My first Solar Powered LED Light

In the last post, we discussed a basic architecture of a Solar Power Generator.

If you wish to try something of your own and implement this model for learning purposes; a custom built Solar Powered LED light can be a good project to work on.

This can be implemented by spending very small amount of money.

Though we are doing it for learning but I bet you that this light would be much better and much more efficient than the Chinese ones available in the market. 

You just have to plan a trip to electronics market  and you'll be done with all required components.

The system will require the following stuff. 

- LED Light panel (You can design your own LED light if you have time -- But here, we will stick to the one readily available in the market)

- Solar Panel

- Dry Battery

- Charge Controller.

LED Lights,

 Some videos are available on youtube that provide details of how to make your own LED light. An easier option is to just buy simple 12V LED light available easily in electronics market (In my case, that would be Hall Road since I am a resident of Lahore). 
You can also buy 12 volt 18 - 243 LED bulb instead.
Just roam around the market and you will find some best buys. Like I know a very good vendor of LEDs in Lahore on Hall Road named "3D LED"

Solar Panel,

            For LED light, you can begin with 3-5Watt Solar Panel which can be bought from any of the renowned vendor.
We will also teach you how to build you own panel in upcoming posts .

Dry Battery,

            You can use 12Volt 4.5 - 7 Amp battery. Preferably dry battery.
But please make sure that you select a good quality battery. Your backup time totally depends on this battery.

Solar Charger,

            You can get a custom made solar charger kit readily available from any of the electronics shops where university students usually visit for their projects.
I use to buy such stuff from a shop named "Electronik 2000" from Hall Road Lahore.

Now last part is connecting every thing which is quite simple. Just make sure you ask from vendor which wires connect to what while purchasing solar charge controller. Solar charge controller will be connected to all three devices.

Estimated cost would be:

            12V 18LED for Rs.50-100

            Solar PV 3 Watt for Rs.600-750

            12V 4.5 Amp dry battery for Rs.900-1000

            5 Amp custom built charge controller kit for Rs.100

So, for Rs.1700 to Rs. 2500 you can design your own light which is far better than the emergency lights available in the market.

Once you are done with this small project, you'll gain confidence and it will be encouraging for you to proceed for designing a bigger system.
Also by roaming around the market, you will get a priceless experience..


Good Luck.. 

Basic Architecture of Solar Power Generator using Photovoltaic

A typical Solar Powered System consists of following components

- Solar Photovoltaic Panel(s)

- Solar Charge Controller

- Power Inverter (from DC to AC 220v or 110v)

- Batteries (Single battery meeting the requirements or multiple batteries forming a battery bank)

- Wiring (low resistance efficient wires for interconnecting the components)

- Ample and secure space for Solar Panels with maximum sunlight exposure. Preferably rooftop. 

Now take a look at the above architecture diagram. This is apparently a 12 volts system and the solar panels are connected in parallel (increasing the amperage and keeping the voltage as constant).
The output of the panels now become input of the charge controller. The charge controller is used to collect the current from the solar panel(s) and charge the battery bank. Usually, the solar charge controllers are very efficient as compared to the conventional rapid battery chargers. Nowadays, you can get plenty of advanced features like Pulse Width Modulation (PWM), automatic voltage detection, support of multiple range of voltage (12/24/36/48/96 volts)  in a very basic level charge controller.
There are also some very advance level charge controllers available in the market with the functionality of Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) and Hybrid Charging (when there are more power sources other than solar). These charge controllers also provide reports on usage and power generation stats. They also have an amazing feature of sending out emails in case of detection of any error.
So, it depends upon your pocket if are ready to spend some handsome amount to get these advance features, otherwise a simple basic charge controller may also work fine.
Well.. we will specifically be discussing about the charge controllers and their types in  more details in separate posts.
Batteries and Inverter is connected to the charge controller. Charge controller also makes the decision to cut the battery power in case of batteries get discharged more than the required limits.
Inverters can be selected as per the needs. Good inverter is a pure sine wave inverter and recommended for Solar Energy Systems.
However nicely built modified sine wave inverters can also work but my vote is still for pure sine wave inverter when you plan to go totally off grid.

General Perceptions about Solar Power Systems (Solar Generators)

Usually people think that  solar powered system is no different than the conventional grid power. The only difference would be a solar panel installed on the rooftop and will replace WAPDA power as it is.


Well this is not true as a whole. I agree that a solar panel is the core component in building your Solar Power Generator but there are some other building blocks as well which are of great importance... like Charge Controller, Inverter and Batteries.
Don't worry, we will discuss the complete architecture and each component is detail in upcoming posts.


However there are some considerations before you plan to move on.
- Complete analysis of energy requirements for your household (Both in winters and summers).
- Take a decision whether you want to go 100% off grid or partially.
- Plan your infrastructure and all hardware components involved
- See if you want to keep some backup device(s) in case your primary device(s) fails. (I am talking about inverter and charge controller in particular)
- Life expectancy of the system you are planning to implement (5, 10, 15, 20 years..)
- Plan your budget
- Analyze the space requirements for all components involved


We are going to discuss these steps in detail in the upcoming posts. But before that, I would like to give you an overview of the basic model of the Mini Solar Power House or Solar Generator in the next post.

Going Solar - A Smart Approach

Please note that Solar powered systems in Pakistan are getting cheaper day by day but still not as cheap as grid power due to the upfront cost of the hardware and the battery bank (we will discuss the whole architecture in the next posts). 
However due to the recent increase in energy prices in Pakistan for the past couple of years, the payback time of the hardware has been reduced to 2 years (as of writing this article).


And if we try to forecast the energy prices in Pakistan... it's simple maths...
It is evident that no new big dams in Pakistan are going in production any time sooner. The Diamer Basha Dam, which is12 billion dollar project and expected to produce 4500 MW of energy (if constructed) may get completed in 12 years or may be more... or may be never....
However the IPPs producing thermal electricity are dependent on oil prices which are also increasing with a potential of expedited growth due to the situations arising in middle east.


If these situations continue.. A time may come when solar energy would only be the viable option for home users in Pakistan.


And if you are thinking to switch to solar energy before everyone else realizes it after getting their heads struck in wall... I would say.. YOU ARE SMARTER THAN THE REST... :-)

Launch of this valuable blog - January 1st, 2012

Today, 1st January (2012) is the launch Day of this valuable blog. And also a hope for Pakistanis

Due to the emerging energy crisis of energy (and gas) in Pakistan. It is getting almost impossible for the people to live a standard living.

Increasing inflation and financial crisis is doing rest of the job and proving to be the last nail in the coffin of the already dying society.

Power companies (PEPCO /LESCO / Wapda or whatever you call them...) are helpless and looting people against the few hours of electricity they provide (sometimes with very low voltage). And every alternate month, government is announcing increase in electricity tariff accompanied by Fuel surcharge (which you never ever had thought of..)

GET UP NOW!!!!!!! GOD HELPS THOSE WHO HELP THEMSELVES...

Now is the time for the people of Pakistan to wake up and do something of our own..

And here is a good news my friends..

As you all know GOD has given us a gift named 'SUNLIGHT' which no one can steal...

Lets don't get frustrated by the arising situations..

Just utilize this power of SUN to power your house..

The purpose of this Blog is to help our people to build their own Mini Solar Power Houses in Pakistan and get rid of Wapda and Generator backups.

Inshallah we will help you by all means..

Please keep visiting for the latest developments and keep praying for us.. so that we may achieve our goal...

And you know what our goal is...

EVERY PAKISTANI SHOULD HAVE HIS/HER OWN POWER HOUSE and should be able to generate FREE ELECTRICITY.. saying goodbye to Power Companies..