Help -with Solar for home in Gambia West Africa

[babyface]

Good evening ,

I am a new member on here and in fact my first time of joining any forum but I have been reading the questions & answers and thought this is the place that i need to be. I will ask several questions that you will answer but i may not understand and will therefore ask time and again so i am hoping that you will forgive and be patient with me.

So this is the problem. I have built a two bedroom house in Gambia and we bought a 6kv generator that we shipped from U.K that we are using but diesel is expensive £1.00 per lite . We turn on the fridge for a few hours in the morning and evening but this frustrates me because we cannot use the other electrical things as I would like. The government does not provide Electric and i have this week received an estimate to provide for our home that will cost just under £991.85. The cost includes buying my own concrete post £549.90; the meter box £224.03, and the remainder of cost is for cable ,registration, and workmanship etc.

Because of age and health issues we need to live in the sunshine but installing the electricity is proving to be very expensive , and after this we will still have to buy 'cash power' eg the same as the 'key' meter that is u.k. The sun is extremly HOT so solar would be cost effective.
We are asking advice from you on buying solar panels to run the following .
1.we have an INDEST F/F Stereo/ clock radio/ T.V lighting /blender /kettle.
2.How many panels we will need and type of inverter and what is the cOST
3.Should we buy the cables from U.K
4.What tools do we need to have panels/work done.
5.What type of panels should we buy? is there a particular type of panel?
6.would the panel and materials cost nearly the same as the above quote

I will stop here for now as i am sure that further questions will follow as i explore this idea further.

Thanking you in advance
baby

[Naptown]

You can use this off grid calculator to determine system size
Directions are on page 2
Off grid calculator excel 97 version (2).zip

However it will in the long run probably be less expensive to have the grid power put in as diesel and batteries which you will need to purchase and will need to be replaced periodically will be more expensive. generally an off grid system the cost of electricity when equipment and replacement batteries are factored in

[babyface]

You can use this off grid calculator to determine system size
Directions are on page 2
[ATTACH]2393[/ATTACH]

However it will in the long run probably be less expensive to have the grid power put in as diesel and batteries which you will need to purchase and will need to be replaced periodically will be more expensive. generally an off grid system the cost of electricity when equipment and replacement batteries are factored in

Thank you for the information. I don't fully understand what i am doing but i will keep at it.

[Naptown]

Thank you for the information. I don't fully understand what i am doing but i will keep at it.

What I was driving at is that it is almost always less expensive in the long run to install grid electricity. An off grid system that costs what it would cost to install the grid power would barely run a refrigerator and a couple of lights. Half of the cost of which is batteries which will need to be replaced every 5 years. Going off grid will most likely mean a major lifestyle change. And don't even think about air conditioning.

[Sunking]

Thank you for the information. I don't fully understand what i am doing but i will keep at it.

Real simple in your situation to go off grid you chose to pay 10 to 20 times more for electricity for the rest of your life in the short and long term. In addition going off grid you have chosen to worry every day about power usage, and have a new life long part time job monitoring your batteries, the system, and every thing you turn on/off that uses electricity so you do not run out of electricity and destroy your batteries that need replace every few years.

If you go off grid you still need the generator.

So ask your self what is most important to you. Making my money last and out live me and my children? Or save the earth, go broke, fail to save the earth, and die a poor person with nothing to leave your children but bills to pay.

[Naptown]

Real simple in your situation to go off grid you chose to pay 10 to 20 times more for electricity for the rest of your life in the short and long term. In addition going off grid you have chosen to worry every day about power usage, and have a new life long part time job monitoring your batteries the system, and every thing you turn of that uses electricit so you do not run out of electricty and destroy your batteries that need replace every few years.

If you go off grid you still need the generator.

So ask your self what is most important to you. Making my money last and out live me and my children? Or save the earth, go broke, fail to save the earth, and die a poor person with nothing to leave your children?

blunt but true

[Sunking]

blunt but true

So what is your point? I do not mince words.

[Naptown]

So what is your point? I do not mince words.

And neither did I
True statement and I agreed

[Sunking]

And neither did I
True statement and I agreed

Sorry Rich, been a really bad day.

[russ]

I am selling a beautiful place overlooking the bay with beautiful grounds - just because I am tired of baby sitting - off grid is similar.

Unless you have someone you can guarantee will always be there when you want to get away you are stuck.