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Installation of a Solar Power
System at La Valla –
Phase Two
LOVEWORKS
YOUTH & YOUNG ADULTS OFFICE
CHURCH OF SAINT MARY OF THE ANGELS
22 November 2011
Installation of a Solar Power System at La Valla – Phase 2
Date: 01 Nov 2010 2 of 25
Installation of a Solar Power System at La Valla – Phase Two
Table of Content
1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 3
2 Project Partners ................................................................................................................... 4
3 Project Execution – Phase Two .......................................................................................... 4
3.1 Project Schedule .......................................................................................................... 4 3.2 Scope of Work ............................................................................................................. 5
3.2.1 Installation of the 4.2kW System ......................................................................... 5 3.2.1.1 Approach ...................................................................................................... 5 3.2.1.2 Basic Components and Sizing ...................................................................... 7 3.2.1.3 Installation .................................................................................................. 10
3.2.2 Repair and Improvement of Previously Installed System.................................. 17 3.3 Equipment Details and Cost ...................................................................................... 19
4 Follow Up Work ............................................................................................................... 20
4.1 Follow Up Trip on Oct 2011 ..................................................................................... 20 4.2 Handover and Future Follow Up Work..................................................................... 22
5 Summary ........................................................................................................................... 22
Appendix 1: Circuit diagram for 4.2kW system ...................................................................... 23
Appendix 2: Updated circuit diagram for security lighting system ......................................... 24
Appendix 3: Project Partners ................................................................................................... 25
Installation of a Solar Power System at La Valla – Phase 2
Date: 01 Nov 2010 3 of 25
1 Introduction
La Valla is a school for handicapped children run by the Marist Brothers, an international
Catholic organization that focuses on education. Students there range from the ages of 11 to
about 18 or 19 years old and are from poor families. Because of their disability and their
poverty they have not been able to attend their local elementary school or, perhaps they have
started at school but have not been able to continue. The main objectives of the school are to
provide them with basic elementary education and build self-reliance so that they will be able
to lead meaningful lives when they leave the school. Most of the students who are from the
countryside live in the boarding house within the school while the rest living nearer are
transported daily from the surrounding areas.
The La Valla solar power project was initiated in 2008. The purpose of this effort was to
help the institution reduce its operating cost by tapping on solar powered energy. La Valla
School is located in a rural area near Takhmao in Kandal province and is not service by the
national electricity grid in the area at the time of this project. It depends on a second-hand
45kVa generator to supply electricity, mainly used for lighting in the school and hostel
located within the school compound, for powering the computer lab and running the water
pumps of a small swimming pool that is used for physiotherapy and recreation. Electricity is
used sparingly due to high cost of diesel; fuel cost for running the generator exceeds USD600
per month.
This project was divided into two phases. The objective of Phase 1 was for all parties to get
familiarized with the basics of installing, running and maintaining a solar powered system. A
small 500W system was installed to provide security lighting to the school at night; since the
generator is switched off every night at 9pm, the whole area there is in pitched black darkness.
A series of energy-saving light bulbs were installed across four buildings in the school. This
was carried out between November 2008 to April 2009 (see Phase 1 report for more
information).
In Phase Two, a 4.2kW system (consisting of twenty 210W panels and the supporting
equipment including batteries, inverters and wiring and other structures) was installed in La
Valla. Repair and re-wiring work were also carried out at the solar powered security lighting
Installation of a Solar Power System at La Valla – Phase 2
Date: 01 Nov 2010 4 of 25
system installed previously. The planning for Phase 2 was carried out in the first two
quarters of 2010 and executed in June 2010.
2 Project Partners
The main sponsor for Phase 2 was Hexacon Construction Pte Ltd. Besides providing most of
the funds, Hexacon also provided two experienced construction specialist who advised on the
design and provided vital on-site supervision during the construction phase. The balance of
the funds came existing Loveworks fund.
The bulk of the building and construction works were mainly carried out by a group of highly
motivated students from the Environmental Science & Engineering Students’ Club (ESESC)
of the National University of Singapore. This group spent a significant amount of effort
before the trip to raise funds to finance their own air travel and accommodation costs required
to be in Cambodia to carry out the construction.
The design, planning and overall project coordination were carried out by Loveworks.
3 Project Execution – Phase Two
The work done during Phase Two is described here.
3.1 Project Schedule
The overall project schedule is shown in Table 1. The planning and design began several
months after the completion of Phase One. The actual construction was carried out between
12-22 June 2010.
Installation of a Solar Power System at La Valla – Phase 2
Date: 01 Nov 2010 5 of 25
Table 1: Project Schedule
Activity Date
Phase One
Phase One Pre-planning Jun – Nov 2008
Phase One Execution (main installation) 13 – 20 Dec 2008
Follow up for Phase One (inspection,
correction and optimization) 21 – 24 Mar 2009
Second follow up for Phase One (changing
of batteries) 11 Aug 2009
Phase Two
Phase Two Pre-planning Dec 2009 – Jun 2010
Phase Two Execution 12 – 22 Jun 2010
Follow up visit 06 – 09 Oct 2011
3.2 Scope of Work
The main scope for Phase Two involved the setting up of a 4.2kW solar panel system,
consisting of twenty 210 watt polycrystalline PV panels, together with the accompanying
batteries, charge controllers and synchronizers, inverter, grounding and wiring works. This
took up the bulk of the time and budget.
Some effort was also spent upgrading and repairing the security lighting system that was
previously installed during Phase One. The things carried out here consist of rewiring works
to make it tidier, replacing the faulty inverter and repair of some of the switches and bulbs.
3.2.1 Installation of the 4.2kW System
3.2.1.1 Approach
The largest consumer of electricity in La Valla is the swimming pool water filtration system
(Fig. 1). This system is crucial in keeping the pool in a healthy condition. The pool is used
Installation of a Solar Power System at La Valla – Phase 2
Date: 01 Nov 2010 6 of 25
for physiotherapy and recreational purposes for the students and staff. The power
consumption of individual items in the filtration system is showed in Table 2. The swimming
pool water filtration system has to pumps; the main pump and a smaller backup pump. The
backup pump is only used when the main pump is down. There are two chlorinators and both
of them are used at the same time.
Table 2: Swimming pool water filtration system's power consumption
Item Power (W)
Main pump 2,438
Small pump (backup) 1,612
Chlorinator (SCMax155, 0.9kW
each) 1,800
Total 4,238
Besides the water filtration system, other areas of power consumption come from lighting,
fans, refrigerators, several computers and an air-con in the computer room. The solar power
system we designed was focused mainly on supplying power to the water filtration system
since it was the biggest consumer of electricity. Provisions were also made to allow any
equipment within the vicinity of the solar power system to draw power from it. Due to
budget constraint, we could not put up enough panels to supply for the entire need of the
school. Hence the system was designed to provide enough power to significantly reduce the
school’s dependence on diesel but not enough to replace it altogether.
Figure 1: Swimming pool water filtration system
Installation of a Solar Power System at La Valla – Phase 2
Date: 01 Nov 2010 7 of 25
3.2.1.2 Basic Components and Sizing
The basic components of the system are shown in Fig. 2.
Charge
Controller
To AC load
Charge
Controller
Synchronizer
Battery
Bank
Inverter
Figure 2: Basic components of the solar power system
Installation of a Solar Power System at La Valla – Phase 2
Date: 01 Nov 2010 8 of 25
Load Calculation
AC Loads:
Main Pump – 10.6A x 230 Vac x 6 hr = 14,628 Wh
Backup Pump – 7.01A x 230Vac x 6 hr = 9,674 Wh
Chlorinator (two sets) – 1,800W x 6 hr = 10,800 Wh
Since at any time, only one pump is running we are taking the maximum requirement, 25,428
Wh.
Allowing for Pure Sine Wave Inverter efficiency (85%)
= 25,428Wh / 0.85 = 29,915.3 Wh
DC Load: none
Total for AC and DC loads = 29,915.3 Wh per day
Calculation for the Required Solar Input
Estimated peak sun hours in Takhmao = 6 peak sun hours per day.
Required input from solar panel bank
= (29,915.3 Wh / 6 hr) x 1.4 = 6980.2W
Note: 1.4 is a factor chosen to incorporate efficiency of around 70%.
Selection of Solar Panels
If we choose Kyocera solar panel module of 210 Watt,
Required number of panels = 6980.2W / 210W = 33.2 34 panels
Kyocera KD210GH-2P is chosen.
Maximum Power, Pmax = 210 W
Maximum Power Voltage, Vmpp = 26.6 V
Maximum Power Current, Impp = 7.9 A
However, due to budget constraint, we could only supply 20 panels. These panels were
arranged in series-pair in order to form 48V system, 2 for each pair, there are 10 lines in
parallel in total.
Selection of the Charge Controller
The rated short-circuit current of the 210W Kyocera panel is 8.58A each.
Installation of a Solar Power System at La Valla – Phase 2
Date: 01 Nov 2010 9 of 25
We need to allow 25% extra capacity in the controller rating as solar panel can exceed their
rated output in particular cool sunny conditions (“cloud-edge effect”).
Current flowing from the solar panel bank to the charge controller
= 8.58 x 1.25 x 10 = 107.25 A
Charge controller that can handle such massive current is very expensive, thus for cost
effective measure, we need to divide the current into 2 lines, each handling only 53.625
Amps
Modular Power Management from Phocos is chosen.
2 x Modular Power Switch 48V, 80A
1 x Modular Central Unit 48V
1 x Modular Power Switch 48V, 80A (for load protection)
Selection of the Inverter
An inverter that is more than capable of carrying the maximum anticipated load has to be
selected.
From the above requirement, maximum load
= 4,238W/ 0.85 = 4,985.9 Watt
5000W Inverter would be suitable.
Selection of the Batteries
For solar system, it is best to use GEL type deep cycle batteries. To ensure long battery life,
deep cycle batteries should not be discharged beyond 70% of their capacity, i.e. 30% capacity
remaining. Discharging beyond this level will significantly reduce the life of the batteries.
Battery sizing is based on maximizing the solar panels that are available. With 1-day storage
capacity, the battery sizing would be as follows:
Ah required = (17,640 Wh / 12 V) / 0.7 X 1.1 = 2,310.0 Ah
We choosed 12V, 200Ah battery for this system.
No of batteries required = 2310/ 200 = 11.55 batteries
We need to arrange the 12V batteries into series line, 4 batteries for each line.
Hence at least 3 battery lines are required. One additional battery line was added for buffer.
Hence, no of 200Ah 12V batteries required = 16
Installation of a Solar Power System at La Valla – Phase 2
Date: 01 Nov 2010 10 of 25
3.2.1.3 Installation
The installation works were carried out from 12-22 June, 2010. We began by repainting the
stainless steel mounting frames for both the solar panels and batteries with several coats of
anti-rust paint (see Fig. 3). This was to protect them as long as possible from rust.
After they were dried, the mounting frames for solar panels were hoisted one at the time to
the rooftop and secured to the roof (see Fig.4). The mounting frames were then fastened one
at a time to the rooftop (Fig. 5)
Figure 3: Painting of mounting frames with several coats of anti-rust paint
Installation of a Solar Power System at La Valla – Phase 2
Date: 01 Nov 2010 11 of 25
Figure 4: Hoisting of mounting frames to rooftop
Figure 5: Fastening of mounting frames on the rooptop
Installation of a Solar Power System at La Valla – Phase 2
Date: 01 Nov 2010 12 of 25
The next step involved hoisting of the solar panels to the roof so that they can be attached to
the mounting frames. This step had to be carried out slowly as the panels were very heavy
and also very fragile (Fig. 6).
Figure 6: Mounting of solar panels in the mounting frames
Installation of a Solar Power System at La Valla – Phase 2
Date: 01 Nov 2010 13 of 25
After physically mounting the solar panels on the mounting frames, every two panels were
wired up in a parallel arrangement, resulting in 10 such pairs, 5 pairs facing north and 5 pairs
facing south. Each of these pairs was then wired to respective junction boxes (see Fig 7).
There are two main junction boxes on the rooftop, one for the north panels and the other for
the south. The junction boxes were then connected to a room below (Fig. 8 and 9).
Figure 7: Wiring works beneath the panels on the rooftop
Figure 8: Wiring works under the solar panels
Installation of a Solar Power System at La Valla – Phase 2
Date: 01 Nov 2010 14 of 25
There are two rooms that are used to house the solar power equipment. One room is used to
house the control boxes (isolaters, synchronizers, charge controllers) and battery rack
consisting of sixteen 200Ah batteries (see Fig. 10). Another room is used to house the 5kW
inverter (see Fig. 11).
Figure 9: Wiring works at the control box
Figure 10: Control box and battery storage area
Installation of a Solar Power System at La Valla – Phase 2
Date: 01 Nov 2010 15 of 25
All the activities carried out on the rooftop left holes and these have to be patched up after all
the rooftop works have been completed (see. Fig.12). The completed rooftop can be seen in
Fig. 13.
Figure 11: 5kW inverter
Installation of a Solar Power System at La Valla – Phase 2
Date: 01 Nov 2010 16 of 25
Figure 12: Roof repairing works being carried out
Figure 13: Rooftop, after all mounting and wiring works have been completed
Installation of a Solar Power System at La Valla – Phase 2
Date: 01 Nov 2010 17 of 25
3.2.2 Repair and Improvement of Previously Installed System
Some works were also carried out to repair and improve the solar powered security lighting
system that was previously installed in 2008/2009.
The wiring connections that was carried out in 2009/2009 had quite a few loose connections
and the path where they were laid were not optimal. Some of these connections were coming
out at some points. They are also slightly inferior quality wires and had no wire casing.
Therefore, rewiring work was carried out mainly using excess good quality wires that were
left over from the 4.2kW system (see Fig.14). Flexible wire casing was also used to protect
the wires from the elements.
Figure 14: Rewiring works at the security lighting system
Installation of a Solar Power System at La Valla – Phase 2
Date: 01 Nov 2010 18 of 25
Faulty light bulbs were also replaced with new ones. All switches fuse boxes and charge
controllers were packed neatly in a junction box and labeled (see Fig.16). The inverter was
also repaired.
Figure 15: One of the security lights, after rewiring and tidying
Figure 16: Junction box in progress. It houses all the switches and charge controller of the
security lighting system
Installation of a Solar Power System at La Valla – Phase 2
Date: 01 Nov 2010 19 of 25
3.3 Equipment Details and Cost
The cost of the equipment and other supporting cost (non-equipment) for the project are
shown in Table 3 and 4 respectively. The total project cost came up to S$36,939.37.
Table 3: Equipment Cost
Note: Conversion rate for USD to SGD used is 1.3949
No Items Quantity Total (S$)
1 Kyocera Solar Panel 210W, 24V 20 $18,161.19
2 Solar rack on the roof 20 $418.46
3 Cable 1 x 6mm2 = 120m from Solar panels to Junction box 120 $125.54
4 Junction box for Solar 20 x 20mm 2 $13.95
5 Set Connection and accessories 1 $69.74
6 Apollo S 219C ( 5.0KVA / 48 Vdc ) 1 $5,858.45
7 Haze HZY-SL 12-200 16 $7,141.73
8 Battery connectors ans isolators 15 $104.62
9 Battery cable 10m = 50mm2 10 $125.54
10 Cable # 6 AWG ( 2x 16mm2 ) Thailand 60 $376.61
11 Cable # 14 AWG ( 2x 2.5mm2) KTC 100 $111.59
12 Cable # 14 AWG for ground ( 1x 2.5mm2) KTC 100 $46.03
13 Ground pole 4 pcs,conector,ground road 1 x 16mm = 20m 1 $111.59
14 Delta Lightning Protection Arrestor 2 $237.13
15 Breaker 2P 60A 4 $75.32
16 Breaker 2P 150A 1 $64.16
17 AC circuit breaker 1 $13.95
18 Transportation to Takhmao 1 $48.82
19 Phocos Charge Controller Package 1 $1,251.90
20 Repair and correction of security lighting system 1 $585.84
21 Hardware shop purchases in Takhmao 1 $349.41
22 Voltmeter 1 $70.00
23 Miscellaneous 1 $348.72
SGD 35,710.29
Table 4: Supporting costs
No Items Total (S$)
1 Communication costs (Cambodian sim cards and top ups, Phoenix 1516 prepaid) $96.60
2 Transportation $777.11
3 Bank transfer charge $61.92
4 Manual filing for equipment $7.80
5 Post trip event $214.90
6 Customs related processing $70.75
SGD 1,229.08
Installation of a Solar Power System at La Valla – Phase 2
Date: 01 Nov 2010 20 of 25
Table 5: Summary of Cost
Cost Amount
Equipment Cost SGD 35,710.29
Supporting Cost SGD 1,229.08
Total Cost SGD 36,939.37
Hexacon Construction Pte Ltd sponsored S$35,000 of this project. The remainder of the cost
for the project came from Loveworks (see Table 6).
Table 6: Funding for project
Cost Amount
Cost borne by Hexacon Construction Pte Ltd SGD 35,000.00
Cost borne by Loveworks funds SGD 1,939.37
Total Cost SGD 36,939.37
4 Follow Up Work
4.1 Follow Up Trip on Oct 2011
A follow up trip was made on October 2011. Here are the findings from the trip.
The 4.2kW system installed in June 2010 is being fully utilized since its installation. It has
been working well for more than a year and does not have any issues at all.
As for the security lighting system, in the interim between the June 2010 and the follow up
trip, the school extended the security lights to a new building; one new series of lightings was
added for the workshop building (see Appendix 2 for updated plan). See Table 7 for details.
Installation of a Solar Power System at La Valla – Phase 2
Date: 01 Nov 2010 21 of 25
Table 7: Updated security lighting details
Security lighting details
Number of buildings covered 5
Total number to lights 18
Power requirement of each light bulb 8 watts
Estimated consumption a day (based on 8 hours) 1,152Wh
The battery bank configuration of four 12V 100Ah batteries installed in June 2010 did not
turn out well. This was partly because two of the batteries used in the bank were slightly
older than the other two and this led to problems. The battery bank was replaced with two
12V 200Ah batteries. This time, 200Ah batteries were used instead of 100Ah batteries; this
reduced the number of batteries required, therefore reducing unnecessary connection
imbalances and losses.
The wooden racks made for the batteries in the previous trips were replaced by a stainless
steel rack. The cost for works carried out during the follow up trip can be found on Table 8.
The budget for this came from existing Loveworks fund.
Table 8: Cost for work carried out during follow-up trip.
(Note: USD to SGD conversion rate at 1.2776)
Items Amount
Narada 12V 200Ah gel batteries (2 units) SGD 830.44
Battery rack SGD 76.66
Bank transfer charges SGD 20.00
Discount (SGD 12.78)
Total Cost SGD 914.32
Grid electricity finally arrived at La Valla in the middle of 2011 when a temporary
connection to the power grid was made, about a year after the installation of the 4.2kW
system. However, the solar power equipment is still being utilized quite fully and continues
to help reduce the electricity cost for the school. The security lighting system continues its
role in providing security lighting that is immune to power outages.
Installation of a Solar Power System at La Valla – Phase 2
Date: 01 Nov 2010 22 of 25
4.2 Handover and Future Follow Up Work
A complete documentation folder containing all information was transferred over to La Valla
School after the June 2010 trip. Training for also provided for key personnel in La Valla
School as the project was being implemented with the aim that they will be able to run and
maintain the system as independently as possible. The solar power vendor that we worked
with in this project is based in Phnom Penh and should be able to provide support to the
school when needed.
In the future, Loveworks will continue to provide support and make follow up trips as and
when requested by the school.
5 Summary
The La Valla School Solar Power Project was carried out with the objective of providing an
alternative source of electricity to the school to reduce its running cost. At the time when the
project was implemented, electricity from the grid was not available in the area and the
school depended on a second hand diesel generator for its electricity needs.
The project was divided into two phases. In the first phase, a small solar power security
lighting system was installed to provide night lighting to the school. A 500W system was
installed together with a series of power saving light bulbs in four buildings in the school and
this was carried out in 2008-2009. One of the objectives of the first phase was for all parties
to get familiarized with the installation and maintenance of solar powered systems before
embarking on a larger scale system. The second phase of the project was implemented from
2009 to 2010 and this involved a much larger 4.2kW system. Although grid electricity has
arrived at the area recently, the existing solar power systems continues to help the school
reduce its operating cost.
Installation of a Solar Power System at La Valla – Phase 2
Date: 01 Nov 2010 23 of 25
Appendix 1: Circuit diagram for 4.2kW system Circuit diagram Single line 48 Vole
wire 6 mm2
les them 15 m use wire16 mm2
Use breaker better them use fuse because
fuse some time cut some time not cut
if not cut became burn fuse leg .
Battery wire 50 mm2
Narada battery 200Ah 16 units
AC to Load 220V
210 W 8.75 A
24 V
210 W 8.75 A
24 V
210 W 8.75 A
24 V
210 W 8.75A
24 V
210 W
8.75 A
24 V
210 W
8.75 A
24 V
210 W
8.75 A
24 V
210 W
8.75 A
24 V
J. Box, with
or with out Fuse 10 A x 5
210 W
8.75 A
24 V
210 W
8.75 A
24 V
210 W
8.75 A
24 V
210 W
8.75 A
24 V
210 W
8.75 A
24 V
210 W
8.75 A
24 V
210 W
8.75A
24 V
210 W
8.75A
24 V
210 W
8.75A
24 V
210 W
8.75A
24 V
210 W
8.75A
24 V
210 W
8.75A
24 V
CB 60Am
Charge controller
45 Am , 48V
CB 60Am
Charge controller
45 Am , 48V
+ -
BATT 12V
+ -
BATT 12V
+ -
BATT 12V
+ -
BATT 12V
+ -
BATT 12V
+ -
BATT 12V
+ -
BATT 12V
+ -
BATT 12V
+ -
BATT 12V
+ -
BATT 12V
+ -
BATT 12V
+ -
BATT 12V
+ -
BATT 12V
+ -
BATT 12V
+ -
BATT 12V
+ -
BATT 12V
Inverter 5 Kg 48 V
_
MCB 150Am
CB 60Am CB 60Am
J. Box, with
or with out Fuse 10 A x 5
Appendix 2: Updated circuit diagram for security lighting system
Appendix 3: Project Partners
Hexacon Construction Pte Ltd (Main sponsor)
Mr. Micheal Tai – Sponsor/Project Advisor
Mr. Tan Chee Wah – Project Advisor
Mr. Mohd Zulkifli bin Baderon – Project Advisor
Environmental Science & Engineering Students’ Club (ESESC)
Law Yi Hui
Emily Seow Pei Hoon
Seow Jun Chyi
Lim Jinwen (Joann)
Selina Patra
Chua Jia En (Alex)
Chua Kun Lin
David James Chua
Siah Tong Shie
Sim Yi Lin, Ivie
Phey Giap Seng
Goh Liang Kuang
Wong Jia Shou (Isaac)
Rachel See Xiu Qun
Poh Wei Peng
Loveworks
Sigit Purnamo – Technical IC
Augustine Quek – Technical Support & Student Liaison
Terence Chin – Project IC
Contact Information
LOVEWORKS,
Youth and Young Adults Office,
Church of Saint Mary of the Angels,
Email: loveworks.smota@gmail.com
Attn: Terence Chin
Visit us at:
Website: www.stmary.sg/loveworks
Blog: http://simplyloveworks.wordpress.com/
A special thanks to the parishioners of St Mary of the Angels for making this project
possible through their support of Loveworks’ fundraising events and donations.
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