Call me old school but when it comes to power supply, I'll pick a solid transformer with band A electricity line anytime any day. I'm going to centre my comparison on Solar vs Electricity because a Generator can never be an option for me. It's been 2 years since I last powered mine for home use and it's going to stay that way. As someone who values a quiet environment, a generator as a means of power supply is never an option.
I remember a friend complaining bitterly over the high cost of tariffs. This was about 4 years ago and he told me he was paying 30 thousand Naira monthly for the electricity bill when I asked him the duration of the electricity supply daily, he said the light never goes off. So I told him to stop complaining because he's paying for comfort.
In his exact words, I always work with what can give me value without cost being a barrier. I went further to tell him to calculate the cost of burning petrol every day to power up his generator for one month. I told him to also factor in the noise it creates as well as the pollution in the likes of fumes. After our little pep talk, he chuckled and said I win.
When choosing an alternate source of energy supply, one major determinant is our environment. I'm not picking Solar because I have not seen it function 100% effectively like electricity has. It's either it could only power light bulbs and fans or the duration at which it will carry other gadgets is not always sustainable for longer periods. Again, with Solar, the powering of heavy-duty appliances seems like a herculean task and most times, these appliances function more effectively with electricity than Solar.
I see Solar as more of a backup and not something worth going completely off-grid for. I have utilized both sources of energy and like I said, Solar doesn't come close from experience. Maybe because we do not have the technological advancement yet because the reviews are usually solid outside Nigeria.
However, recently, I was informed by my aunt that the best way to enjoy solar is if all appliances are solar-compatible. According to her, solar energy is not as compatible with purely electrically friendly appliances which made sense to me. Like my aunt knew of the existing doubt in my mind, she gave me real-life examples. She said when she purchased her Solar panels and inverter, she was advised to also get different home appliances that are solar compatible but given the cost, she only did lighting and fans because that was what she could afford and she has never had any problem with her Solar energy installation
Given her good experiences, another aunt contacted her to assist her in going Solar. While this particular aunt spent heavily, the money's worth was not felt after the installation of the solar. It was expected that it would power all the home appliances but it became a struggle. The last time I was there for the holidays they complained bitterly having spent over 15 million Naira to go Solar and not getting the same or even more value worth as expected from electricity. After calling several Solar technicians, they were advised to switch all their appliances to solar-friendly.
My uncle was furious because there's no how he's going to be spending tens of millions again in repeating appliances he already had. Seeing my uncle's frustration, the Solar technician immediately saw a business opportunity. So he offered to help them sell all their home appliances including the heavy-duty ones like Air conditioners plus pumping machine for water. The deal was if after evaluation by the electrician the appliances were in good condition, they would be purchased at 50% less than the market value of a brand-new one. Whatever is realized from the sales, my uncle will add the difference for the purchase of solar-friendly home appliances.
Without thinking twice, my uncle jumped on the offer which was a financial relief for him. Although I didn't stay long to know how far the whole situation turned out, with my other aunt's experience plus analysis I bet it turned out ok.
From my previous employment, I remember when they went Solar because the transformer got bad and each repair did not last before it went bad again. They went Solar and spent over 20 million Naira to get it to function like the transformer but it couldn't effectively power up all our appliances and in the end, we settled for the generator as a backup power supply. Before the transformer went bad, we were using band A otherwise known as the federal line where electricity was available for a minimum of 20 hours daily. Not to mention whenever it rains heavily, the panels were always faulty at the time.
Recently, it's been raining cats and dogs and my brother called that from his end it rained hail stones which ruined their Solar panels. They are currently planning for repairs which are not always cheap nor budget-friendly.
Basically with my experiences thus far, I would never pass on the opportunity to a privately owned transformer and a good power line that I'm sure of a minimum of 20 hours of power supply daily. In such a scenario with electrical distribution, I am confident that I do not need any other source of energy.
Above is my response to the Inleo prompt day 20. You can participate Here
