On Friday, 30 April 2010, we went on a 6 day mission trip to visit churches in Thailand at Nam Plamoong and Omkoi.
We reached Chiang Mai airport, we did all our purchase for the solar lighting project and travel for 3 hours on a winding road (762 curves) to reach Pai. We rested for the night and early next morning, we set off to Nam Plamoong on dirt road using a 4 wheel drive to go up the mountain top to reach Nam Plamoong. Behind the trees, you can see the distant village, which is Nam Plamoong. The people in this village are from the Lisu hill-tribes.
After 2 hours of travelling, we arrived at the church at Nam Plamoong . The church.which is situated on a mountain top, is 1180 meters above sea-level. The church is managed by a Lay Reader, who is a member of the Lisu tribe. A picture of him and his daughter.
We spent 2 days installing the solar lighting for the church. The weather was hot during this period. It was lichee season.
The system comprises of 2 photovoltaic panels (Sharp 130W) connected in parallel to give a total of 260W operating at 12Vdc. The panels are mounted on 4 tree trucks which are used as support and faces south where the sun shine from morning to evening. For energy storage, it uses GEL deep cycle battery, 200 AH, and operates at 20% depth of discharge. This should last the battery for 3 to 4 years of operation as it is only used for lighting purposes. The brand of the charge controller and inverter are from Morningstar. The 300W inverter does not require a fan for cooling, hence is is very reliable. There are main circuit breakers and earth leakage circuit breaker in the system to ensure the safe operation. An earthing rod of 2 meter length is hammered into the ground to provide earthing.
Specifications
Compact Fluorescent Lamps, 11W - 7pcs
Daily Usage - 6 hours nightly
Solar Modules, Sharp 130W - 2 pieces
Battery, 3K Lead Acid Deep Cycle, GEL, 12V 200A-H - 1 pcs
Charge Controller, Morningstar, Pro Star 30M - 1 pcs
Morningstar SureSine Inverter-300 watt, 220volt,50Hz - 1 pcs
AC Operation – 230Vac 50Hz
Maximum Depth Cycle Discharge – 20%
Battery Reserve - 1 Day Storage
Earthing Protection
Finally, the system was up and running, a total of 7 CFL lamps of 12 watts each were installed in the church. 6 lamps were mounted inside the church and 1 lamp outside at the entrance. This should provide adequate lighting for the church at night.
As usual, we have cooked meals for lunch.
After the project, we travel back to Chiang Mai and rested for the night.
Early next morning, we travel to Omkoi by road for 4 hours, it is located south south west from Chiang Mai.. The people are from the Karen hill-tribes.
We visited the church and we had lunch with the pastor at his house.
After that we went back to Chiang Mai and headed home.
