KATHMANDU, July 28: Solar power once was something for only those who could afford because of high price tag. People today, however, believe that though the initial investment will turn out to be huge, it will ultimately give people more savings on their energy bills and it is worth the deal.
The popularity of solar power for lighting homes has increased so drastically that it would not be wrong to say that the society is slowly transforming into a green society. The credit for the popularity goes largely to the drop in price of solar lighting systems in recent years.
Around 60,000 households has turned into solar power for electrification More than 200,000 households have adopted the concept of Solar Home System
Solar home system is much more affordable than it was before
Until a few years ago, solar energy was something that was introduced as an alternative power source for rural households that do not have access to hydropower. But with power cut hours climbing up in urban areas, solar energy has turned out to be the most effective solution for cities as well.
Surya Kumar Sapkota, senior planning officer at Alternative Energy Promotion Center (AEPC), said more than 60,000 households in Nepal has turned into solar power for electrification and more than 200,000 households have adopted the concept of Solar Home System.
“The reason behind the increase in the number of people going for solar power is the growing popularity of alternative energy sources. Introduction of cost effective solar system in recent years has attracted many people, especially middle class customers, towards it,” Sapkota added.
Manish Bajracharya, the sales manager with Lotus Energy that deals solar energy system design in rural and urban households, said though it may still not be affordable to install solar home system, it is much more affordable than it was before. “It is because of this fact that many middle class people are moving into solar power to light their homes,” he added.
Lotus Energy is the premier solar PV and renewable energy company in the country.
The company designs, manufactures, installs, trains, and services clean energy systems on a turnkey package basis for all kinds of electrical power applications including lighting, water pumping, water purification, and vaccine refrigeration for both urban and rural areas throughout the country.
Lighting four bulbs and operating a television set or a computer are the basic requirements that people wish to have by installing solar system. The installation of system supporting 4 to 5 bulbs costs in the range of Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 and it is getting popular amongst middle class customers.
“Especially at a time when energy costs are going up and people´s income is going down, something´s got to give,” said Bajracharya. He further informed that the initial investment of Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 can give continuous outcome for years and due to this very fact solar home system is getting very popular.
Chandreshwar Chaudhary, managing director of Sun Power Pvt Ltd, said the cost of installing solar lighting system with only 4 bulbs of 10 watt each costs Rs 28,000 at Sun Power. The bulbs can light up to five hours during power outage, he added.
Navin Bhujel, director of Lassersun Energy, informed that customers can install 8 to 10 bulbs but can light only 4 bulbs at once. The company is installing this system at Rs 35,000. “All the bulbs can be lit at once when required by installing additional batteries,” Bhujel said.
Most of these companies provide 25 years guarantee on panels and 5 to 7 years guarantee on batteries.
Source: Republica