Why Go Solar
Solar Power or Solar Energy is a renewable source of energy that is readily available in our country Kenya as we have fairly good weather throughout the year. As Turucom Enterprises Ltd we prioritize in installation of solar energy to both domestic and commercial entities. In the last three years we have managed to install over 80 Megawatts of solar energy hence reducing the carbon footprint.
How to transition to Green Energy / Solar Power.
- Investigate your Home’s/Business energy efficiency and needs, this involves carrying out a survey of your energy requirements to calculate how much energy you consume in a day. i.e. for prepaid clients how many units of power are consumed per day or for postpaid customers how many Kilowatts of power are consumed per month as indicated on the power bill. Also try to categorize high power consuming equipment’s such as equipment with heating elements and those with motors and make a list of those equipment’s that are on everyday use and those that are used once in a while.
- Assess your solar potential once you have made your list of equipment’s that need electric power. Categorize those that can be powered by solar energy through the use of a solar inverter charger. How to get this information is by recording the power usage of each equipment. This information is indicated on the sticker that is usually underneath or at the back of every electrical equipment. The consumption is indicated in either Watts or Amps, these are the two most important points of information in the estimation process.
- Assess your options for using solar, once you have made a list of total power needed by the electrical equipment. Assess if your equipment’s can run on AC power (alternating current) or DC power (Direct Current). For AC equipment’s a Solar Inverter will be needed to convert the DC current to AC current which will power the equipment’s. For DC equipment’s, a solar inverter will not be needed, and the equipment’s will be powered directly from the batteries or solar controller.
- Estimate your solar electricity needs, once you have calculated your energy needs. It is prudent to have the inverter sized to match the power needs of the home so as to avoid over sizing or under sizing the solar system. Therefore have it tailored for the specific needs of different homes and businesses. Have a solar expert like Turucom Enterprises Ltd come do a site survey and system sizing for you and also design the solar system to be installed that will be able to meet the energy requirements of the homestead/Business.
- Obtain bids and site assessments from solar installers, get proposals from the installer and also, if possible, ask to visit installed sites to have a look and feel of the solar system and also get firsthand information from individuals that have had their solar system done by the solar company giving the proposal. Also ask the solar installer to provide reference sites where they have done installations and also designs of various projects under taken in the past.
- Understand available financing and incentives, ask what financing options one has to be able to finance the solar project i.e. find out if the installer has financing options. For Turucom Enterprises we have an option where we can finance the client up to 60% of the project cost and an agreement of a payment period of up to 90 to 120 days. Understand the ROI (Return on Investment) which in most cases is two and a half years to 3years. Also have the installer issue you with warranty on the equipment’s and guarantee. For our lithium batteries we have a guarantee of 6000 cycles which is 16 years before replacement and a 25-year guarantee on our solar panels. Also have original and tried and tested equipment provided by the installer to prevent purchase of sub-standard equipment.
- Work with your installer and utility, once they have come up with a design and you agreed on the budget, then move to the installation face. As Turucom Enterprises Ltd we offer the customer the best equipment and the best solution for guarantee of their money. The solutions we give are highbred systems that allow for the systems to work with the grid system and also the solar system at the same time thus have solar as primary system and Grid power as secondary system in case the solar system ever goes down, the grid will take over with no intervention.
Advantages of Solar Energy
- Solar Energy is renewable Energy from the Sun which is available in abundance in Kenya and is free hence reduction in power bills.
- Blackouts are in the past as solar systems kick in as Back up systems or pull their energy from the panes during the day and from the batteries at night hence no power interruptions.
- Reduction in bills as one is able to produce their own energy to power their homes and businesses hence business continuity.
- No extra wiring needed since the system is an all-in-one system and works with the existing wiring system
Disadvantages of Solar Energy
- Capital Intensive.
Things to Avoid
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- Avoid getting solutions from nonprofessional installers who do not do site visits or site surveys to establish the best solutions.
- Avoid purchasing equipment from Downtown vendors i.e. cheap equipment, to prevent failure.
- Avoid running thermal equipment’s or equipment with heating elements during the night to prevent depleting the batteries.
- Avoid installers that do not have a site plan or who do not know how to size the correct system setup.
Reference Sites
Below are some installations done by Turucom Enterprises Ltd
Projects Completed
Why Us?
Article by
Solomon Kimani – CEO & Founder – Turucom Enterprises Limited.
Mobile: 0721776713 | Email: turucomenterprisesltd@gmail.com (I personally lead all assessments and projects)
Solomom is a member of St. Paul's Self-Help Group.
