Energy is a very crucial resource it has been debated whether
increasing investment on energy will or will not help. Many have argued that it
does help to invest in energy as there is a constant need for it.
In investing
in energy we have to decide who is investing, is it a private company, an NGO
(Non-Governmental Organization), Parastatal Company, or Government
Organization.
When one
decides to invest in energy they have to determine the life cycle of the energy
that they are investing in weather it is renewable or non-renewable.
Renewable
Forms of Energy
Renewable
Energy is energy that can sustain itself. Solar Power, Hydroelectric Power,
Biogas, and Wind Farms are examples of renewable energy. As of today Tanzania
is heavily dependent on hydroelectric power, we have to look for different
sources of energy like Solar Power and Wind Farms to increase the energy for
homes, businesses, and companies.
Knowledge on
how to solve power problems has to be given, Awareness of how to decrease power
costs need to be followed. People with homes should be sensitized on using
solar power in order to save on energy costs. According to my research done, I
have found that a 3 phase (Electricity input of three phases) home needs
roughly 93, 114, or 120 photovoltaic cells of size 62cm2 (see figure 1 for more
details) the solar panels (photovoltaic cells) in the market today are of size
46.5 cm * 46.5 cm = 2162.25 cm2 (0.22m2) they produce between 100W and 150W
costing $135 per panel $480 per battery requiring 12 panels. 3 batteries can
require about 36 panels therefore the
cost of the batteries are $ 1, 440 and the panels will cost $4, 860 so the
total cost of the batteries with the panels is $6, 300. The installment
discussed can generate 12,960 KWh. In Tanzania we have two rain seasons, the
Masika (1 week February) and Mwamvule (1 month December). This is when there is
very little sunlight therefore in a year we subtract 1.25 months from 12 and we
get 10.75 months of sunlight a year.
Figure 1
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Amount of Panels
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Watts per panel
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Energy produced/hour
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Energy for 8 hours
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|||
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93
|
100
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33480000
|
267840000
|
|||
|
120
|
100
|
43200000
|
345600000
|
|||
|
114
|
100
|
41040000
|
328320000
|
|||
|
|
||||||
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size of panel is 62cm2
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As you can see from the figure above
there is more energy produces this is because there are 93 panels as opposed to
the 36 panels therefore if you divide by three the energy is 11,160KWh slightly
less than the 12.960KWh produced by the 36 panels. The world standard estimate
for the 62cm2 panels is to produce about 300 watts according to <<reference google search on android>> therefore
one can expect to have 3 times the energy described in the above figure 1.
