Light The Way - Nam Plamoong and Omkoi

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.

Solar 6 at Hope Training Centre, Prey Veng

On 6 April 2010, we went to Hope Training Centre, Prey Veng, to restore the solar lighting and also conduct solar maintenance at the training centre. The condition of the wiring and lamps needed restoration because during the construction of the building, some were damaged.

 

We dug a new trench to provide electrical cabling from the factory to the 6 houses. This will provide the solar battery power located at the factory to the houses.

We also rewire the electrical cables and lamps at the factory

The lamps, charge controller and batteries were located at the factory. There are 2 zones, houses for zone 1 and factory is zone 2. A total of 17 lamps or 85Watts of power is consumed by the security lighting nightly. The security guard will switch on the lights when it gets dark, about 6.30pm and turn off the lights at 6 am the next morning. A total of 6 solar panels totaling 660Watts is capable of providing 12 hours nightly of security lighting. It has a standby charge of 2 days in case of bad weather with no or little charging from the sun. It has the capacity to increase to 22 lamps without compromising its performance.

A picture of the factory during the day time and night time. It provide sufficient lighting at night to improve the security in the training centre.

The daily charging of the batteries starts at 6 am in the morning and reaches full charge at noon. The charging goes into trickle charge after that. At 6.30pm, the lights are turn on for 12 hours where we can see the batteries are being discharge.The cycle continues again the next day.

A block diagram of the system is shown below.

Light The Way Training

We have formed a team to provide lighting to the remote churches who do not have access to grid electricity. The team is undergoing training such as electrical installation, how the photovoltaic system generate electricity for rural lighting.

Industrial Skill Training

On 18 March 2010, I went with a group of friends to PKH, Kg Speu, Cambodia, to assist in the training of industrial skills to the Cambodian youths. We taught them basic technical drawing, electricity and english.

Below are the 2 Cambodian instructors for the industrial skill training.

The workshop is currently being build, the contractor is putting the thermal insulation on the roof.

Thailand, Sai Ngam's Church

At Chiang Mai, we manage to find a local solar supplier of SHARP Solar Modules (130W). We bought 2 solar modules and a GEL Deep Cycle Battery 12Vdc at 200 A-H.

We arrive on Sai Ngam's church in the afternoon of 17 January 2010. We quickly prepared the mounting for the solar modules. We used a mixture of aluminum C channel rods and tree trunks to mount the solar modules. The solar modules are securely seated on the tree trunk.

Next we mount the charge controller, inverters, battery and the distribution box.

We started installing the lamps, altogether 7 CFL Lamps, 11 Watts each.

We also provide earthing protection for the system.

Final completed system with the lights turn on and picture taking. We completed the whole project in one and a half days.

Specifications
Compact Flourescent 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 30 - 1 pcs

Pure Sine Inverter, COTEK 300W, 12V - 1 pcs

Battery Reserve - 1 Day Storage

Also we have a good lunch, everyone chip in to cook and eat.

Thailand, Doi Philu 02

I have gone back to Doi Philu on 17 January 2010 to repair the Solar Lighting. I have replace the charge controller from Phocos to Morningstar, Prostar 30. This charge controller is able to provide the solar charging current, the battery voltage and the load current. It is easier to troubleshoot with the meter readings.

At night the village chief tested the system for 4 hours, it work well without problem.

Specifications

LED Lamps, 5W - 19pcs
Daily Usage - 6 hours nightly
Solar Modules, Mitsubishi 125W - 2 pieces

Direct 24Vdc Operation
Battery, 3K Lead Acid Deep Cycle, 12V 125A-H - 2 pcs
Charge Controller, Morningstar, Pro Star 30 - 1 pcs
Battery Reserve - 1 Day Storage