This is a solar inverter called a 'sunny boy'.
Electricity in PNG costs 99toea per kilowatt hour. Current exchange rate puts that at about 35 U.S. cents. per kilowatt hour. My family uses on average 14 kwhrs per day (excluding December as we like to put up decorative lights).
That's about $279 p/month US.
Now, if I stood up and said to perfect strangers 'who wants to send us $279 p/month?' A lot of people might say 'no way Jose.'
But if I said 'for a one time cost of $12,000, you could supply all our power needs for the duration of our stay in PNG, plus all the power needs of whatever family moves into our house when we leave, PLUS some of the power needs of other missionaries on the same center.' ....
You might say 'hey, what a bargain!'
The most renewable resource we have here (besides rain) is the sun. Up on my roof there is a ton of prime real-estate for solar panels. I have been investigating this for a number of years now, and my neighbor just installed his system last week.
Okay, get ready to geek out, because this is fun stuff!
-There is a new model of solar panel out there, gauranteed for 25 years, and built to withstand 1" hail stones. !!!! that's more than double any other solar panel gaurantee (most gauranteed for 10 years).
-this same solar panel is highly efficient which means, even on partially cloudy days it produces well (all tested as per my two friends here who have already installed it)
-the panels produce 327 watts per sun hour.
-My house is located such that typically we get 4 hours of good sun per day (conservative estimate, sun in morning, rain in afternoon.)
-with 12 panels, that's 3.94kws p/hour for a total of 15.76 kwhrs p/day. Remember I said we use 14.
-any power we DO NOT consume becomes credit, and sells back to the grid for whatever the current price is.
So wait, am I saying that we can actually MAKE MONEY? Yes. Although the goal would be to break even, yes any excess power will go to our neighbors.
IT IS SOOOOO COOL!! TO SEE our power meter run backwards instead of forwards!
It teaches our kids about conservation.... it is responsible, it's affordable, it's forward thinking..
But wait... (can you tell I'm excited) there's more....
-PNG power rises at an estimated cost of 11% per year.
So here's how it works out:
The initial cost of equipment is going to be about $12,000. That includes shipping it all over here. Installation will be free as myself and a friend can do it.
IF we were pay normal electricity in this country, it would take 3.2 years to pay that back (adjusting for the rise in cost of power). HOWEVER if we make excess power, and sell power BACK to the grid, that time will drop even more.
So, I estimate, it'll take 3 to 3.2 years to get the system paid off to the 'break even' point.
Which means, any power used after that point, is all gravy.
THIS system could drastically reduce how expensive it is to live here now... and how expensive it is to live here in the future!
A lot of the projects that I've looked at have considered the fact that there is still a ton of work to do in PNG, and we'll most likely be here a long time. Even if it isn't my family, directly, whatever family comes behind, will find it easier not having to pay over $300 p/month in electricity.
NOT To mention that the power here goes off ALL the time. I mean, multiple times a day. The electronics in the house go off a lot, our pc's crash, hard drives crash, etc.
Solar inverter means more reliable power. (a battery backup would mean that as well), because if the PNG power goes out, but it's sunny out, I'll never notice that blip.
Lighting strikes will still be a concern however.
IT makes the power more reliable, and consumes LESS. Already PNG power is over taxed. The nearby dam is past due maintenance, and well over-extended.
This project makes so much sense, that I would be going ahead with it right now if it weren't for 2 things:
1 - I don't have $12,00
2 - I'm going on furlough in a few weeks.
Why bother blogging this then?
I'm looking to interest someone, maybe a Christian run business? Someone who wants to contribute or even NEEDS to (by law) to contribute to conservation projects.
I'm asking for anyone out there to keep this in mind, because not only could we use this, but many other families on center could as well.
Currently we get our drinking water from the sky. We're not on any centralized water system.
It'd be nice to get our power from the sky too, get off the grid, let the people of PNG who need it, use the power.
If you know of some company who has funds set aside for such a thing, please contact me!
I would really like to raise the money to get this going!
thanks!
