Off-Grid Solar system for a sizeable Restaurant

[owenshank]

I own a sizeable restaurant just on the west coast of the atlantic in The Gambia. I am presently spending too much on electricity through a system that is very expensive and inconsistent, ie lack of electricity for up to 6 hours a day. The only backup to this is a gasoline standalone generator which is also quite expensive to run due to the amount of appliances in the premises.
I have been adviced to invest in solar energy that will run predominantly off-grid (totally independent of the main grid). The Gambia boast of its long daylight all year round and temperatures of a minimum of 25 degree celcius on a bad day. The only exception to this is during the months of July to September, in the rainy season.
My problem is where do i start?

I hold quite an array of electrical appliances namely:

Oven (Pizza)
Fryer
4 Fridge freezers
A deep freezer
8 AC units
4 Led 40 Inch Televisions
2 Toasters
2 Microwaves
15 Flourescent lights
2 Electric Kettles
1 Food Warmer
2 Standalone computers
2 Coffee makers
some other small electrical items

I am not sure how much electricity all these generate but by my calculation, i consume about 300 Kwh every 4 days. I am prepared to go green if it is more cost effective but i need to know;

What is required equipment wise to run all of the equipment above?
What type of solar panels is needed based on on consumption?
Once the type is identified, how many panels is required to run all of the above?

[Naptown]

The gasoline will be cheaper.
Anyway here is what it will take to run that
you have a daily use of 75 KWH
For 2 days without sun you need a battery bank that is at 48V or higher of 75x5= or 375 KW
At 48V which is common this would mean a battery bank of 7800 AH or about $90,000 US of batteries.
During the sunny season say you get 5 sun hours a day (Actual may be different) that means a solar array at minimum of
75000 x 1.5 /5 = 22500 watts of solar panels. About 40,000 with racking etc.
You will also need 6 80A mppt charge controllers Figure about $4000 for those
And inverters to finish out don't know your demand at any one time but figure on at least 10,000 watts or more.
Add another $7-8,000 for those
And finally cable and miscellaneous items at $5-6,000
Now here is the best part. You will get to replace the batteries every 5 years or so at a higher cost than now.

The way I figure it is you will have about $150,000 US in this when all is said and done. (provided you did it yourself)

[inetdog]

I own a sizeable restaurant just on the west coast of the atlantic in The Gambia. I am presently spending too much on electricity through a system that is very expensive and inconsistent, ie lack of electricity for up to 6 hours a day. The only backup to this is a gasoline standalone generator which is also quite expensive to run due to the amount of appliances in the premises.
I have been adviced to invest in solar energy that will run predominantly off-grid (totally independent of the main grid). The Gambia boast of its long daylight all year round and temperatures of a minimum of 25 degree celcius on a bad day. The only exception to this is during the months of July to September, in the rainy season.
My problem is where do i start?

I hold quite an array of electrical appliances namely:

Oven (Pizza)
Fryer
4 Fridge freezers
A deep freezer
8 AC units
4 Led 40 Inch Televisions
2 Toasters
2 Microwaves
15 Flourescent lights
2 Electric Kettles
1 Food Warmer
2 Standalone computers
2 Coffee makers
some other small electrical items

I am not sure how much electricity all these generate but by my calculation, i consume about 300 Kwh every 4 days. I am prepared to go green if it is more cost effective but i need to know;

What is required equipment wise to run all of the equipment above?
What type of solar panels is needed based on on consumption?
Once the type is identified, how many panels is required to run all of the above?

You can save some money by using solar thermal panels to preheat your water, either for steam table loading or as the feed water to a water heater.
The return on that investment will be very quick (maybe even only a year), but it will only reduce your power needs by a relatively small amount.

[Mike90250]

Solar PV for electric cooking, could work, if you built a huge array on top of a building the same size as your restaurant, this building would hold the batteries you need.

Sadly, this would be a No-Go deal, the solar power for electric cooking, is way too costly. You can use propane ( LP gas ) or kerosene for cooking, but electric cooking would require a huge investment in Pv panels, inverters and batteries.

[axis11]

Oven (Pizza)
Fryer
8 AC units

i consume about 300 Kwh every 4 days.

How much is your consumption per month? Just from the items I quote above, you probably consume more than 300 KwH in 4 days.Probably twice that much is more realistic. From Naptown's estimate X2, would be $300,000. IMO, a diesel generator of the required size would be a better approach to your power needs.

[russ]

Like inetdog pointed out - solar thermal for water heating should fit well. Solar thermal efficiencies should always be 50% plus making it easier and the storage problem is different.

[Sunking]

If you tried this, you would be out of business in a very short time and bankrupt. You would have to charge your customer many times more than your competitor does and no one would come to your restaurant putting you out of biz permanently.

[owenshank]

Thanks guys this is much appreciated. Atleast i have got a fair idea of what i want to do.