Solar power setup for your home in Thailand

[handdrummer]

That's madness isn't it! The whole country could power itself by the sun but...

The energy companies & their investors would lose money.

[dundrillin]

That's madness isn't it! The whole country could power itself by the sun but...

The energy companies & their investors would lose money.

I imagine in the future individual family homes will be powered by solar now that battery storage has been improved. Business,factories etc will be powered at least in part by electric companies who will be big investors in solar and other renewable sources.

[Fandango]

I had solar panels fitted last summer. I have a 7Kw system, no batteries and the cost is around 275,000 Baht. It takes less than two days to install completely.

I will keep this simple:

1. I don’t like the appearance of the panels, they are ugly, so I insisted on them being installed on my east facing roof versus the normal south or south/west combination. Apparently, my productivity is between 80-100% of the conventional. In Thailand, particularly in summer, cloud leading to rain builds in the afternoon so I considered east facing a fair solution. My panels generate electricity between 06.00 and 14.00.

2. My most expensive electricity bill prior to going solar was May last year at 7,200 Baht. My bill last month was 1,200 Baht. I have a medium size pool running 2*4 hours a day, 7 a/c units and 7 ceiling fans plus the usual house equipment.

3. I see people writing about selling back electricity etc. BIG NOTE HERE: when the solar panels are generating more electricity than you are using THE METER GOES BACKWARDS. That is in effect selling back, just make sure your pool or a/c is running when the meter man calls to read the meter so it is going forwards. Not difficult, mine always comes before 10.00 on the same day of the month.

[Dannie Boy]

I had solar panels fitted last summer. I have a 7Kw system, no batteries and the cost is around 275,000 Baht. It takes less than two days to install completely.

I will keep this simple:

1. I don’t like the appearance of the panels, they are ugly, so I insisted on them being installed on my east facing roof versus the normal south or south/west combination. Apparently, my productivity is between 80-100% of the conventional. In Thailand, particularly in summer, cloud leading to rain builds in the afternoon so I considered east facing a fair solution. My panels generate electricity between 06.00 and 14.00.

2. My most expensive electricity bill prior to going solar was May last year at 7,200 Baht. My bill last month was 1,200 Baht. I have a medium size pool running 2*4 hours a day, 7 a/c units and 7 ceiling fans plus the usual house equipment.

3. I see people writing about selling back electricity etc. BIG NOTE HERE: when the solar panels are generating more electricity than you are using THE METER GOES BACKWARDS. That is in effect selling back, just make sure your pool or a/c is running when the meter man calls to read the meter so it is going forwards. Not difficult, mine always comes before 10.00 on the same day of the month.

Your consumption is probably a lot more than most people, but on your figures, the installation will pay back after about 4 years which is pretty good going - anybody with a similar consumption scenario would do well to consider following your lead - any downsides?

[buksida]

Good info. Yes, with huge bills like that solar will pay off much quicker. The cost of the outlay just doesn't justify it for our situation though I still like the idea of independence from state services.

[migrant]

Good info. Yes, with huge bills like that solar will pay off much quicker. The cost of the outlay just doesn't justify it for our situation though I still like the idea of independence from state services.

Especially in our area!

[buksida]

Especially in our area!

Yep, you can set your clock by those daily transformer explosions!

[Fandango]

Downsides? None as yet!

[Nereus]

Solar rooftop revisions soon

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/17 ... n#cxrecs_s

Low household participation at fault

The Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency plans to ask the Energy Ministry to launch a revised solar scheme for the public after witnessing lower participation than expected in the household solar rooftop programme.

Following the launch of the national power development plan (PDP) for 2018-37, the objective was to focus on new solar power generation of 10,000 megawatts -- all from the solar rooftop type invested in by homeowners.

Under the PDP, there is no allowance for solar farms.

The solar rooftop programme is designed to grant licences at 100MW per year during 2019-27 for households and increase the solar power generation to 1,000MW per year from 2028 on, until end up at 10,000MW by 2037.

In late May, the programme was launched for 100MW pilot applications, but as of July 2, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) reported that the enrolment from households has received 8.74MW only.

Yongyut Jantararotai, the department's director-general, said the policymakers expected earlier that the household solar rooftop programme would receive a good response from property owners.

The details of the existing programme will be altered from relying on the rooftop type alone, to both solar types instead, Mr Yongyut said.

"The model of licences granted by the ERC will be changed as well," he said.

The department will propose a new model of solar programme at 10,000MW to the new minister in order to achieve the power generation goal for renewable energy under the PDP.

Mr Yongyut said low participation in the programme is a result of the purchasing rate of 1.68 baht per kilowatt-hour, which is too cheap to be worth for an investment from households and property owners.

Each solar rooftop property requires a budget of roughly 200,000-300,000 baht for generation below 10 kilowatts.
Mr Yongyut said the department will run public hearings for changes to the scheme in August.

"Power investors and companies, operating the solar installation should coordinate the public hearings to promote this scheme because many households have limited experience with handling power purchasing deals with the state grids," he said.

Wattanapong Kurovat, director-general of the Energy Policy and Planning Office, said waste-to-energy power projects under the PDP will open a new auction round of licence granting at the combined power generation of 400MW.

The bidding period is expected to run from the second half of 2019 until early 2020 and all projects are scheduled for operations by 2022.

Mr Wattanapong said the new round of biomass power projects will also start in the second half as well. Policymakers' plans for power generation of 124MW for biomass and the operation will start in 2021-22.

Power generation from renewable energy is to account for 33% of the country's total capacity by 2037, up from 10% in 2017.

[buksida]

I would still be very interested in setting up a solar power system for our place since our govt supply blacks out almost daily at the moment.

If I factor in the cost of replacing electronic equipment (which blows frequently) and our ever increasing energy bills, I'm sure solar is more economically viable than it was a few years ago.

[STEVE G]

I would still be very interested in setting up a solar power system for our place since our govt supply blacks out almost daily at the moment.

I'm interested for the same reason, although where we are it's not a daily problem, by Murphy's law blackouts always happen at the most inconvenient time, so having some kind of solar powered backup would make a lot of sense. Just having a separate circuit with enough battery capacity to run some lighting, charge phones and maybe a small fan would make a big difference.

[Nereus]

Jump-start household solar with loans, say experts

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/17 ... ay-experts

The government must provide more incentives and loans to encourage households to adopt solar energy generation, according to experts.

Decharut Sukkumnoed, lecturer on economics at Kasetsart University's Faculty of Agricultural and Resource Economics, said the growth in solar-powered households would be much greater if the state offered better financial incentives -- including higher prices for households that sell electricity back to the power grid, and loans for installation of panels at home.

The state's household solar rooftop scheme is part of the national power development plan 2018-2037. The plan targets a rise in power generation from renewable sources to 20,776MW within two decades -- half from solar panels. But the push for renewables has so far only managed to generate about 20MW, far below the 2019 target of 100MW.

The uptake of rooftop solar has been so disappointing that the Energy Ministry last month decided to allocate 10,000 megawatts currently allotted to the scheme, to other renewable energy methods including programmes to generate energy from waste.

"Installing solar cells is a rewarding long-term investment because a panel can produce electricity for up to 25 years.

But despite the pluses, the policy needs a boost. The state should give more money to buying solar-based electricity from rooftop producers," Mr Decharut told the "1st Jaras Forum" at the Bangkok Arts and Culture Centre on Thursday. The event was held to promote renewable energy development.

Mr Decharut, who has himself installed solar panels at home, said the state's offered power tariff of 1.68 baht per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for household solar electricity is not attractive enough. Instead, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) should offer something closer to the 4 baht/kWh it charges household consumers.

He said the state should also provide more loans to encourage homeowners to install panels.

"The overall [solar] system costs around 200,000 baht. If there were a loan scheme for solar cells, it would increase public access to solar energy. It comes from the sun, so it belongs to all of us. But the question is whether the government is willing to buy [solar electricity] and give more financial support," said Mr Decharut.

The household solar scheme could also help develop a more energy-prudent mindset among consumers, he added.
"At the moment, we take electricity for granted because we simply use and pay for it. We never think about where it comes from and whether it has an environmental impact," he added.

Tanapong Rangsinthurat, managing director at Solar Express Co Ltd, said the structure of the solar business in Thailand is the reverse of that in developed nations such as Japan, the EU and even the US, where homeowners are major solar energy producers.

In Thailand, the corporate sector is the major producer, said Mr Tanapong, adding that the state could help reverse the trend by encouraging individuals to produce electricity from the sun.

Supat Hasuwannakit, director of Chana Hospital in Songkhla, said one way to jump-start the scheme is to encourage hospitals and schools to install solar panels to cut their utility bills. Chana Hospital installed 20.4 kilowatt rooftop panels in 2017 in a bid to reduce fossil fuel consumption that is fuelling climate change. The hospital's electricity bill has since dropped by 150,000 baht per year.

[PeteC]

...."The hospital's electricity bill has since dropped by 150,000 baht per year."....

That's the problem, too many vested interests by the power people who keep these governments in power.

[Scout]

I’m curious if anyone has registered their home solar panel system with the PEA in order to legally participate in the “Net Metering” program to sell excess solar panel electricity to PEA. I want to get a better understanding of the registration process, time required, difficulty, cost structure, any associated fees, etc. Thanks in advance.

[buksida]

Still investigating this as our outages are getting worse.

Has anyone experience with one of these setups which includes the panel? They're sold as kits all over Lazada and reasonably priced. Thinking of getting one just to keep the computer on for the two hours it takes the PEA to fix the transformer three times a week.

solar.jpg (71.53 KiB) Viewed 500 times

Alternatively ... has anyone used this company? They claim to be able to provide a full house set up for about 160,000 which for us will be repaid in about five years (maybe less with the escalating cost of power bills), not to mention the savings on all the fried devices and appliances. https://www.solarshop-huahin.com/