Solar Power in a Living Facility - Ajarn Forum

Piece Train · 25th July 2007, 10:32

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone had any experience in having solar power in their house or apartment. I spoke with a solar power company in Thailand that installs solar power equipment for a living facility. They can do the installation for hot water for around 35,000 baht, manpower included. This would supply hot water for shower, washing dishes and any other use one might have, like washing clothes or shaving.

To me, this would allow one to save electricity and not support the buying of different types of energies from countries like China and Iran. It would also enable me to save money. According to the information I have, the unit would pay for itself in about three years' time. There is another expense, and that is hot water piping. The individual with whom I spoke said that a specific German galvanized pipe is used, which costs about 91 baht for a metre. The pipe is bendable and has aluminum alloy in it, among other materials (PPP I think he said, but I'm not sure what that is).

I also asked about using solar power for lighting and air con. This would be economically unsound it appears. Outdoor lighting was suggested as a possible use for solar power that would not be all that expensive.

If one rents, this is not really a sound alternative and the Thai government does not provide any monetary incentives for solar power, nor does it buy back any electricity, unlike in some of our home countries. If one buys or rents long term, I hear this may be a sound alternative however.

I was just wondering if anyone had any experience with any of this and whether or not you saved any money. What I wrote above is just my ideas, thoughts and some facts I gathered about the subject.

DJ Pat · 25th July 2007, 10:38

Why do you need hot water in Thailand? All shower gels, shampoo, washing up liquids, washing powder, fabric conditioners and soap are formulated for cold water use and what with the heat, you'd be sweating profusely after a hot shower here.

Piece Train · 25th July 2007, 11:25

It's nice to have that warm water when you bring the shower head up around your shoulders and chest. It prevents you from having that feeling like you're going to war and you need to tense up your whole body's muscles to adjust to the cold water sensation on the more sensitive upper body.

Also, it's good during those winter months here from November to February or so when the water is dastardly cold in the mornings and evenings and the air is chilly around you.

Hot water is a luxury in more pricey rooms in hotels too, so why not add that luxury into your living facility and have the feeling of the place around you more high class?

SnoopBot · 25th July 2007, 11:36

You must insure there isn't hidden cost. To get enough power from the Solar source the panels must be big enough to produce enough current output to do the job. Often Solar Panels are jumpered into the system so if power levels are too low regular electricity carries the load.

You might make a thousands of Baht investment and find out that you are only reducing a small portion of your bill.

I do not suggest installing Solar Energy sources unless you own the property or can resell them when you move.

Cost estimates state that the first 3-5 years you get NO offset savings to compliment the initial installation and purchase.

After 5 years the savings start under ideal situations (sunshine 340 days + a year)

Unless you're going to stay there for a long time or own it, I suggest not doing this.

If you do decide to do this you must calculate the power output of the panels and your system. You want to purchase a system that gives 10-20% more power output than your estimated load of your system.

You need to calculate between power conversions into various units Amp-hours , Watts ect to insure you don't under purchase the number of your panels.

Usually, any excess power can be sold back to the power company.. but I'm sure not in Thailand.

You must research this very well and analyze your power needs so you don't spend too much or under-spend to get the correct system.

A perfect system off the grid would use, Solar, Wind, and generator. Usually using a battery systems like UPS to keep load changes from doing any damage.

As you can see it is more complicated and getting a consultation from a third party (not the solar panel company) before installation starts is highly advised.

For those of you that are building/own a house in rural Asia, I feel this is a good idea. Investing in a good system is the way to go as unreliable power is common in the remote village areas.