OK, we talked a little about biodigesters. This is interesting technology and already has market penetration in the Philippines but is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. In particular biodigesters do not provide a lot of utility for small urban lots. Also, in an average home here in the Philippines your gas bills are going to be very small in relation to electric. Here in central Luzon our gas (cooking only) is less that 3 pesos a day for the past 8 months. Electric, on the other hand, comes in currently at 111 pesos per day for two people in a small house with two aircons. Typically you can estimate that figure to be the cost for one room-size aircon running 24×7, because typically they bedroom aircon is on all night and the computer room unit on all day. Worth looking at this electric costs, for sure. We easily spend more per month on the electric bill than we do for food.
This is a specialized subject, obviously, but the idea really intrigues me. There are two main ways solar fits very well into the Philippine living picture:
- Solar cells are the most expensive component of a solar power system and they are now being manufactured in great numbers in the Philippines. Closer to the source, the best opportunity for a good price and minimal shipping costs.
- High per-kilowatt hour commercial electric costs make it easier to cost justify the investment in solar.
- Poor electric distribution system and the potential for many people to live in remote, paradisiacal areas call for backup power … or even complete self-energy production. Many island resorts are famous for diesel power systems that thump, thump, thump into the night and then stop at midnight, leaving everyone on flashlights and candles until sunrise. With a solar plant clean, silent, reliable power for remote locations is easy.
Here’s a good site to learn about solar basics, sizing of components and how to make them work together:
And here’s a list of Philippine suppliers and manufacturers:
Popularity: 2% [?]
I enjoy reading your website because you have a lot of interesting info, some of which i haven’t seen anywhere else. Salamat!
Do you know if Meralco or any other electric utility in the Philippines allows grid-tied solar systems? I think the Philippines needs to adopt solar power, both for heating water and generating electricity. But residential solar electric would be a LOT cheaper and easier and more convenient if a homeowner could start out with a modest grid-tied system.
Residential photovoltaic systems are getting more and more popular in the U.S. and especially in California where i live. But the vast majority of these new systems are grid-tied, meaning the solar power produced supplements the grid power. Running the utility’s electric meter backwards some of the time is fun and helps the homeowner’s solar system pay for itself.
If one can’t tie into the grid, then the only alternative i can see is to buy enough solar panels to power the whole house all of the time and also buy enough batteries to store power for nighttime use. That kind of solar system would out of reach financially for almost everybody in the Philippines, even retired expats.
Hello, Andrew,
Thanks for your kind words.
The answer to Meralco or others accepting grid tie systems is, I don’t know. There are very, very few solar PV efforts going on outside the laboratories … or, I should more accurately say, very few that the public know about. There are two things in play here … technicalities and politics. There are a number of companies here:
http://tinyurl.com/5lygj6
doing solar business in the Philippines today who can help with information. In addition, I am sure there are research programs at major universities, especially UP.
I question the need for any of those schemes about the electric utilities ‘buying back’ power as being very effective. Here in the Philippines the primary need for power is in the day, when production from solar is high. At night the need is much less. I see little need to bring the power company (and hence the government) into the picture, but then again, that’s only me.
If I ever made an investment in solar it would be to gain independence from the grid, not to play about with being a supplier … but again, that’s only me.