Masjid E Noor, Rajaji Nagar, Bangalore

Masjid E Noor located at Rajaji Nagar, Bangalore opted to tap their unused roof-top area to generate Solar Power. A 5.18kWp On-Grid Solar Roof-Top System with Micro-Inverters is installed at the Masjid.

The Masjid used to get a bill of ~Rs.20,000 per month with a units consumption of ~2000 per month. The average BESCOM Tariff per unit is ~Rs.8 per Unit, The sanctioned power for the Masjid from BESCOM is 5kW.

3-D Design of the Solar Roof-Top System

Designing the System

The main requirements of the Masjid were:

• Reduce the Monthly BESCOM Electricity Bills.
• Maximise the solar roof-top system possible at the site
• System is to be installed on the Flat Roof without any drilling onto the roof-tops. No water seepage issues are to be incurred in the future due to Solar Roof-Top System Installation.
• System should be scalable in the future so that the Masjid can scale up the system to reduce further bills.

Solar Panels

As per the BESCOM solar roof-top policy, the maximum solar we can install on a particular meter is the sanctioned load of the meter. In this particular case, since the sanctioned load is 5kW, the maximum solar we can install on this meter is 5kWp.

To accomodate 5kWp of panels, 14 numbers of 370Wp MonoCrystalline Panels PERC were chosen for this installation. The panels are manufactured by Indian Solar Panel Manufacturer Waaree . 370Wp Waaree panels with PERC Technology is one of the higher efficiency panels available in the market with 19.07%. You can read up more about the PERC technology on the following link: https://www.waaree.com/perc-the-technology-knocking-at-your-doorstep

14 numbers of 370Wp panels sums upto 5.18kWp of Solar Roof-Top System. From our experience, a 1kWp Solar Power Plant in Bangalore generates on an average 4 units per day on an yearly basis- Considering this thumb rule a 5.18kWp System can generate on an average 20 units per day or approximately 600 units per month.

Considering that our client pays ~Rs8.00 per Unit, the system saves ~Rs.5,000.00 per month from Electricity bills.

Solar Inverter

Since the 5.18kWp System helps to reduce the electricity bills by only 30%, our client wanted to install a technology which can be scaled up later to generate more energy. Micro-Inverters from Enphase are used in this project for catering to the needs of our client.

Here are the advantages of the Enphase micro-inverter technology compared to the traditional string inverters due to which we have chosen the technology for the installation at Masjid:

• Relatively more generation: Since all the panels are connected in Series to a single inverter, failure of any one panel or shadow on anyone panel will affect the generation of all the panels in the case of string inverter. In the Micro-Inverter system each panel is independent of each other, therefore shadow or failure of one panel will not affect the generation of the other panels.
• Remote Monitoring:  Micro-Inverter system comes with free monitoring for 25 years whereas String-Inverter comes with monitoring of 5-7 years.

Micro-Inverters Remote Monitoring UI

• Proactive Maintenance: Micro-Inverter systems help EcoSoch to be pro-active about the maintenance of the systems rather than being reactive to the concerns raised by the end-users because as an Installer we are able to get the panel to panel monitoring..
• Higher Warranties: The Micro Inverter system comes with a warranty of 10 years whereas String Inverters come with a warranty of 5-7 years.
• Design Flexibility: With Micro-Inverters we can place panels in different directions also, with String-Inverters this kind of flexibility is not feasible.
• Scalability:  Micro-Inverters is a scalable system, so if in the future if you feel the need for additional panels, the same is possible with Micro-Inverters.

Mounting Structures

We have use the prefab ballasts made out of concrete. These ballasts are movable and are not routed on the roof. This is useful because we don’t grout the rooftop, which might cause any water leakage because of poor water proofing. Apart from that if our client decides to move the solar system to another roof, it’s very easy to dismantle the full structure along with the panels and to move them to a different roof. It’s with this intention that we choose to go for Aluminium structure with the prefab ballasts.

Aluminium mounting structures

Aluminium Structure ensures that the structures are rust free and the system lasts for 25 years.

Apart from the above points the entire wiring of the system is taken through UPVC conduits such that no cable is exposed out and requires the least maintenance. For more information on the maintenance of a solar roof-top system, you can refer to: https://www.ecosoch.com/art-solar-power-plant-maintenance/

EcoSoch has delivered a system for the masjid which has a design life of 25 years and can also last for 25 years by ensuring that the best equipments were used for the project with the best design. We believe in building lasting relationships with our clients and we have just started the same with Masjid E Noor and we believe that more and more masjids in Bangalore will be inspired by the Masjid-E-Noor Solar Roof-Top Story.