Journey to Samal » Solar energy

Samal Households Receive Solar Power

Randy C — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 00:30:23 +0000

Some of you long time readers may remember some of my early articles referencing my desire to use solar power when I got a house built on Samal. I still have a lot of interest in solar power in the Philippines, but have done next to nothing in regards to doing anything about it. Partially because it will be so far off, but also because I was not having much luck with finding solutions that would work there.

The DOE (Department of Energy) didn’t wait for me to get my act together, they have already implemented solar power for some homes on Samal Island.

As part of a Philippine Energy Efficiency Project (PEEP) funded by a loan from the Asian Development Bank, households that were previously without electricity (off-grid) now enjoy solar power via a system that is composed of a solar panel, a storage battery and three lamps. Total cost is P28,800 of which is picked up by the DOE. The households are also given training as to the use and maintenance of the system. There is no on-going energy bill for these homes.

“Solar energy emitted by the panel and stored in the battery is enough to light up the household for the entire night,” said Rosalie Joan Sotelo, senior science research specialist of DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Division.

The article does not say how many homes in the Samal area are covered, but a total of 233 households are furnished within 4 areas in the Visayas and Mindanao – Samal Island, Davao; Pandan, Antique; Makato, Aklan; and Manalo, Palawan.

So, I guess this makes my plan clear. I just need to build in an area that is off grid, and I’ll get my solar, and not only that, but have it paid for by the DOE. Joke only!

Ref: DOE powers four off-grid areas through solar technology – PIA NEWS

Solar Air Conditioners

Randy — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 18:00:00 +0000

As I’ve researched Solar Energy for our eventual move to Samal Island, one of the more intriguing items I’ve come across is the solar air conditioner (aircon). While this, for the most part, seems to be an idea whose time has not quite arrived, there are various implementations that hold promise for future applications.

Solar air conditioning seems a natural for the Philippines, and really most places for that matter. The time cooling is needed the most is the the time when it is hottest, with the most sun. As I’ve tried to calculate the amount of kilowatts I’d need to provide to get by, the biggest obstacle always comes down to the aircon.

The Naval Research Lab (NRL) is installing solar-powered air conditioners in a remote research site, which will operate grid free most of the year. They are using GreenCore 10200 solar powered air conditioners to accomplish this. For now it seems that GreenCore is only selling to commercial applications. We’ll have to see how that might change down the road.

SolCool also has a couple units, and supposedly was coming out with a smaller unit that got a lot of press a year or so ago. I don’t see that on their website, so I don’t know if it ever made the light of day.

In Europe there is another smaller unit that is being installed. It’s unclear how widespread these are, or if they have only been used in a test environment.

So the real question is (or will be), do these actually provide any benefit over using a regular air conditioner within your solar powered home system?

Solar Energy in the Philippines

Randy — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 17:25:00 +0000

I’ve been meaning to write an update to my previous articleon solar energy for awhile now. Research has been slow. Solar energy use in the Philippines is not common, and the reasons are not much different than anywhere else – startup costs, getting materials, understanding what is needed to power your house, no grid-tied availability, etc.

There is a little bit of information out there – a government forum, an active vendor with a website, suppliers, more suppliers, some news articles and blogs, blogs. What it really boils down to though, it’s not easy getting going on this. As some have pointed out, if you aren’t trying to go completely solar then there are steps you can take to help reduce the reliance on electricity now. The “more suppliers” link has a listing for a company in Davao that could be useful in that regard, Davao Teknosun Company.

As things sit today, the only reasonable way to do a full system is with a grid-tied system, IMO. That doesn’t seem to be a possibility currently in the Philippines. There is a fair bit of interest in solar from those I’ve spoken to that are planning on living on Samal Island. I wonder what it would take to have the power company to allow grid-tied. Would you go to the local government first? There have been instances of solar energy uses in the Philippines to power areas without access to electricity, so the precedent is there. Just not on the individual level that we’d want.

Solar energy

Randy — Thu, 01 May 2008 19:27:00 +0000

Solar energy has always intrigued me. The homes that I’ve owned and lived in had already been set with their energy sources, so I’ve never researched it further. I’ve always thought it would be a good way to go if the start up costs could be recouped in a reasonable period if time.

Now that I’m looking to have a home built it would seem a logical time to find out what can be done. That and the rate increases in electricity and gas. The problem that I encounter, and I’m sure this will be a recurring theme, is that I’m not there to find out what’s available first hand. There doesn’t seem to be any good information on the net regarding solar energy uses in the Philippines, at least that I can find. I’ve read an article here and an article there, but to get some detailed information on what is available and some basic pricing – well that I haven’t found.

I’m thinking that I should be able to handle all or almost all of my needs with solar power. Of course I really don’t know that to be true or not. It would be really interesting to see what others have done and to what extent they been able to reduce or eliminate the reliance on electricity.

I’ve got plenty of time and maybe it will become more common and by then there will be more information available. If anyone has sources for this, please let me know.