The Chronicle
Nqobile Bhebhe, Senior Enterprise Reporter
AFTER a number of years working as a radio technician and satellite tv for pc dish installer, Mr Obert Murimbika left the enterprise and joined the photo voltaic vitality sector again in 2006.
At the moment, there weren’t many photo voltaic system installers available in the market.
Nonetheless, lately, Mr Murimbika reckons the sector has been “invaded” by chancers.
“Photo voltaic vitality is a gold mine proper now. It is a growth, a bonanza,” he mentioned with a smile.
“This jogs my memory of the times when wiztech satellite tv for pc dish set up was standard. Everybody who considered earning profits then reinvented themselves in a single day to make a residing from satellite tv for pc dish set up. The identical is occurring immediately within the photo voltaic enterprise.”
Many companies in Zimbabwe are turning to photo voltaic vitality due to Zesa’s lengthy load occasions.
Trade captains say the ability shortages dealing with the nation and the area must be seen as a actuality examine for companies and households to begin investing in photo voltaic vitality as a long run resolution.
It’s argued that Zimbabwe has a powerful case for adopting solar energy because it experiences lengthy hours of sunshine all year long with the Authorities encouraging industries to construct photo voltaic crops. .
Photo voltaic panels have grow to be a part of the panorama of residential and industrial areas.
Mr Murimbika acknowledged that the set up enterprise was booming however was fast to warn of great dangers.
He defined that some shoppers get caught up within the insanity and find yourself shopping for the flawed panels and inverters.
Mr Murimbika mentioned it was unlucky that typically the standard of the merchandise was a secondary consideration so the lifetime of the photo voltaic system was not given a lot thought.
He mentioned that that is how many individuals promote faux merchandise which have flooded the market.
A fundamental photo voltaic system features a photo voltaic panel, battery, an inverter and a controller.
The lifespan of a panel ranges from 5 years for the most cost effective to over 25 years for premium high quality in response to Mr Murimbika.
“There may be quite a lot of demand for installers. Generally I feel individuals set up photo voltaic methods for status as a result of it is trendy now,” he mentioned.
Mr Murimbika mentioned many individuals are dashing to put in photo voltaic methods however they have no idea the standard of the merchandise required.
Social media is awash with firms promoting varied devices, together with sub-standard merchandise, a improvement that has anxious the Zimbabwe Vitality Regulatory Authority.
Use of photo voltaic vitality
Individuals with low budgets find yourself with the worst methods, says Mr Murimbika.
“They purchase what they assume is reasonable however these are faux merchandise that do not final,” he mentioned.
The chief government officer of Zera, Mr Eddington Mazambani mentioned that increasingly more households are utilizing solar energy however the regulatory authority doesn’t have prepared nationwide statistics.
“The authority is remitted to advertise renewable vitality and thus actively promotes the usage of photo voltaic vitality. The usage of solar energy has elevated through the years as evidenced by the expansion within the variety of retailers and repair suppliers,” mentioned Mr. Mazambani.
Nonetheless, he mentioned that though Zera has developed requirements for all photo voltaic merchandise and has additionally drafted rules for checking the standard and requirements of merchandise, the sub-standard merchandise flooding the market.
Thus Zera continues to obtain complaints of poor service provision from solar energy shoppers.
“Legislative modifications within the related authorized acts have been made to pave the way in which for the promulgation of rules. The Authority has allotted a funds for check gear to enhance high quality enforcement within the sector of renewable vitality.
Devices available in the market are additionally topic to the Consignment Based mostly Conformity Evaluation (CBCA) program the place merchandise are issued with certificates of conformity of origin” mentioned Mr Mazambani.
He mentioned that sub-standard merchandise are flooding the market due to dangerous sellers and porous borders.
Zimra is subsequently engaged in intensifying product checks on the port of entry.
The renewable vitality service suppliers are assessed by Zera and there’s a listing of really useful suppliers.
In accordance with the analysis, as of August final 12 months, there have been 159 registered photo voltaic gear service suppliers and 11 had been in Bulawayo.
Miss Carol Ndimande, a photo voltaic system dealer who operates from Bulawayo metropolis heart mentioned the fakes are more likely to trigger environmental challenges.
A few of the homes in Bulawayo the place solar energy is put in
Battery life spans fluctuate relying on the kind, from just a few months for some gel batteries to 10 years for lithium batteries.
He famous that expiring batteries can translate into an extra of photo voltaic waste if not disposed of correctly.
“I’ve now observed panels being thrown in open areas in residential areas and kids are nonetheless enjoying with the discarded panels. Used home equipment are being thrown randomly and that is more likely to hurt the surroundings,” he mentioned.
Miss Ndimande requested the neighborhood to familiarize themselves with the varied parts of the photo voltaic system earlier than buying.
“In a single day merchants are promoting photo voltaic panels rated at 300 Watts however they solely generate 150 Watts or much less.”
In accordance with Miss Ndimande, a 300 Watt photo voltaic panel, 12 volts battery, a regulator, 1 000-Watt controller and 30Amp controller can energy many family home equipment.
Whereas interviewing Miss Ndimande, three shoppers hurriedly purchased varied photo voltaic system gear.
They do not appear to wish to take care of Miss Ndimande on the ensures and high quality of the merchandise.
That is most likely the explanation why many individuals purchase photo voltaic home equipment with out totally understanding how they work.
In accordance with Zera, when buying photo voltaic PV gear, it is very important calculate the whole consumption of electrical energy and vitality of all the masses that have to be equipped by the photo voltaic PV system.
An inverter is utilized in methods the place AC energy output is required.
“The enter score of the inverter should not be lower than the whole wattage of the home equipment. The inverter will need to have the identical nominal voltage as your battery. For stand-alone methods, the inverter have to be massive sufficient to deal with the whole quantity of
Watts that you’ll use at one time. As well as, the scale of the inverter must be 25 to 30 p.c bigger than the whole Watts of the home equipment.
For a grid tie system or grid related system, the enter score of the inverter have to be the identical because the PV array score to permit protected and environment friendly operation.
The kind of battery really useful to be used in photo voltaic PV methods is a deep cycle battery.
“Deep cycle batteries are particularly designed to be discharged at low vitality ranges and quickly recharged or cycled to be charged and discharged every day for years. The battery have to be sufficiently which is massive sufficient to retailer sufficient vitality to run home equipment at evening and on cloudy days.
