FAQ

Some Frequently Asked Questions:

Basic Questions:

1What is renewable energy?

RENEWABLE ENERGY is energy derived from resources that are regenerative or for all practical purposes cannot be depleted. Types of renewable energy resources include moving water (hydro, tidal and wave power), thermal gradients in ocean water, biomass, geothermal energy, solar energy, and wind energy. Municipal solid waste (MSW) is also considered to be a renewable energy resource.

2Why is energy efficiency important?

Energy efficiency means using less energy to accomplish the same task. The more efficient use of energy throughout our country results in less money spent on energy by homeowners, schools, government agencies, businesses, and industries. The money that would have been spent on energy can instead be spent on consumer goods, education, services, and products.

3What kind of renewable energy technologies are available in Bluecamel Energy?

Photovoltaics (PV) convert sunlight directly into electricity using PV cells made of semiconductor material.

Solar Water heating systems heat water, either directly or by heating a “working fluid” that then heats the water. Solar water heaters are commonly used to heat domestic water in homes, heat water for swimming pools, spas and hot tubs or to heat water for industrial processes.

Passive solar energy designs use the building itself as both the solar collector and storage medium, usually by increasing the window area on the south side of the building and the amount of thermal mass inside the building to absorb the solar heat that enters through the windows.

Wind Turbines use the wind’s energy to generate electricity.

4What are the benefits of renewable energy systems?

Renewable energy sources are clean and inexhaustible. The money spent on renewable energy installation tends to remain in the community, creating jobs and fueling local economics. The use of renewable energy equipment also reduces our dependence on foreign and/or centralized sources of energy, and is an important strategy in the process of creating a truly secure and sustainable energy future.

5Why isn’t everyone using renewable energy technologies?

Most renewable energy technologies are still relatively expensive compared with conventional energy sources. As consumers become more sophisticated about the consequences of their energy purchasing decisions, however, the demand for clean energy technologies will increase. When all the environmental, national security, health and lifecycle costs of conventional energy are taken into consideration, renewable energy technologies make complete sense. Adopters of clean energy technologies have the added challenge of dealing with a regulatory infrastructure geared to large, centralized power plants and fossil fuel delivery system. Though the barriers are gradually coming down, as uniform interconnection standards, net metering laws and other regulatory reform is put in place.

6Can I use wind or solar for my home or business? How do I know if I can use it in my area?

Most places have enough renewable energy sources to meet some or all of their needs with one or more renewable energy systems. A hybrid system – an installation that uses a combination of different renewable technologies (i.e. PV and wind turbine) – is better suited to Ohio’s varied typography and changing seasons. You can get more specific information by contacting an Ohio renewable energy designer, installer, architect or builder to discuss your power requirements, particulars of your property, what type of systems would suit your needs, sunlight and wind energy availability, etc.

7I’m interested having renewable energy installed on my home or business. Where do I start?

The best way to really understand the issues involved to installing a renewable energy system is to do some research. There are many informative books and websites available to help you become better acquainted with the intricacies of renewable energy. Alternatively do give us a call on (+234) (0)818 6888 833 or (+234) (0)817 8111 116 for free consultation. Better still ask us here

Technical Questions:

1What is the minimum equipment I'll need?

The basic components required to produce electricity from the sun are : One or more Solar Panels, a Charger Controller, a Power Inverter, and of course, Batteries.Take a look at a simple animation of all these components working together. This will give you an overview of the minimum equipment needed for a solar powered alternative energy system.

2How many Solar Panels will I need?

This will depend on the amount of energy in watts that your appliances use. To get an idea of the wattage you’ll need, use our System Sizing calculator.

3 What is an inverter?

An inverter takes DC power (from a battery or solar panel, for example) and converts it into alternating current (AC) “household” power for running electronic equipment and appliances.

4 Why are they called Inverters?

Originally converters were large rotating electromechanical devices used to convert AC to DC. It is what you have to do if you don’t have semiconductor or vacuum tube rectifiers. Essentially they combined a synchronous ac motor with a commutator so that the commutator reversed its connections to the ac line exactly twice per cycle. The results is ac-in dc-out (with a lot of switching noise thrown in). If you invert the connections to a converter you put dc in and get ac out. Hence an inverter is an inverted converter.

5How is an inverter different than a UPS?

A UPS typically includes the inverter, battery and battery charger in one stand-alone unit. However, there are UPSs that use external batteries, and PowerStream has made inverters with battery chargers, so the differences blur as features proliferate.

UPSs also can have communication with the equipment that it is powering, which lets the equipment know that it is operating on standby, giving it shutdown warning, or communicating with the human in the loop. Inverters typically don’t have this communication.

6What is the difference between sine wave and modified sine wave?

Alternating current (AC) has a continuously varying voltage that swings from positive to negative. This has great advantages in power transmission over long distances. Power from your power company is carefully regulated to be a perfect sine wave, because that is what naturally comes out of a generator, and also because sine waves radiate the least amount of radio power during long distance transmission.

On the other hand, a sine wave is expensive to make in an inverter, and many sine wave techniques use heavy, inefficient transformers. The most inexpensive way to make AC is to switch the DC on and off–a square wave. A modified sine wave is scientifically designed to simulate a sine wave in the most important respects so that it will work for most appliances. It consists of a flat plateau of positive voltage, dropping abruptly to zero for a while, then dropping again to a flat plateau of negative voltage, back to zero for a while, then returning to the positive voltage. This pause at zero volts puts more power into the 60HZ fundamental than a simple square wave does, so it is called “modified sine wave” instead of “square wave.” Because the MOSFETs only have to turn completely on and completely off the dissipate he least amount of heat for the power generated, and so smaller semiconductors and heat sinks are needed than if you were trying to generate a real sine wave.

7Can I use wind or solar for my home or business? How do I know if I can use it in my area?

Most places have enough renewable energy sources to meet some or all of their needs with one or more renewable energy systems. A hybrid system – an installation that uses a combination of different renewable technologies (i.e. PV and wind turbine) – is better suited to Ohio’s varied typography and changing seasons. You can get more specific information by contacting an Ohio renewable energy designer, installer, architect or builder to discuss your power requirements, particulars of your property, what type of systems would suit your needs, sunlight and wind energy availability, etc.

8I’m interested having renewable energy installed on my home or business. Where do I start?

The best way to really understand the issues involved to installing a renewable energy system is to do some research. There are many informative books and websites available to help you become better acquainted with the intricacies of renewable energy. Alternatively do give us a call on (+234) (0)818 6888 833 or (+234) (0)817 8111 116 for free consultation. Better still ask us here

Don’t give up yet! Contact Us today!

Everything you need to build an uninterrupted renewable energy supply.
Phone:
+234-818 6888 833 (Commercial Office)
+234-817 811 1116 (Corporate HQ)
+234-803 326 4484 (Training Academy)
+234-803 202 4481 (Production Plant)
Corporate Headquarters BLUE CAMEL ENERGY Suites 4 & 6, Angeles Plaza, Plot 1243 Samuel Ladoke Akintola Boulevard, Garki II, Abuja FCT, Nigeria.