few years ago it was about $12,000 USD. That included labor and delivery also.
Which company is Ghana will you recommend in purchasing a solar panel system.
I used Strategic Power Solutions in the Tema area and was happy, but they're not cheap. However, there are many companies popping up now.
How many villages could this system power for basic water and sewage treatment
Bro ure rich men 😁😁😁
I'm rich in spirit. ;-)
Would have been possible to use 6 24v batteries instead? Was that an option?
By the way, do all Washing machines make this loud noise?
Please where do you buy your Louver frame and the prices
Also, how much was the total price for the 7k watt system?
Eric are you able to run your AC all day on this too? What’s your experience ? Has is been no problems or that depletes the battery like the water heaters you mentioned
I rarely ever ran my AC units because the house was comfortable for me without it. But you size you batteries based on how you intend to use your system and it will support your AC units just fine. My suggestion now is to use lithium batteries as they will last much longer.
@@EricIsFree yeah. I agree to the lithium ion batteries. Tesla’s powerwall is the best -I think. You no more living there I suppose? You used past tenses in your response.
@@ampofoboadi Yes, it was sold over 3 years ago. We are now working on a self-sufficient sustainable community with homes similar to the one I originally built. You can find our more at www.migratingculturecrossing.com.
Can you use 110 volt things with the solar power direct
It can be programmed for either 230 volts or 110 volts.
You need a split phase inverter to do 120/240v or 2 120v and wire them parallel to get 120/240v
How much was everything in total please , thanks
I purchased my system about 3 years ago and everything cost me about $12,000 USD at that time.
Eric don't you get good wind blowing up where you are at that you could have bought a wind turbine instead??
Yes, we have great wind here. I think the new owners will add windmills to the system. That way the solar panels will give power during the day and the windmills will give power during the night.
Solar is lower maintenance, more preferable to wind turbines apart from the lack of energy production at night. Considering the intensity and duration of sunlight in Ghana you should still be able to generate large amounts of power to last you through the night
Did you imported those batteries or you got them in Ghana?
I got them from the solar company. But there is a company here that imports them from Japan and resells them here.
@@EricIsFree oh really? I live in Japan too I may look into them from here. Thank you
X
And so what?