WCIF house complete installation of solar panels

Hi

Since the price of houses is just not reasonable, and we gave up on our project to buy a vacation house,
We are thinking about enhancing our present house, and are looking at solar panels.

Please help me find any solar power installer in central Taiwan.
The idea is to estimate the cost for a complete installation able to power the whole house.

FYI, we moved in 3 years ago, and we are becoming more stable in terms of electricity consumption.
Our electricity invoice is in average 1500 NT / 2 months. That means 600 units of power.

Edit 1: We are looking for an off-grid solar system to our house to cover all of the house load.
Edit 2: I realize the area on the rooftop is not that big because of the solar water heater. I can estimate the surface as 10 + 15 m2

Thanks in advance.

I can’t offer any advice about installers, but while you’re searching, here’s some info about wholesale pricing and design parameters.

Thin-film solar uses more area (less efficient) but is generally better value for money than monocrystalline arrays, and it works somewhat better on cloudy days. The price now is less than US$1 per watt; that is, if you were buying 10 x 180W panels from a wholesaler, you would expect to pay $1500-$2000. The less expensive ones will probably fail within a few years. Branded ones should last at least 15 years if not more. Unless you intend on installing a DC power bus in your home, you’ll need an inverter: about US$400. The MPPT controller and battery management system will be about the same again.

However, because electricity is heavily subsidized in Taiwan to below the cost of production, it’s generally not economically viable to use PV solar here. That’s why nobody does. Also, remember that an off-grid house is empty during the day (when you get the most sun) so you need a lot of storage batteries. That doubles your cost, and it’s a suboptimal solution. As far as I’m aware, Taipower does not support a feed-in tariff for individuals, and even if they did, it wouldn’t be worthwhile because of the gov’t price distortions.

Solar thermal is far more popular in Taiwan and makes more economic sense (it’s replacing gas, not electricity, and it’s >70% efficient). Wholesale prices are about US$20/tube, $500 for the rack, controls and header tank, and $700 for an insulated storage tank. Do not use anything other than tube-type collectors; flat plate systems simply do not work very well. 2 square meters of tubes (a typical installation size) will collect ~5kWh of heat on average per day, which should yield ~100L of hot water. I suggest oversizing your system to about 4m2 to get good winter performance.

I have some friends in central Taiwan who had their house outfitted by this company.
http://www.toppersun-energy.com/

Thank you for the tips.

I contacted the company Topper sun.

FYI, we already have solar water heater. It was a big investment when we moved in, but it works great.
We also have a few solar panels (total 80 W) that power the lighting in our 2F and 3F (changed from 110V to 12V)
I am aware of the cost of the storage. Right now, I am using car batteries able to store 360 W.
It’s not cheap, not to mention the maintenance, and the need to change every 5 years.
Tell the truth, solar power is not cheap, but our goal is to move towards independence and self-sustaining house.

My brother-in-law has a solar panel installation company. It’s called Rich-energy (www.rich-energy.com.tw) but it seems like their website is down atm.

Anyways, you can contact them by e-mail. Ask for Anderson Yue, anderson (at) rich-energy.com.tw

Or PM me if you want the phone number.

They have made installations on both industrial and housing buildings, and they work all around Taiwan (also a few projects in other asian countries).

[quote=“keroliver”]Thank you for the tips.

I contacted the company Topper sun.

FYI, we already have solar water heater. It was a big investment when we moved in, but it works great.
We also have a few solar panels (total 80 W) that power the lighting in our 2F and 3F (changed from 110V to 12V)
I am aware of the cost of the storage. Right now, I am using car batteries able to store 360 W.
It’s not cheap, not to mention the maintenance, and the need to change every 5 years.
Tell the truth, solar power is not cheap, but our goal is to move towards independence and self-sustaining house.[/quote]
Yes getting solar panels is not cheap at all with increased taxes… But I have got them to cut down electricity bill and also to use green ways of electricity production

So solar panels are taxed, and fossil-fuel energy is subsidized?

That makes sense. Taiwan UP! :unamused:

[quote=“MerleYoung”][quote=“keroliver”][u]Thank you for the tips.

I contacted the company Topper sun.

FYI, we already have solar water heater. It was a big investment when we moved in, but it works great.
We also have a few [color=#000000]solar panels[/color] (total 80 W) that power the lighting in our 2F and 3F (changed from 110V to 12V)
I am aware of the cost of the storage. Right now, I am using car batteries able to store 360 W.
It’s not cheap, not to mention the maintenance, and the need to change every 5 years.
Tell the truth, solar power is not cheap, but our goal is to move towards independence and self-sustaining house[/u].[/quote]
Yes getting solar panels is not cheap at all with increased taxes… But I have got them to cut down electricity bill and also to use green ways of electricity production[/quote]

back to topic…

I learnt about solar irradiance today: solarelectricityhandbook.com/sol … iance.html
in Taichung: Jan=2.55 / Feb=2.98 / Mar=3.49 / Apr=4.18 / May=4.87 / Jun=5.67 / Jul=6.66 / Aug=5.97 / Sep=5.04 / Oct=4.08 / Nov=2.99 / Dec=2.60
More instructions: ‘’‘you can multiply this irradiance figure by the wattage of your photovoltaic panels to give you an average daily amount of energy you can expect to generate with your system, measured in watt-hours.’’’

So solar panels are taxed, and fossil-fuel energy is subsidized?

That makes sense. Taiwan UP! :unamused:[/quote]
Taipower doesn’t want competition

Sent from my MI 2S using Tapatalk

The same happens in Spain. The government makes you pay an extra if you have your own renewable sources of energy, solar or otherwise. Makes perfect sense, in a country with a lot of sun, to forbid people to use it.

On ruten.com.tw, the average price for a 12V / 100W panel in 3000 to 4000 NT$
(not sure if it includes accessories like converter, cables and fuses)

goods.ruten.com.tw/item/show?21211166870959
goods.ruten.com.tw/item/show?21206116556005
goods.ruten.com.tw/item/show?21308176348698
goods.ruten.com.tw/item/show?21311225310595

Let me continue with the Previous Electricity Bills

2012/08
Floor 1: 362 NTdollars / 207 degrees
Floor 2: 813 NTdollars / 127 degrees
2012/12
Floor 1: 505 NTdollars / 235 degrees
Floor 2: 447 NTdollars / 213 degrees
2013/02
Floor 1: 395 NTdollars / 191 degrees
Floor 2: 1493 NTdollars / 609 degrees
2013/04
Floor 1: 415 NTdollars / 185 degrees
Floor 2: 1249 NTdollars / 518 degrees
2013/06
Floor 1: 507 NTdollars / 229 degrees
Floor 2: 806 NTdollars / 352 degrees
2013/08
Floor 1: 606 NTdollars / 266 degrees
Floor 2: 399 NTdollars / 190 degrees
2013/10
Floor 1: 582 NTdollars / 262 degrees
Floor 2: 1324 NTdollars / 513 degrees
2013/12… received yesterday
Floor 1: 374 NTdollars / 209 degrees
Floor 2: 145 NTdollars / 86 degrees > a bit surprised… much too cheap. there must be a problem!

Floor 1 means really first floor (ground floor):
all kinds of lights, fridge, oven, 2 cookers, laundry machine, radio, water pump, fans, fish tank pump
Floor 2 means 2nd, 3rd, 4th floors:
all kinds of lights, solar water heater (when in automatic mode), water pump, iron, fans, computer

Surface on the roof floor:

Area 1: estimated at 4,6 per 2 meters / flat surface
Area 2: estimated at 8 per 2 meters / roof inclination 45 degrees oriented South

I was just told 1 degree = 1000 W

That makes:

2012/08: House: 207000 + 127000 = 334000 Watts/2months = 232 Wh
2012/12: House: 235000 + 213000 = 448000 Watts/2months = 311 Wh
2013/02: House: 191000 + 609000 = 800000 Watts/2months = 555 Wh
2013/04: House: 185000 + 518000 = 703000 Watts/2months = 488 Wh
2013/06: House: 229000 + 352000 = 581000 Watts/2months = 404 Wh
2013/08: House: 266000 + 190000 = 456000 Watts/2months = 316 Wh
2013/10: House: 262000 + 513000 = 775000 Watts/2months = 538 Wh
2013/12: House: 209000 + 86000 = 295000 Watts/2months = 205 Wh

on 110V

There exists some 110 V solar panels, such as:

Top manufacturer hot sell solar panel 110v
FOB Price: US $0.72 - 0.88 / Watt Get Latest Price
Port: yantian,shekou port of shenzhen
Minimum Order Quantity: 50 Piece/Pieces sample order accept
Supply Ability: 65000 Piece/Pieces per Quarter 2.5mw per month
Payment Terms: L/C,D/A,D/P,T/T,Western Union,MoneyGram
alibaba.com/product-gs/14443 … l.html?s=p
Material: Monocrystalline Silicon
Max. Power: 100w
Product parameters
Electrical Characteristics
Model SGM-100W-18v
Cells size (mm): 156100.5
Cells per module: 36pcs(4
9)
Module size (mm): 67097530mm
Power tolerance: +/-3%
Nominal peak power(WP): 100w
Nominal voltage(V): 17.5
Nominal current (A): 5.71
NOCT: 45+/-2degree
Voltage temperature coefficient: -0.33%/degree
Current temperature coefficient: +0.05%/degree
Power temperature coefficient: -0.23%/degree
Open circuit voltage (Voc): 21.6
Short cirsuit current(Isc): 6.17
Conversion efficiency: 17.87%
Product name : - free shipping solar panel
Max system voltage: 1000V DC
Surface Maximum Load Capacity 60m/s(200kg/sq. m)

I am not exactly a business person. Not very sure what the final price would be.

Max system voltage: 1000V DC
Let’s say : FOB Price: US 0.88 / Watt = 26.05 NT / Watt
Minimum Order Quantity: 50 Piece/Pieces sample order accept (What is a piece here?)

I guess: 50 pieces of 110V 100W solar panels means 130250 NT dollars for 5000 W available. < peak nominal power

I found this solar panel on ruten.com.tw
goods.ruten.com.tw/item/show?21309094039741
(特價) 太陽能板 多晶 單晶 230w~235w (串聯)市電併網機500W 套裝組 特價供應

It is supposed to be a 500W solar panel.
Not sure about the Chinese. Does it say the output can be 12V, 110V and 220V without converter?
The seller specifies it can actually produce 250 to 300W on a sunny day (I guess it means summer)
Considering that irradiance is 6.66 in July, and 4.25 in average in a year, that makes 191W daily in average.

191W/day means 11460W/2 months, that means 11 degrees ( 11x2.1 NT = 23.1 NT) at the very very best for 12000 NT$.
I will need 521 bills that means 1042 months, 86 years to rentabilize my investment.
For the financial point of view, it really sounds silly.