Given the electricity restrictions that began this Friday, October 27, in Ecuador, solar panels would be an alternative for both the residential and industrial sectors, but as long as there is a battery system as a backup, according to the suppliers.

Among the types of solar panel systems are offlinewhich uses batteries, i online, which has no battery. In the first case, it stores solar energy for later use, while in the second case it will feed the public grid.

The Minister of Energy, Fernando Santos, announced the rationalization of energy of 4 hours a day in Sierra and Oriente; and 3 hours on the coast

The Ministry of Energy and Mines announced on Thursday, October 26, that there will be special and temporary cuts to protect the system and avoid an electrical collapse, which is why it ordered rationing to be four hours a day for the Sierra and East, while for the Coast three hours.

The general manager of Energycontrol, Jorge Andrés García, indicated that solar panels are an alternative “as long as they are accompanied by an energy storage system, that is, with batteries. If they don’t have batteries, they are not a solution to power outages; If it has batteries, yes,” he said.

The president of the company Genera, Gino Pinargote, is of a similar opinion, who indicated that without batteries the warehouse could not be used because then there would be no network. “With grid connection, if the grid goes down, the solar panels go down too,” he explained.

That being said, according to Pinargote, a group of batteries or generators, whether diesel or gas, could be installed as a backup. “We have backup power systems, which can be with a system of solar panels connected to battery banks and that connected battery activates, starts, turns on when the power goes out to create a backup for a part or a percentage of the house,” he said. noted.

He also indicated that solar panels can be used to charge the battery or tank during sunny hours. “This battery can be charged by public lighting or energy generated by the panels,” he explained.

Businessmen attribute the power outage to “recklessness of the authorities”

According to Garcia, the most common batteries are lithium batteries, which have a ten-year warranty.

From the system, online and offline , according to Energycontrol, it is the most common online (connected to the network) and at the request of the customer, he can purchase a battery, which increases the price of the plant; Meanwhile he offline It is used in places where there are no electric lines (such as farms, etc.) and in this case batteries are not optional but mandatory in order to be able to store energy.

If you have a system ongrid, According to Pinargote, among the benefits that the user has, is savings on electricity bills. “In normal times, it is 99% of the systems installed in the city, systems connected to the public grid, which serve to exchange and balance the energy generated by the panels and the energy required from the electricity company, and there are also savings, economic savings and energy savings “, he explained.

As for costs, according to Pinargote, the cost of a residential plant ranges from approximately $5,000 to $40,000, but with batteries, costs can increase between 45% and 60%, depending on the amount you want to store. .

Meanwhile, García indicated that residential solar plant values ​​can range from $10,000 to $40,000, $50,000, depending on the size of the property, and at the industrial level, these are much larger investments due to the amount of energy they require. from 50,000 to 700,000 dollars.

Demand for solar panels has increased by 400% in this last year compared to previous years, for both the residential and industrial sectors, according to Garcia.

President Guillermo Lasso ‘regrets’ the power outages, but says the government is already taking measures to overcome them

On the other hand, responding to the government’s request to private companies to invest in electricity, García asserted that the industry and the private sector have been trying for years to improve regulation and the possibility of participation in the public sector, however, they have There were and still are many obstacles.

“Sometimes it’s not the mood of the highest authorities, but middle management or the bureaucracy.” per se which prevents this from moving at the speed at which this must move. So, although it is true that there is regulation at the level of own consumption for the production, distribution and sale of energy, there are still many obstacles to the effective intervention of the private sector”, he explained.