Power saving secret

05/04/2012

A family for the last ten years has been living without worry of power cut during summer is sharing with us their secret.

Mr. Dien with his good old 10 year old solar panel.

We arrived at Mr. Bui Cong Dien’s house (71 years), a retired specialist from the Department of Planning – former Ministry of Energy (now known as Ministry of Industry and Trade), at No 15 Well Lane, Dong Cac street, O Cho Dua, Dong Da district, to learn about the solar panel that his family has been using for the last 10 years.

Leading the reporters to the top floor, Mr. Dien cheerfully shared "In 2001, our family spent 18 million to buy three solar panels. 10 years have passed and the panels still work fine".

Tracing the wiring downstairs, Mr Dien pointed to the power adapter and explained: “Solar panel will absorb the heat and transform it to DC battery for charging. Afterwards, the panel will transform DC power into AC power to run lights, fans and etc...”

The solar water heater was also used for washing, cooking so his family was able to save electricity and gas. Indoor lighting system with LED and neon lights also are also energy efficient and consuming very little power. Thus, in the summer, his family's electricity bill came half the amount of previous non solar panel installation.

Long-term efficiency

Being a person who has applied the solar cell for a decade, Mr. Dien makes the calculation: A family with 2 TV sets, 3 fans, 8 compact lamps capacities 10W to 15W, with the total capacity of about 450W will need six solar panels (83Wp/panel). The cost for 6 panels is worth 30 million, with additional expenses for battery and other accessories of 12 million, totaling cost to 42-45 million. In the summer (6 months), when average daily temperature is around 25 to 35 degrees C, power generated from the solar panel will be about 1.8 to 2.5 kWh. The total amount of electricity produced from solar panels is enough for the equipment of the family within 5 to 6 hours per day. Not to mention the other months, when there is less sunlight, the panels still produce a certain amount of electricity.

Each solar panel can be used for about 25 years, a new battery lasts for about 3 to 5 years and other equipment are also used for over 10 years, making the initial investment slightly higher, but given the life-time cost of the device, then this is an efficient investment.

"The benefit getting from the solar panel is not only money, but more importantly, during a hot summer’s power cut, we can still use electricity without the noise, pollution and wasting money from the dynamo. Only when you have experienced a power cut does electric current from the sun means something so invaluable. I hope that the Government can provide incentive policies for domestic enterprises to produce solar cells in order to reduce costs”, he said.

By Cẩm Vân

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