Sunray Power Company

With the aim to supply all of the specialised parts that on-and off-grid power systems need, Sunray Power Company develops and distributes high quality renewable energy products throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

Sunray Power Company carries out strict quality control procedures for each product and guarantees high performances in winter or summer and under clear or cloudy skies. Their greatest pride is providing the highest level of customer service as they deliver high quality and best-in-class solar products as well as accessories to you.

Sourcing and testing of components

With the rapid growth of the solar industry the market has been flooded with a large variety of solar products some of which can be of questionable quality. This makes it difficult to select the best product for the task at hand. Sunray has done extensive market research in selecting a range of reasonably priced quality solar products which it offers to the Zambian market. These products are mostly sourced directly from manufacturers to keep prices low.

Sunray Power Company has a strong focus on quality and it thoroughly tests new products employing specialised equipment such as oscilloscopes to test the total hormonic distortion of inverters, data loggers to test the performance of batteries, and a pump testing facility to test the performance of pumps.

Sunray offers a wide range of solar components, products, systems, appliances, tools and accessories that cover the whole market. These include the following:

• Solar components: PV Panels, batteries, solar chargers, inverters
• Products: solar generators, solar street lights, solar billboard lights, solar water pumps
• Systems: solar home systems, off-grid solar systems, Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS)
• Appliances: DC fridge/freezers, DC TVs, heat pumps
• Tools and accessories: solar cables, solar mounting systems and specialised tools

Installation of solar systems

Sunray has a team of installation specialists, with extensive solar system and pump installation experience. They constantly learn, adapt and improve to add the final touch of excellence to all their systems.

Solar energy is becoming an increasingly important source of renewable energy generation in Zambia and the rest of the world. Committed to contributing to the diversification of the energy mix, Sunray Power Company offers you a range of products that will effectively harness, generate as well as store energy.

Whether you want to reduce your grid power reliance, save money on utilities or increase the value of your property, Sunray is your one stop solar solution! All products in stock come with a warranty.

Sunray Power Company's core values include integrity, trust. value, excellence and pursuit of a win-win outcome. Sunray is proudly associated with the following leading brands:

• Victron
• Pylontech
• cMax Batteries
• JA Solar PV Panels
• KSB Pumps
• eMax Inverters
• Growatt

Design approach

Building a solar system is not a trivial exercise of buying different solar components and then wiring them together. Solar systems must be properly designed to work efficiently. This means selecting the right type of components, right sizing the components, wiring them together correctly, selecting proper wire sizes and disconnects and properly protecting the system. Getting one aspect of this process wrong and the system will not perform properly.

The first step in the design process is to determine the daily energy requirements in terms of consumption (Watt-hours or kW-h) and peak demand (Watt or kilowatt). However, it is not sufficient to only consider historic energy usage – one must also consider ways to reduce consumption. Since the size and therefore cost of a solar system is proportional to the amount of energy it should supply, significant capital savings can be affected by reducing usage through the implementation of energy savings measures. In most cases the capital saving far outweigh the cost of energy saving measures. Energy savings considerations therefore goes hand-in-hand with the design of solar systems. Typical energy savings measures include replacing incandescent or compact fluorescent lights (CFL) with LED lights, replacing old type TVs, fridge/freezers and air conditioning units with new energy efficient types, replacing electrical geysers with heat pumps or solar water heaters and replacing electrical stoves with gas stoves.

After determining the required daily energy consumption, one must determine insolation throughout the year. This is dependent on geographical location and orientation of the solar array. Using this information, one can then determine the required size of the solar array, factoring in battery and inverter in-efficiencies. The next step is to select the right size and type of inverter and solar charger after which one must size the battery bank.

The whole design process is an iterative process that can best be executed with the aid of computer programs. Sunray uses industry-standard, state-of-the-art computer programs to predict insolation at any location on earth. This information, together with the energy requirements, is then used to size the solar array and other system components. Sunray has also developed its own computer programs to train technical staff and to offer a consultancy service to customers. These programs are well tested and validated against industry-standard programs.

It is important to mention that Sunray not only applies the above approach to property design systems but also to optimise the designs to maximise return on investment.

Training

Sunray offers solar training courses geared towards technical sales staff, electricians, technicians and engineers covering a large range of topics such as photovoltaics, inverters, battery technology, wiring and design of solar systems. The curriculum is based on the structure of leading overseas solar training courses and are presented by graduate engineers with many years’ experience in the solar and power generation industries.

Sunray Partner Program (SPP)

This program is open to Zambian businesses and/or individuals who currently sell, or intend to sell solar products. Applicants must be a registered Zambian business or individual who is selling or intending to sell solar products, with an active Zambian Bank Account with any of the Major banks. Applicants must agree to Sunray’s Terms and Conditions, and successfully complete Sunray’s Basic Solar Training Course within 3 months after registration.

Benefits of becoming a Sunray Partner:

• All levels of partners receive a discount on products, which varies according to the Partner level.
• Sunray partners are listed on Sunray’s website and Facebook page
• Sunray’s vast experience is at partners' disposal
• Partners are given access to Sunray’s web portal, which gives them access to the latest up to date price-lists, design tools, marketing material, information, product brochures as well as live stock levels and their online order platform
• Partners get access to Sunray’s product line-up and benefit from their extensive testing and market research. This includes the entire range of Victron Products which Sunray stocks in Lusaka.
• Sunray will make professionally designed marketing material available to all levels of Partners.
• Sunray will also share a special Dropbox folder with information, circulars, pre-designed kits, firmware updates, downloadable price-lists and other technical information.