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JK Solar power system

JK solar Power Systems offer a range of complete solar electric power
system. Along with ease of installation and service, our industry leading systems provide a safe and reliable source of renewable power.  These pre-packaged standard solar electric power systems  are designed to be compatible with a wide variety of roof types and offers years of maintenance-free operation The systems feature solar modules integrated into arrays that can be sized to meet a wide range of power requirements, ideal  for either new construction or retrofit applications . It is affordable.

SOLAR ENERGY: AN OVERVIEW

Three areas concerned with renewable energy, or RE are water, sun and wind. JK
Power Systems, is concerned with solar (sun) energy.
In our location here in tropical Africa, the sun is of particular significance as an energy resources because of the abundance of solar or sun radiation. Although, this abundance varies from location to location and also according to the prevailing season, it is predictable.

Solar Module

The technology most central to harnessing energy from the sun is the solar collector popularly know as the solar module. The solar module is a wide-area, semi conductor diode made out of pure silicon to which impurities are added in controlled “doping process”. The module absorbs protons of sunlight to create a potential difference across a junction. Power generated from solar modules has the advantages over the power generation of traditional sources,

  • solar modules produce power passively, when

exposed to sunlight without any moving parts. This
make them maintenance – free and therefore long
Lasting (25 to 30) and good value for money
b. the fuel required for them to operate is free sunshine.
c. they are harmless to the environment


System Component in a Solar Installation

In addition to the solar module described earlier, there are several other important components required for safer, affective solar power installation:


Charge controller

The charge controller or regulator as it is also known is essential. Controllers have many purposes, the most important being to prevent your batteries from overcharging.
Some other available functions are: protecting your batteries from completely discharging; measuring and displaying battery voltage and ampere; temperature compensation; three stage charging (boast, equalization & float); and low voltage disconnect.

Sizing a regulator is an important step in designing your PV system. Regulators range from 12 to 48 volts. The voltage of your battery will determine which voltage regulator to use.
Other charge controller feature includes

  • PWM battery charging
  • Fully automatic microprocessor control
  • Surge protection
  • Optimized for longer battery life  capabilities
  • Variable Hour Runtime Settings – 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 or Dusk to Dawn
  • Split Runtime Options - Hours After Dusk / Hours Before Dawn - 3/1, 4/2 & 6/2
  • Timer accuracy within 2 seconds
  • Test button turns light on for 5 minutes
  • LVD Override Protection
  • Temperature Compensation 
  • Marine Rated Terminals
  •  Epoxy Encapsulated

Batteries

Batteries are the heart of the system because they store all of the energy produced. There are different types of batteries, but the ones specified for solar energy are the deep circle type. Deep cycle batteries have thicker lead plates, which have less overall surface area as compared to an automotive battery. Because of the lessened availability of surface area for chemical reaction, deep cycle batteries produce less current than shallow cycle battery but can produce that amount of current for a much longer period of time. They are designed (lead acid battery) to absorb and give up electricity by a reversible electrochemical reaction.
Other battery feature includes

  • Thick consistency gelled electrolyte and tight packed construction minimizes the effects of damaging vibration
  • Sealed recombinant construction with gelled electrolyte eliminates spillage, gassing and terminal corrosion
  • Sealed Valve Regulated construction
  • Maintenance free design never requires watering
  • Heavy duty plates
  • Calcium/copper lead alloy grids means a lower self-discharge and longer deep cycle running time.
  • A self discharge rate of less than 2% per month.
  • Classified as "Non-Spillable Battery" for transport.
  • Premium glass mat separators
  • Solid terminal posts for longer battery life, no leakage of corrosive gasses and no damage to equipment.
  • Premium separators eliminate short circuits and reduce gassing for longer maintenance free life.
  • Gelled electrolyte won't spill. Controlled gel mixing and filling assures superior consistency, performance and life.
  • Superior performance - longest life
  • Completely maintenance free

 

Inverter

An inverter is a device that converts DC (direct current) to AC (alternating current). Remember that Dc electricity is stored in the battery. But AC electricity is needed to power most of our load. A power conditioning equipment is very important to this regards.
We install inverters with the following qualities

  • Pure sine wave.
  • Ensure maximum performance of equipments
  • Up to 96% peak conversion efficiency
  • Adjustable low battery cutout voltage with time

            delay to prevent damage to batteries.

  • Protection against over current, short circuit,

  over temperature, high battery condition .

  • As a battery charger
  • Enable higher charging output even from small   

   denerators

  • Three stages charging ( boast, equalization &    

float)

  • High surge ability.

Safety disconnect / current protection

 
“Over – current protection” means a device such as a breaker or fuse that will disconnect the line in case of too much current (amperes) or fault (short circuit) and vice versa. There will be one disconnect between your solar panels and regulator, and another between your batteries and inverter and also one after your inverter, before load. The safety disconnects will protect or allow you the convenience of shutting power if any work needs to be done on the system without having to disconnect wires.

  Meter

It is important to have a way to visually monitor your system. Monitoring devices include amp and voltage meters. The voltage meters allow you to see the current
Voltage of your batteries,  while the ammeter will display the DC current that your solar panels are generating. If you ever ran into problems, the meter helps to diagnose and locate the source of the problem. Battery capacity meters are the most accurate means of monitoring the capacity of your system. They show how many amps – hours of capacity are left in the batteries, how much power is going into and out of your batteries, and your battery voltage. In addition, proper sizing of your wire will reduce heat build up in the wire, ensure safety and keep voltage from dropping between the source and the load.


Lightening arrestor

Lightening arrestor is essential to any PV system, to protect it from lightening strikes. Usually at least two lightning arrestors are required. Damage to inverters from lightning is very expensive to repair.

 

TYPES OF APPLICATION

STAND ALONE (FULL SOLAR)

Stand alone solar is a complete system in which the solar array is the sole source of the entire power (without support from grid or generator). All the solar components are required for a stand alone installation, talking about solar modules, charge controller, batteries, inverters, etc. the aim is to completely remove the use of grid or generators. Stand alone PV system are mostly installed where site access is often difficult, delivery costs for fuel high and connection to a central electricity grid would not be practical or dependable.


POWER BACK UP SYSTEMS

Power back up systems is not wholly renewable as they consist of batteries charged by grid or generators (without the solar modules) for use during power outages. The main aim of a power back up systems is not to totally eliminate the use of grid or generators, but to reduce the running and operating costs of these generators to a considerable minimum per site. These back up systems are affordable for providing continuity during power outage for lights, ATM machines etc.


PV-GENERATOR OR PV- UTILITY HYBRIDS

The hybrid systems is designed to take power from the generator or the grid, when it is available, to supplement what is being generated from a solar array, which would not otherwise provide the entire power requirements. This obviously is a cost saving device and more cost effective. Moreover, solar power helps to keep storage systems in top conditions much better than rectifiers or chargers.