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Smart ways of Beating Relentless Blackouts
What you need to know:
You don’t need to curse the world each time there’s a power blackout. You can have a generator, inverter and solar panels to turn to. it’s up to you to choose which one does the magic better.
With the increasing widespread electricity blackouts, many have had to think about alternative ways to mitigate Umeme’s intermittent supply. As you would expect, there are three alternatives:
The generator
A generator does not “create” electrical energy. Instead, it uses the mechanical energy supplied by a small engine that runs off fuel like petrol or diesel.
The size of the engine is directly proportional to the maximum power output the generator can supply, which basically translates into bigger engine, more power. Go up in size, price, and weight, and you’ll be able to run other things, like a fridge or washing machine. It is the cheapest option and you can find a home generator for as little as Shs400,000.
However, it really depends on how much power you will require. The fuel is readily available and they come in different sizes and Kw outputs, giving you plenty of options.
Most of them are portable, so you can use them for various purposes. On the flip side though, they are usually loud, especially the cheaper ones and have limited fuel storage which keeps running out when you run it for extended periods of time. Some are heavy and having to move them around might be a problem.
finally, maintenance. There’s a running engine that requires maintenance.
The inverter
the Power Back up Systems, a.k.a Inverter. Over the last few years, these have become very popular for one particular reason, convenience. Basically, an Inverter works like the Ups(Uninterrupted Power Supply)on your computer.
It is a system made up of a battery pack, inverter, and charger and transfer relay. The battery pack is exactly what the name says, a battery pack. The inverter is the thing that converts Dc (Direct current from the batteries) to Ac (Alternating current similar to power Umeme supplies). The charger really charges the battery and finally the transfer relay does the change over from the batteries to the Umeme supplies and the reverse depending on the one you are using at the time.
Obviously, there are other components like the cabling and interface panel.
So when Umeme power is on the system, it charges the batteries, and when off, the systems utilise the charged batteries to power your home, the type of batteries used with Gel batteries (the most expensive) which are used in hybrid cars, the AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) and the ordinary batteries. The order of mention reflects the degree of reliability, power holding capacities and price of each battery.
Inverter systems are designed to be seamless where you might not know when the change over happens. However, some are locally designed to have manual change over switches where you have to get up walk to some switch and turn the system on or off. There are also Lcd(Lead Crystal Display) interfaces that show the battery levels, depending on the current consumption. Inverter systems do not make any noise because there are no moving parts and it does not release any gas or smell like generators do.
During my conversation with David Sekalegga, an engineer and proprietor of Energy Systems Limited on William street , he did mention that with inverter and solar systems, the set up should be approached from the side of “What do I want to power up?” and not “How much does it cost?” He added that because of the current power crisis, many counterfeit inverters have flooded the market and have stickers with incorrect ratings.
At Energy Systems Limited, an 800 Watt inverter with a charger is Shs2m. Throw in another Shs2m and you get the battery that is enough to power the lighting, TV, decoder, laptop, radio and a DVD player. The wattage needs to move up if you want cold drinking water. There are smaller rated inverters where chargers are bought separately. To avoid frustration, it’s better to look at quality rather than just something that works.
Solar panels
These, in my opinion, are the finest and most technologically advanced backup systems and as you might expect the most expensive. By using solar panels, you can take advantage of the free energy provided by the sun every day without running up your electricity bill. But before we go any further, we need to understand that an inherent disadvantage of solar electricity is that it only works when the sun is up.
The amount of power you can generate using solar panels depends greatly on your local climate for instance, a solar panel installed in Karamoja might produce as much as twice the electricity per day as one installed in Kabale.
Depending on your intended use and setup, solar power can be used to directly power your home say during the day and you switch to Umeme at night. Charge your backup systems during the day and use at night or during times when there is no Umeme.
The solar panel’s initial cost is very high (prices are coming down though), however, once solar panels are installed, they provide free electricity for many years.
The panels are usually installed on rooftops and this removes the problem of finding the required space. Sekalegga was quick to mention that solar power systems only require maintenance fees and last for decades.
Sekalegga mentions that the biggest problem in Uganda regarding Solar panels is having the wrong panel size in the wrong area for the wrong loadings but mentions that the prices have fallen in thelas eight-10 years.
While generating power with solar is essentially free, purchasing and installing those panels is not. Installing solar power for your home can be an expensive proposition, especially if you are attempting to derive all your power from solar electricity.
