The Sun King company has extended its range of solar inverters in Kenya by introducing new systems that can provide up to 30 kilowatts (kW) of power, with the aim of meeting the needs of households, businesses, schools and healthcare facilities that are looking for reliable and affordable electricity.
The new range of PowerHubs enables customers to increase the size of their solar installations as their energy needs grow, with inverter capacities reaching up to 30kW, battery storage up to 120 kilowatt-hours (kWh) and solar generation capacity reaching up to 48kW.
This expansion represents a major advance in the company’s initiative to go beyond providing solar energy solutions for homes and small businesses and offer them to larger commercial properties and public institutions.
Atta Arome, the product head for solar inverter systems at Sun King, stated at the launch that the company was drawing on its experience of supplying solar lanterns, solar home systems and smaller inverters in order to bring out solutions capable of meeting higher energy demands.
The PowerHub Pro now offers 5kW of inverter power, together with a 5kWh battery and about 2.7kW of solar capacity; it is intended for use with typical domestic appliances such as washing machines, water pumps, microwaves, electric kettles and other necessary equipment.
Customers have the option of connecting several 5kW inverters in parallel so as to increase the amount of power available, which enables them to extend their systems without having to replace their present installations.
The PowerHub Max has an inverter capacity of 10kW and can support up to four batteries, which gives it a total storage capacity of 20kWh; the company believes that its batteries can last for up to 10 years when used under typical daily conditions.
The new systems have inverter capacities varying from 15kW to 30kW and battery storage varying from 15kWh to 120kWh for customers who have high electricity demands.
Arome stated that the extended range would allow the Sun King to serve customers at various stages of their energy requirements, whether those customers were households and retail shops or larger businesses, offices, schools and hospitals.
He also mentioned that because of its modular design customers are able to increase their power capacity whenever their businesses grow or their household electricity needs change.
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Elisha Omedo Adie, a business leader in the Sun King Country, stated that reliable electricity was necessary for carrying on business operations and for supporting essential services, especially when there were power outages.
He gave the example of the Sienna Family Care Centre in Njiru, Nairobi, where the Sun King PowerHub systems are used to keep the lighting, the essential diagnostic equipment and the cold storage working when the national grid fails.
Adie stated that power cuts had earlier made the provision of emergency care at the 24-hour facility difficult, on some occasions leading to patients—including women in labour—being referred to the public hospitals late at night.
He stated that the company’s extended range of products would also allow it to cater to governments, non-governmental organisations, and public institutions throughout Africa.
In Malawi Sun King is running a programme which aims at providing solar power to 5,000 primary schools by 2030, showing off the potential of solar energy for supporting basic public services.
The company offers an integrated service which includes system design, financing, installation and after-sales support, and the network of its shops serves customers in all of the 47 counties of Kenya.
Veronica Mugwanja, Business Manager at Sun King Solar Inverter for the PayGo programme, said that the expansion would enable customers to keep using the company’s products as their energy requirements change.
She observed that customers might start off with a solar lantern or a solar home system and then move on to an inverter which can power larger homes or commercial establishments.
He also stated that flexible financing options were meant so that customers who wished to decrease their reliance on electricity from the grid and on petrol or diesel generators could have more access to solar energy.
With the proposed financing scheme, eligible customers will be able to use the systems by making monthly payments beginning at KSh15,500, with an initial payment of KSh22,600, on the terms that apply.
The company states that the systems use solar generation along with battery storage so as to supply electricity when the grid fails and thus give an alternative to conventional fuel-driven backup generators.
With its expanded range of PowerHub products, Sun King is now in a position to meet the electricity needs of a broader variety of Kenyan customers as demand increases for reliable power solutions in the residential, commercial and institutional sectors.
