How Much Money Can I Save on My Electricity Bills with Solar Energy?
Anyone living in Nigeria can attest to the fact that Electricity bills in Nigeria has become a serious headache for Businesses and homes in the country, When you consider the high bills and the almost always collapsing national grids,
Lots of people have now started thinking of different options that would at least give them breathing space with constant power at the same time. One of the best ways out there that you can easily use to cut of Electricity issues in Nigeria is by going solar.
With solar you are not only sure of your energy source, you are equally certain of an uninterrupted power supply. But the question that keeps lingering is, How much money can you actually save with solar? We’ll try to break down how much you can potentially save, we’ll equally look at some of the factors that could go a long way in affecting how much you can save if you switch to the solar system.
How Much Electricity Costs in Nigeria
Before we discuss savings, we’ll briefly look at how much an average Nigerian spends on electricity, this will give us a better idea on how much we’ll be able to save as a result.
In Nigeria, the cost of powering Electricity in your home will hinge mainly on if you are using a prepaid or postpaid meter. On average:
a.A small household in Nigeria can spend between N10,000 to about N30,000 a month in Nigeria.
b.A medium Nigeria home could spend around N30,000 to N70,000 every month here in Nigeria
c. For those in larger households, as well as bigger businesses, they could spend about N70,000 to 200,000 or even more monthly. Also when you consider the fact that the power grid is mostly unreliable, more Nigerians are left with no option than to add generators which in its way also adds to more expenses.
If you decide to add the cost of fueling as well as maintaining these generator sets, it could add an extra N30,000 to N200,000 monthly although it will depend on how often you use them. but with solar energy, you could easily eliminate all these expenses or at least reduce them significantly.
How Solar Energy Saves You Money
1.Reduced or Zero Electricity Bills
If you manage to install solar systems to your home or business place, then you will no longer have to depend on the national grid which means you have little or no problem with traditional power outages.
If you installed a well sized solar system, it can easily get your home or place of business powered, what this means is that your reliance on PHCN will be drastically reduced or even removed because some people actually produce 100% of their electricity through solar energy meaning there’s no fear of receiving electricity bills again
2.No More Generator Costs
The current inflation ravaging Nigeria and the cost of importation means that buying and running expenses on generators are now very expensive.
READ ALSO:What is the Return on Investment (ROI) for Home Solar Systems in Nigeria?
If your generator runs up to 5-10 hours daily, it could consume about N100,000 or even more every month for just fueling. But with solar energy, you’ll automatically remove the need of making use of generators every time, that way you save way more money.
3. Minimal Maintenance Costs
Solar energy doesn’t need you to spend much on maintenance, all you need to do is to clean them from time to time with minimal inspection.
But if you compare to generators, which you will be required to service frequently and also buy some expensive replacement for bad parts, you’ll see that solar is way more advantageous. you can use the solar system for up to 25 years without fueling or constant servicing, that way you save way more money.
4.Protection from Future Tariff Hikes
On a monthly basis, the electricity tariff in Nigeria keeps increasing at an alarming speed, fuel price is also becoming dangerously unpredictable, if you are able to switch to solar system, you can easily protect yourself from spending on fuel and traditional electricity, so you see, in the longer run, solar seems to be more stable and cost effective.
How Much Can You Save with Solar?
Like we mentioned earlier, the amount of money you’ll be able to save from solar energy will depend on the following
a.The level of energy you’ll consume, are you going to consume small energy? medium or high energy?
b.The size of your solar also plays a key role, if your solar system is bigger, then you are going to save bigger money. vice versa.
c. Are you eliminating power supply from the grid or are you supplementing it? you’ll save more if you completely eliminate power grid supply.
Some Example Savings for Different Households
a.Small Home (1kW): For a small home of about 1kW, The monthly Electricity bill is around N10,000 to 30,000, you can potentially save about 50–100% a month which is around N120,000–360,000 every year.
b.Medium Home (3kW): If you live in a medium home, your monthly bill often falls within N30,000 to about N70,000 every month, it’s a similar saving percentage to those in small homes, you can save N360,0000 to around N840,000 every year, that’s a huge amount of money though.
c.Large Home (5kW):For those who lives in really large homes, you tend to spend more so you can easily save more. Most large homes spends up to N70,000 to around N200,000 or even more every year. that way you should be able to save up to N840,000 to about 2.5 Million Naira every year.
If you are running a business, you can even save more. For most small businesses that could spend up to 500k monthly on electricity and generator fuel, it’s very easy to cut costs by over N6,000,000 every year with your solar system.
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