06. UN Office Solar System Project
Project Overview
The UN Joint Presence Office, Majuro consumed 13,619 kWh of electricity in the twelve month period from July 2015 – June 2016, at a total cost of approximately $5,293. This equates to an annual greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 11,576 kilograms (or 25,468 lbs) of CO2.
Since grid-connected solar was not acceptable to the local Utility company (MEC), the UN office opted for a 4kW standalone solar system to power only their critical loads. This required physically separating the office’s electrical loads into critical and non-critical loads. The solar system then powers the critical loads which includes the lighting and outlets. Non-critical loads comprised the air conditioning – with the notion that during power outages, fans would be employed to cool the office until the mains power returns.
The 4kW system has the following components:
Component | Qty |
250W Solar Panels | 16 |
Aluminum Racking for 4kW of solar panels | 1 lot |
2V Exide Energystore 670Ah (C100) Sealed Deep Cycle Battery | 24 |
Victron 5kVA Easy Solar: 48V Controller, Inverter and Charger all in one | 1 |
BMV Victron Battery Monitor | 1 |
Victron color display monitoring system | 1 |
Fuses, Switches, Cabling, Power Points, Switches, Meter box, Battery Box, Conduit, MSB, Circuit Breakers | 1 lot |
Project Outcomes
The 4kW installed system generates about 20kWh of energy per day or 7,300kWh per year, which is roughly half of the total required energy for the UN office