Have you ever looked at your electricity bill, no matter what you do, it seems higher every time, and thought about switching to solar energy, but don’t know where to start?
Dawn.com has put together some information about companies operating in Pakistan to answer your questions about the cost of a solar system, its types, and how much you can save.
The first thing you need to decide is the type of solar system you want, and there are three of them: on-grid (also known as on-grid), off-grid, and hybrid.
The grid system is connected to your city’s power company, and you can use both options: the solar panels generate power during the day, and the power grid supplies power at night or when the batteries are low.
This system allows you to sell the excess electricity you generate to a power company through a mechanism called a net meter, which can save a lot of money on your bill. On the other hand, you will be completely dependent on the grid at night, and since you are connected to the grid even during the day, your solar system will turn off in the event of a load shedding or power failure.
Hybrid systems, although connected to the grid, are equipped with batteries to store some of the excess electricity generated during the day. It acts as a buffer for load shedding and failures. Batteries are expensive, however, and backup time depends on the type and quality you choose.
As the name suggests, the off-grid system is not affiliated with any power company and gives you complete independence. It includes large batteries and sometimes generators. This is much more expensive than the other two systems.
The power of your solar system should depend on the number of units you consume each month. On average, if you use 300-350 devices, you will need a 3 kW system. If you are running 500-550 units, you will need a 5 kW system. If your monthly electricity consumption is between 1000 and 1100 units, you will need a 10kW system.
Estimates based on price estimates offered by the three companies put the cost of 3KW, 5KW and 10KW systems at around Rs 522,500, Rs 737,500 and Rs 1.37 million respectively.
However, there is a caveat: these rates apply to systems without batteries, which means that these rates correspond to grid systems.
However, if you want to have a hybrid system or a standalone system, you will need batteries, which can greatly increase the cost of your system.
Russ Ahmed Khan, design and sales engineer at Max Power in Lahore, said there are two main types of batteries – lithium-ion and tubular – and the price depends on the desired quality and battery life.
The former is expensive — for example, a 4kW pylon technology lithium-ion battery costs Rs 350,000, but has a lifespan of 10 to 12 years, Khan said. You can run a few light bulbs, a refrigerator and a TV for 7-8 hours on a 4 kW battery. However, if you want to run the air conditioner or water pump, the battery will drain quickly, he added.
On the other hand, a 210 amp tubular battery costs Rs 50,000. Khan says a 3 kW system requires two of these tubular batteries, giving you up to two hours of backup power. You can run a few light bulbs, fans, and a ton of inverter AC on it.
According to information provided by Kaiynat Hitech Services (KHS), a solar contractor based in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, tubular batteries for 3 kW and 5 kW systems cost around Rs 100,000 and Rs 200,160 respectively.
According to Mujtaba Raza, CEO of Solar Citizen, a solar energy supplier based in Karachi, a 10 kW system with batteries, originally priced at Rs 1.4-1.5 lakh, will rise to Rs 2-3 million.
In addition, the batteries need to be replaced frequently, which adds to the overall cost. But there is a way to bypass this payment.
Because of these costs, many users opt for grid or hybrid systems that allow them to take advantage of net metering, a billing mechanism that bills for the electricity that solar system owners add to the grid. You can sell any excess power you generate to your power company and offset your bill for the power you draw from the grid at night.
Another relatively small item of expenditure is maintenance. Solar panels require frequent cleaning, so you can spend about 2500 rupees per month on this.
However, Solar Citizen’s Raza warned that the price of the system could fluctuate given the fluctuations in the exchange rate over the past few months.
“Every component of the solar system is imported – solar panels, inverters and even copper wires. So each component has a value in dollars, not rupees. Exchange rates fluctuate a lot, so it’s hard to give packages/estimate. This is the solar industry’s current predicament.” .
The KHS documents also show that prices are only valid for two days from the date the estimated value was published.
This can be one of the biggest concerns for those considering installing a solar system due to the high capital investment.
Raza said his company has been working with clients to create a system by which electricity bills can be reduced to zero.
Assuming you don’t have a battery, during the day you will use the solar power you generate and sell the excess solar power to your power company. However, at night you do not produce your own energy, but use electricity from the power company. On the Internet, you may not pay your electricity bills.
Max Power’s Khan gave the example of a customer who used 382 devices in July this year and charged Rs 11,500 per month. The company installed a 5 kW solar system for it, producing about 500 units per month and 6,000 units per year. Khan said that given the unit cost of electricity in Lahore in July, the return on investment will take about three years.
Information provided by KHS shows that payback periods for 3kW, 5kW and 10kW systems are 3 years, 3.1 years and 2.6 years respectively. The company calculated annual savings of Rs 204,097, Rs 340,162 and Rs 612,291 for the three systems.
Plus, the solar system has an expected lifespan of 20 to 25 years, so it will continue to save you money after your initial investment.
In a net-metered grid-connected system, when there is no electricity on the grid, such as during load shedding hours or when the power company goes down, the solar system is immediately turned off, Raz said.
The solar panels are intended for the Western market and are therefore not suitable for load shedding. He explained that if there is no electricity on the grid, the system will operate under the assumption that maintenance is in progress and will automatically shut down within a few seconds to prevent any safety incidents through a mechanism in the inverter.
Even in other cases, with a grid-tied system, you will rely on the power company’s supply at night and face load shedding and any failures.
Raza added that if the system also includes batteries, they will need to be recharged frequently.
Batteries also need to be replaced every few years, which can cost hundreds of thousands.
Post time: Oct-27-2022