where to find solar professionals in the Philippines

[matmat]

russ - mod

thanks! i knew there was something wrong with that guy. his replies were also not coherent. :P

axis11

thanks for the tips! well, i've been reading your inputs in the philippine forum and i was able to pick up a couple of valuable insights from you. anyway, i will get in touch with them. thanks! by the way, what work do you do in saudi? have you entertained the possibility of doing solar for your profession?

john p

it's not gonna be very big. just to power perhaps the perimeter lights in our property, and maybe our pabx phone system. i'm looking at making the system such a way that it would consume the energy generated from solar stored in the batteries first, then when batteries are drained to the minimum level safe, it would switch to grid power, preferrably automatically.

thanks for the titles! i like the sound of that

[axis11]

I'm a ME by profession. Work is focused on design and supervision of military facilities. As much as I would like to work in the PV business, my qualifications are limited to just the basics of electricity and electronics. I might be able to do residential sized PV system installation, but legally I'm not authorized to do so. I did the install on my house only and nobody would complain. Im doing it at my own risk. But for others houses, its a different matter.

[russ]

I hereby grant you the title of Manila Solar Electrical Engineer and Chief Solar Inspector. Now with the help of an electrician you can do the install yourself

Is there a pension plan that goes with those positions?

[john p]

Yes Russ there is a pension plan for Chief Solar Inspector ,,BUT ..isnt there always a but?? How good your pension is will depend on the bribes you collect to pass the installs you inspect.. That is standard practice for all officials.

[john p]

MAT MAT What you need could be simple it depends to some extent on the power requirements of your phone system??
If just perimiter lighting try to use LED lighting as it uses minimum power and if the total distance is not to great 12v can be used.
Example I just use 1w 12v MR16 replacement LED lights and if mounted high say 12ft then the spread is good. more than adequate for the purpose can me mounted about 15 ft apart.
Now the PABX you going to first have to say its power consumption.
But I say again going the solar /battery system is NOT ever going to be cost efective.. If you doing it because you just want to or want emergency lighting regardless of cost then its ok to proceed

[matmat]

I'm a ME by profession. Work is focused on design and supervision of military facilities. As much as I would like to work in the PV business, my qualifications are limited to just the basics of electricity and electronics. I might be able to do residential sized PV system installation, but legally I'm not authorized to do so. I did the install on my house only and nobody would complain. Im doing it at my own risk. But for others houses, its a different matter.

Oh alright. Thanks for your response. Just wondered cuz you seem to know a lot about it, and obviously, you're interested with it. If you want to get licensed, there's a lot of institutions in the states I think which can help you with that. I believe it's a good time to be in PV now for Asia. Europe demand is down and anti-dumping issue in the states clash with Chinese. As a result, there's oversupply of components, causing prices to dramatically drop. Now, the Chinese manufacturers are focusing on the potential of Asia, and come with very low prices to offer.

Umuwi ka na lang and join the local PV business.

[matmat]

MAT MAT What you need could be simple it depends to some extent on the power requirements of your phone system??
If just perimiter lighting try to use LED lighting as it uses minimum power and if the total distance is not to great 12v can be used.
Example I just use 1w 12v MR16 replacement LED lights and if mounted high say 12ft then the spread is good. more than adequate for the purpose can me mounted about 15 ft apart.
Now the PABX you going to first have to say its power consumption.
But I say again going the solar /battery system is NOT ever going to be cost efective.. If you doing it because you just want to or want emergency lighting regardless of cost then its ok to proceed

hi john p,

thanks for your inputs. yeah, i still need to check the power consumption of the phone system. will definitely use led though, for better efficiency.

yeah, it's not cost effective. but the value of having uninterrupted power supply to power lights that serve as burglar deterrent on a high value property can never be exactly measured. in my case, in my opinion, i think the cost is justified. but that's just me.

appreciate all the tips. keep them coming.

[vinniethePVtech]

Typically if you want a professional installer start at the website of the company you prefer.

Mitsubishi
Sunpower
Yingli
Suntechpower
Schott

these companies can lead you to authorized dealers, that can install a system for you simply by going to the home pages.

[matmat]

Typically if you want a professional installer start at the website of the company you prefer.

Mitsubishi
Sunpower
Yingli
Suntechpower
Schott

these companies can lead you to authorized dealers, that can install a system for you simply by going to the home pages.

noted. thanks vinniethepvtech.

[john p]

MAT MAT my lighting is for uninteruptable lighting security for my wife when im not there I have done similar systems for other wives there with husbands away working.. And you cant put a price in pesos on home safety. I spent about $3000AU for my small system brought from Aus. I use cheap "truck" batteries. as true deep cycle batteries are almost impossible to get anywhere near my place and ones you can get are really overpriced.
Its next to impossible the get Phil businesses to honour warranties. And even if they do you will wait months for replacements.

[matmat]

MAT MAT my lighting is for uninteruptable lighting security for my wife when im not there I have done similar systems for other wives there with husbands away working.. And you cant put a price in pesos on home safety. I spent about $3000AU for my small system brought from Aus. I use cheap "truck" batteries. as true deep cycle batteries are almost impossible to get anywhere near my place and ones you can get are really overpriced.
Its next to impossible the get Phil businesses to honour warranties. And even if they do you will wait months for replacements.

hahaha! how many other wives have you "helped"?

yeah, safety is everything. and if you can afford it, why save on it? by the way, on the batteries, in case your truck batteries die out, you might want to try motolite solar master deep cycle batteries. about P7000 - P8000 for 100ah 12v i think. i haven't tried it myself, but i hear a lot of good testimonials about it. trojan batteries are also locally available.

yeah, warranties are usually difficult to claim. companies are not keen on honoring them for very obvious reasons. it's easier though when you have strong evidence that it was inherently defective when it reached your hands, which in itself is usually hard to do.

[Mike90250]

...... I use cheap "truck" batteries. as true deep cycle batteries are almost impossible to get anywhere near my place and ones you can get are really overpriced.......

Look for Golf Car batteries, they are deep cycle, not perfect for solar, but better than truck batteries. Golf courses have suppliers, you just need to arrange for how to get them delivered, if you don't have a truck that can haul them from the Golf Club, to your place.

[john p]

I live near a town of 10,000 but 80 k away and no place in that town carries deep cycle batteries. Even the next bigest city of about 60,000 doesnt carry deep cycle batteries, And NO golf courses,
Golf buggies are fairly rare in Phils as there are only golf courses in about 8 cities in the whole of Phils..
Every town has a cae/motorbike/truck/bus battery store and stocks "truck " batteries and they are cheap and last about 2 years then you trade them in.

[matmat]

I live near a town of 10,000 but 80 k away and no place in that town carries deep cycle batteries. Even the next bigest city of about 60,000 doesnt carry deep cycle batteries, And NO golf courses,
Golf buggies are fairly rare in Phils as there are only golf courses in about 8 cities in the whole of Phils..
Every town has a cae/motorbike/truck/bus battery store and stocks "truck " batteries and they are cheap and last about 2 years then you trade them in.

Hi John P,

Have you heard of battery desulfators? I hear it is suppose to "revive" or extend the useful life of a battery by breaking down crystal formations inside. I just read it somewhere. Depending on your battery turnover, it may come economical.

[john p]

yes ive heard of them,and used them and the liquid additives.as got them all for free.but to be honest I would not like to make bets if they work or not.
I have found 2 methods to revive them.(1) put them on the tray of the Suzuki multicab and drive then 40k cross country.cheap, effecient.as im going crosscountry anyway.(2) Use fish tank aerator and pump air continuously into each cell.tube goes to bottom of each cell .but the added power the pump uses negates the power output benefits.
You can get batteries N100 .about double the size of N70 batteries like many 4wds use like landcruiser nissan etc. for about p4000 and get about p2000 back in 2 yrs time. compared to about p10,000 in Manila and Cebu for deep cycle batteries. I only use 3.

But have used lithium ion phosphate on others systems ,for no maintainance, but more expensive by considerably more.