Category: Insights

The Path to Renewable Energy

If one should con­duct a sur­vey of peo­ple and ask to state their pref­er­ence be­tween spend­ing their salary on bills or on buy­ing the things they like, the an­swer would be a no brainer. But then hav­ing to pay bills is due to the fact that the things we en­joy come at a cost from those who pro­vide them, be it ser­vices or goods.

A prime ex­am­ple is hav­ing to pay a high bill for power used to lav­ishly en­joy the ap­pli­ances which serve our needs for en­ter­tain­ment, cool­ing, among other things.

Maybe one can dream of a USB wal­let charger that you could plug in and charge your wal­let un­til it is filled with money, but pow­er­ing your home or of­fice with so­lar en­ergy is a dream come true. Ja­maica is blessed with the sun­light we get for free, just only the equip­ment and ser­vice are not nearly free.

Stand­ing out as THE sup­plier for so­lar sys­tems IS­RAT­ECH of­fers en­ergy so­lu­tions for Light­ing, Pumps, Water Heat­ing and more, so­lar powered for re­duced en­ergy bills.

So don’t just dream of So­lar, call IS­RAT­ECH to­day. And a USB wal­let charger be­ing patent-able…we’ll see.

Chromagen Solar Water installed and supplied by Isratech Energy Solutions at University of the West Indies

Aerial view of system installed by IES in October 2017.  System specs: 23kWp grid interactive system.  Main components utilized in project include 100 – 230W  Yingli solar modules, Ironridge Tilt Mount Racking System , 2 – 10kW Fronius Symo 10.0.3 Symo (M) Grid Tie Inverters

Isratech Energy Solutions

 MANDEVILLE, JAMAICA – For homeowners and businesses alike, energy efficiency and cost savings require more than attention to switching lights on or off, or even buying energy efficient appliances.  Solar energy remains one of the most efficient long-term and environmentally responsible power options available. With costs more affordable now than ever before, you may be considering installing solar power and what type of system to select.

The three basic types of solar installations are Grid-Tied, Off-Grid, and Hybrid. Here’s a brief primer on each type to help you determine the best option for your location, along with a few pros and cons.

Grid-Tied

A grid-tied solar system is directly connected to your power company’s electrical grid.  The electricity generated by the photovoltaic (PV) panels is sent through a grid-tied inverter, which converts it to AC power that is compatible with the grid.

Grid-tied solar is generally the most affordable solution as the PV panels, inverter, and mounting infrastructures are the primary components required to complete the system.

In addition, since electricity is still pulled from the grid the exact same way it always has been, grid-tied solar is the most stable and efficient usage of solar panels. Instead of storing the power in batteries that degrade over time, you’re helping power your entire neighborhood in real time, decreasing how much energy you lose in storage.

One major downside to grid-tied systems is you’re still at the mercy of the power company’s maintenance capacity. When the company experiences a blackout, a grid-tied solar system is also taken off-line.

Off-Grid Solar

Off-grid solar systems can run independent from the electric grid. In order to accomplish this, they require additional hardware.

Power generated by the PV panels is fed into a charge controller, which regulates the charge instead of the power company’s grid. It is then channeled and stored in a battery. The charge controller determines the mode i.e.: Absorption, Float or Bulk Charge. This extends the lifespan of the battery by preventing overload of the battery bank based on the battery charge level. Note that engineers and installers have the option to manually select the mode during installation or troubleshooting of the PV plants.

Your home or other building connects to the battery bank through a power inverter, which converts the power from the batteries (Direct Current [DC]) to the (Alternating Current [AC]) 110/220V power utilized by most outlets.

This extra equipment makes off-grid solar installations more expensive that grid-tied ones. However, off-grid solar is ideal for remote places or underdeveloped areas where the electrical grid isn’t stable. It’s also a great solution for people who can afford the upfront costs and wish to untether themselves from the electric grid completely.

An off-grid solar setup quite often generates a surplus of energy. Consequently, much of the solar electricity produced is wasted compared with grid-tied systems which distributes the surplus to the substation.

With an off-grid system, it’s important to have enough battery capacity to store excess energy, and it’s recommended to also have a backup gas generator in case of emergencies.

Hybrid Solar

To get the best of both worlds, a great option is the hybrid solar setup in which the solar battery is used as a backup should the grid fail.

As it’s being used as a backup rather than linked continuously, the battery discharges less frequently, extending its life. This means the battery needs to be replaced less often, and saves you the cost of purchasing a backup generator.

Keep in mind that the battery bank isn’t charged during a power outage. Grid-tied solar panels are designed to stop producing electricity during an outage (Anti-Islanding) in order to protect the electrical workers from working on live power lines. This means the same battery capacity is still necessary as with an off-grid system.

For those who want peace of mind and don’t mind the extra expense, it’s an ideal solution that ensures you have backup power in the event the grid stops working.

Still need help deciding?  Isratech Energy Solutions has provided affordable and dependable energy systems for decades.  IES works in partnership with our clients to reduce their ecological footprint by providing a wide range of renewable energy options including cost-efficient solar systems, windmills and bio-gas. Give us a call at (876) 279-8411, or email us at info@isratech.com

MANDEVILLE, JAMAICA – Hard water contains considerable amounts of minerals such as magnesium and calcium. The inevitable buildup can cause serious and expensive damage for commercial, industrial and residential infrastructure.

Hard water leaves behind calcium deposits that are referred to as scale, which gradually builds to restrict the flow of water in pipes, stick to and damage pipes and fittings, and compromise the efficiency of toilets, water heaters and other appliances. Water softeners and filtration systems provide critical savings and insurance against frequent, costly repairs and infrastructure renovation.

Here are a few tell-tale signs that you have a major expense brewing:

• Visible build up of hard (or impossible) to clean residue on showerheads, faucets and appliances such as kettles and coffee makers.
• Reduced efficiency or damage to water heaters and washing machines when the scale buildup causes system components to overheat and permanently fail.
• Low water flow resulting from scale accumulating over time in all types of pipes, even PVC. If a pipe becomes fully clogged, it cannot be cleaned out — it has to be entirely replaced, usually at great cost.
• Counter-effectiveness of cleaning agents as more solution is required to work up a lather of soaps and detergents to compensate for the hard water effect – a direct hit on the budget!

Under the faculty of Agriculture, Department of Agronomy, the greenhouse is now a vital tool to practically demonstrate the application of greenhouse technology for best results in crop production.This greenhouse is fully equipped with water tanks and a Fertigation system. The department has already begun to reap the benefits of successful crop yields (over 500 lbs of sweet pepper weekly), while educating a new generation of farmers, stimulating a greater interest in the field of agriculture in Jamaica. Advantages of greenhouse farming include protection from insects and diseases, adverse weather conditions, creating the best environmental conditions for growth and production and high, quality yields. We can truly say this institution has made the right step in depicting agricultural innovation in greenhouse technology.

Farming Entrepreneurs can attest that greenhouse farming is an investment worthwhile, benefitting from high, quality crop yields.

Greenhouses are used as an advanced way of commercial farming. They offer the feature of environmental control allowing you to create the best possible growing/ production conditions for optimal plant performance and yields. These environmental elements include insect and pest control, light/shade control, humidity control as well as irrigation and fertigation efficiency.

Greenhouses offer control of the vegetative growth, blossoming, fruit size and quality, also extending the production period for continuous harvesting. Another excellent advantage of greenhouse farming is that it minimizes the use of pesticides and insecticides, therefore, exposure to chemical toxins is reduced.

Greenhouses work exceptionally well especially with the implementation of the right irrigation system and equipment. Here at Jamaica Drip Irrigation, we provide quality greenhouses and a variety of irrigation options to match different crops and growing methods. These include: