Monday 15 August 2016

Solar Energy: Power Your House with Sun {Jiji}

Holaa, this post is about Solar Energy as the title of this post states. 
In case you didn't know my 1st degree is in Industrial Physics and my focus was Renewable Energy. I fell in love with renewable energy during my industrial attachment (IT) when i got to be actively involved in the solar electrification of  2 villages without power lines in Badagry and i also built an inverter as my final year project. Basically i have a super-soft spot for all things renewable energy, i'll tell you about that in another post.
Solar Energy is one of the forms of renewable energy and in Nigeria we are barely scratching the surface as regards implementing it even with the excess sunshine at our disposal for free. You mostly see Solar-powered streetlamps and portable chargers for devices but there is sooooo much more solar energy can be used for. 
In developed countries, they have embraced the use of different forms of renewable energy (Solar, Wind, Biomass, etc.) to provide constant power supply to their citizens and are on a whole new level researching and finding new ways to harness this energy, they even have a reservoir and sometimes PAY their citizens to use up excess power!!! 
We all know how terrible power supply (PHCN a.k.a NEPA) is in Nigeria, most homes and business thrive on  Generators and they come with so much noise and air pollution, what about fuel and diesel scarcity, lets not get into it. We know the struggle.
I know people that have their homes powered by solar energy and i truly envy them, they don't worry about PHCN, charging up all their devices 'cos the light can go off at anytime, hurrying to do all chores that require light,  things in their refrigerator or freezer going bad and the likes. It's really bliss, i can't wait to have my own home and go all out, especially when you get quality equipment installed by an experienced specialist.  
Shoddy jobs and equipment are just a ripoff and result in your equipment not absorbing 'sun rays' as it should which means you end up draining your backup batteries unnecessarily and its basically a waste of your hard earned funds.
Please do some basic research on how Solar energy and equipment work, how to maintain it and Keep Reading this post to find out how to effectively adopt this technology for your personal use.

It is not a surprise that humankind has to deal with a wide range of serious issues nowadays. Besides continuous population growth and ecological situation getting worse, there is a problem related to limited nature resources and electronic waste. Together, they make researchers look for alternative options and solutions in various spheres of everyday life and activity. Let’s take solar energy as the example.
What is solar energy?
Well, it becomes quite clear after you hear the term: it is the energy produced by the solar power. Here we have to answer another question: how does it work?
Solar Panels
Producing solar energy means harnessing photons (or let’s say simply “sunrays”) into electrical energy. The easiest way to do this is to use solar panels. These devices are composed of solar cells, which can be installed on the roof of any building. Sun hits the cells, they are converted into direct current (DC) electricity, which flows through an inverter and then transforms into alternating current  (AC) power – the one that makes everything work. To make a long story short, sun beams make your computer work. And not only computer, but everything you’ve got at home.
How effective is it?
Solar energy is really effective for the countries, where the majority of days during the year are sunny – most of the countries of Asia, Africa, Latin America, and some parts of the USA. The reason is that all energy that is produced is tracked through special net energy meter. When solar panels get more energy than they actually use, it goes to the electrical grid. It means you have a reserve of power for nights and cloudy days. Don’t worry: in most cases solar panels produce more energy than it is used.
What type of equipment do I need?
The basic thing for getting solar power is a solar panel. It has a list of specifications, which define, how active it is going to work and how much power to process. All panels are rated according to DC power produced in standard test conditions.
The main element in every panel is a solar inverter. There are three main types of inverters. Stand-alone models are used in systems that power homes or appliances directly. Synchronous models (or a grid-tie, as they are also called) can store the access of energy in the grid or sell it to the company. There are also multifunction devices that can do both.
According to the scale, we can distinguish microinverters, which convert electricity from a single panel, and string inverters, which deal with multiple panels.
If you want to be always sure to get enough energy, take care of the direct access to the sun rays.
How to make everything work?
Click here and look through the list of available items. Choose which one is the most appropriate for you and make an order. You can hire a specialist to install the system via the website, too. Don't worry, Jiji is the service you can rely on – the fact proved by hundreds of thousands of users who come back again and again. Come back for high quality, low prices, convenience, and reliability.
Toodles!XooX

Friday 12 August 2016

Painting with Le Hubby

Amateur artists @work
Our Finished Work
About 3 weekends ago, we found our creative side!! well...sorta
I found out about Artsplashstudio Paint Nite while researching for my Eat. Drink. Chill & Play Abuja Post. I was intrigued, checked out their IG page and sent them a DM *humming 'it goes down in da DM'*. I got a reply from them and we conversed, i sent them my email address.
I got a mail from them not long after which specified the date, venue, time, cost per person and how to make payment. 
It costs #5,000 per person and payment must be made before the date to confirm your reservation.
My artist friend Ifesinachi has tried to convince me severally to try my hands at painting due to my love and interest in art and creative activities. This was the perfect chance as I had been informed that participants do not need to have prior experience at painting. I wasn't good at fine art in Secondary School so I would definitely feel comfortable in the midst of fellow amateurs and having a guide was also a plus. 
I told hubby about it and 'whitemailed' him into joining me, its more fun with a fellow novice afterall.

THE EXPERIENCE
The Paint Nite was on Saturday at Bamboo Lounge, Maitama and we got there early. There was a n ArtSplashStudio banner outside the room that helped us identify it. Our instructor, Mr. Bona and Christy were already there and welcomed us. The space had been set up with chairs and tables with blank painting canvases on easels, paint brushes, a rag and water to clean our brushes. It was to start by 7:00pm but we waited about 30 mins or so for the rest of the class to arrive while we conversed with our instructor, wore our aprons and got our different paint colors served on a paper plate.
Blank Canvas on Easel and Paint
Reference Painting
I initially thought there would be an outline or template for us to paint in but that wasn't the case, we only had a reference painting . We were gonna have to paint from scratch what was in the reference painting. It was a bit overwhelming to have to do it all on our own initially but our instructor, Mr. Bona ,coached us really well on how to go about it, mixing colors, etc.
Hubby in serious mode
Me feeling like an artist
We had a great time, nice conversation with others in the class, Christy was a delight and got us some great pics. 
In da zone
We got comfortable and painted our versions of the reference painting with the coaching of our instructor. Hubby and I definitely had fun and did not want it to end. We finished around past 9pm, took group and solo pics and the best part was taking home our precious creations. 
Group Pic
We are very proud of our amateur paintings, which are currently hanging on our walls at home and I intend to buy some paint and touch up my painting a bit and maybe paint some more.
I definitely have an even higher respect for artists and creators now, no be small thing abeg. 
I would really love us to try out pottery as well and explore our creative side some more.
We went to get some well deserved tasty Chicken Capitol Sharwarma for our hardwork. We'll definitely be back for some more painting fun with ArtSplashStudio.
Enjoy the pics.
Step out of your comfort zone and live a little!
Toodles!XooX