This is a very important question that we hear everyday. Any one who like us is in the renewable energy sector would often hate prospective clients ask something like : “Since solar is so good as you have said, why don’t I see solar panels on the roofs of many building?”
We will answer this accordingly because we from various campaigns both online and the traditional media and we get first hand information from clients
There is no single reason to this but we will attempt to itemize it in this blog and please note that some of them overlap.
Factors hindering Nigerians from going solar
- Cost:
Its not unusual to hear a caller ask you to send him a ₦50,000 quote of a solar system that will power his lighting, fan, TV, and fridge. No doubt cost is the major factor in Nigeria and of course many Nigerians are not rich. As a matter of fact a World bank data shows that about 53.9% of the 190.1 million Nigerians are poor, earning about $1.90USD per day. So its not surprising that the average Nigerian can not afford to go solar.
Solar is not really expensive. But because the payment is made upfront, many potential clients would not afford to pay.
Many solar companies in Nigeria have tried to tackle this but the problem lingers. Some imports DC solar kits that can power less than 3W DC LEDs and DC fans and TVs. This products are very light weight and can not really give you the comfort because of their very low capacity.
On our own hand, we have developed and financial plan we call PayKobo that can let users pay as low as ₦20,000 per month and spread it over 3 months or 6 months for a complete solar/inverter system. After payment, the system will become theirs completely.
- Durability
After cost comes durability. Why spend all that money when your solar and inverter system installation will last only 6 months to 14 months?
The truth is that many solar companies in Nigeria who import solar products do not care about quality. Most people import substandard deep cycle batteries and solar panels and sell to their clients. We can not blame the end users here. Its very hard to identify fake solar products. Most of these products come off very cheap and they end up becoming useful for at most 6 months or a little more than that. Because of this factor, many people believe that solar doesn’t work. But it works! And solar technology is very old and over a century.
Our customers love us at Wavetra Energy because of the quality of products we import and sell. We stock the most efficient solar panels, high quality inverters , charge controllers, wind turbines and other renewable energy products. We also give a working warranty of at least 12 months.
- Awareness
The last but not the least in our list is awareness. Unfortunately many Nigerians do not know about alternative sources of electricity except the diesel generator. Others who have heard of solar will ask if it really work. The Nigerian government and many renewable energy associations and private companies try so hard to increase the awareness but more need to be done.
In summary, many Nigerians haven’t gone solar, simply because they have not got the right information about the technology. With the right information, Nigerians will go solar, know how to source help in financing and also know where to buy genuine long lasting products.
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If you are planning on going solar, why don’t you contact us for FREE solar consultation and quote?
You can also order from one of these systems. We will install within a 24 hour period.