Lopez Group launches home solar energy kits

By the end of this year, Philippine residents and commercial establishments would be able to harness the power of the sun and generate electricity for their appliances and devices. With the solar energy kits announced by the Lopez Group's First Philec Solar Solutions (FPSS), small-scale power users can install solar panels on their roofs and generate solar energy for their homes or offices. The kits come in three varieties: a 1kW grid-type kit; a 1kW off-grid kit; and a 10kW grid-type system, targeted at commercial users. Each kit comes with about five solar panels capable of producing around 225 watts of power each, and are installed side-by-side on the roof; and a converter kit. The off-grid kit, on the other hand, comes with a solar battery, which can store energy that can be used at night. Raul Sta. Cruz, the company's chief technology officer (CTO), demonstrated that the installed solar panels would harness energy from the sun and produce DC energy, which will then be converted to a more usable format of AC energy to power most appliances and devices today. With the 1kW solar energy kit, for example, Sta. Cruz said about four to five killowatts of power can be displaced during the day, representing about 15% of electricity consumption throughout the whole day. "A typical 1-HP appliance, for example an aircon, requires 780 watts of power. This kit can power that," he said. "The immediate benefit (of the solar kits) is clean energy," explained Dan Lachica, president of FPSS. "Solar power opeartes within the day, usually the peak hours for consumption." Lachica said the solar panels use wafers from SunPower, a manufacturer of solar cells, but that it can be customized to fit the requirements of the customers. "The advantage of SunPower is that they produce high-efficiency cells. If you want to maximize power generation in a smaller space, use high efficiency panels, but the price is higher," he said. Sta. Cruz said they are in the process of coming up with a locally produced inverter, which can help realize more energy savings for the customer. He added that a monitoring system is also on the pipeline, which will give users an idea of their electricity consumption and the energy savings they are reaping with the solar energy kits. The 1kW grid-type kit, the company said, would cost around 300,000 to 350,000 pesos, and already includes installation of the solar kit and maintenance, should it be needed. Lachica didn't disclose the price for the other kits, but mentioned that they would be priced "a bit higher" than the standard 1kW grid-type kit. — TJD, GMA News