(scroll further down for faqs on "everything solar")

1. What are the principal methods of transporting these goods?

For any goods less than 5 kgs (such as the solar accessories), they get sent over through post office (EMS). Normal delivery period, after payment and customs clearance, through economy express, is at least 8 days. Full payment for the product is necessary before the goods get shipped.

For goods over 5 kgs in weight, but less than 250 kgs in weight (a batch of 50 W solar panels), these get sent over via air cargo. Normal delivery period, after payment and customs clearance, is at least 8 days on average.

For goods over 250 kgs in weight (2000 Watt Solar System), these get sent over via ship. Generally, shipping period covers about 4-6 weeks, depending on destination.

For all solar panels, as these are produced directly from the factory, an initial deposit of 30% is required, after which the order gets produced. Manufacturing period covers approximately 15 days, after which the customer will get notified of production completion. If the product is being sent over by air, then the remaining balance of 70% must be paid before the product departs China.

For shipping, payment details differ, due to the big size of the order. Please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it for more details on this.

2. Why does it generally take 8 days for the product to be delivered?
The factories for these products are based in provincial China, and in these areas, international delivery methods for the products are not reliable. As a result of this, Massman firsts gets these products transported to Beijing or Tianjin (the biggest port in Northern China), from where they then get delivered to the respective customer.

3. Inside the package of these solar accessories, there is no English manual, is it unwise to buy them?
Not at all.... Generally all of these products have a standard method of operation, and if not, then when you buy the product, we'll send you the respective manual. For any problems which these manuals don't address, please reach This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .


4. What guarantee do I have that my product will arrive on time, in great condition? There is not much mentioned on the website regarding payment…

The concerns are understandable….. The entire crew of Massman International have always prided themselves on total integrity and extraordinary reliability. For all extra information you desire regarding payment, please reach This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

             SOLAR FAQS.

1. Generally, at what time of day do solar panels produce their maximum power?

In the Southern Hemisphere, PEAK PRODUCTION TIME FOR SOLAR PANELS is between 9:30am and 4pm daily, generally when electricity use is at it’s lowest.
In the Northern Hemisphere, it is between 10am and 3pm daily.

2. What is the charge controller used for?

The charge controller prevents overcharge (too much current flowing through the circuit), improves charge quality, and prevents battery discharge when there’s little or no light

 3. I am from Southern Africa originally, but am now based in Europe, and am very keen to get an off-grid system set up for my family in rural area. I can purchase the equipment, but can your company then set it up for me?

For the whole of Southern Africa (including places such as Mauritius), Massman International provides installation services through it's partner company Samansco. If interested on getting an installation service quote, please first inform us of the particular product you intend on purchasing, then contact Tawanda through our Contact Us section. 

 4. What is the difference between the 2 types of inverters?

SAP (Stand-alone power) Inverters are for off-grid systems, which ensure that you draw DC power from the solar panels, and get the DC converted to the AC power required for most of your mains appliances. All you have to do to install them is plug them into the deep-cycle battery bank.

The Mains grid line inverter is a rather complicated device. In addition to drawing DC power and converting it to the necessary AC power, it also ensures that any excess power produced is fed back into the grid.

5. What is a kilowatt hour?

When you use an appliance rated for 500 Watts, for 2 hours, then (500 x 2) you have a kilowatt hour. If you use the same appliance for 6 hours then you have 3 kilowatt hours (KWh).

If on the other hand, your appliance lists a power rating in Amps instead of kilowatts, then simply multiply the Amps by the voltage (usually AC) from the power supply,
Eg.  A fridge is rated at 5 Amps for 115 volts, then, if it’s used for 8 hours,
    5 x 115 = 575 Watts x 8 = 4.6 KWh

6. Assuming that the lights in my bedroom and living room together use 300 watts. How much does it cost if the lights are on 24 hours a day, for a whole month? How much per year? Assume 11¢/kWh.
·    300 watts x 24 hours/day x 30.5 days/month = 219,600 Total Watt-hours
·    219,600 Wh / 1000 Wh = 219.6 kWh
·    219.6 kWh x 11¢/kWh = $24.16/mo.; $290/yr.

7. What proof do you have that your products are “the cheapest you can find anywhere on the net”?

Obviously, thousands are marketing their own solar products on the web- we might not have researched each and every web page, but for the large number that we have, we definitely undercut them in price by a significant gap……… If there are any websites you are aware of that beat our prices, we would appreciate you notifying us, immediately. 

8. What are the functions of the other components within the power box?

Circuit breaker/disconnect – The DC disconnects are solely used to disconnect the solar panels from your house’s power distribution system. The AC disconnects can also do the job above, but principally are for grid-tied systems, disconnecting the solar panel from the mains grid. This is important for safety of technicians whenever maintenance of your electrical power is to be undertaken.

Battery interconnects – used only when the system includes a battery bank.  

Besides a combiner, which simply comines different part so the solar circuit together, our product’s power boxes, already have the inverter and charge controller embedded. 

9. What are the advantages and disadvantages of both the DC and AC power systems?

For the DC systems, you avoid the need for purchasing an inverter (which consumes a huge amount of power, as well as being rather costly), but these generally produce a much lower amount of power per day in comparison.
However, for the AC system, the voltages can be changed by using a transformer (to safely power most modern day electrical goods), which isn’t possible for DC.
On the other hand, DC can charge a battery, while AC can’t. 

10. So it is possible to power products from the solar panel directly?

Operating a device directly from the solar panel is possible but definitely not advisable, as the voltage variations (fully dependent on sunlight) result in unpredictable activity. This is why we provide the battery backup that ensures constant source of reliable power to the application. 

11. Once installed, is any extra maintenance necessary?

Generally, for solar panels, no maintenance is needed once properly installed- just a periodic inspection to remove dirt, debris and checking of electrical connections.  

12. Regarding this “proper installation”, can you please supply some basic advice?
There are several methods of installation, some of which can be obtained from the link at the bottom of this page.

However, some universally accepted pointers are:
Don’t mount your panels flat – you’ll have to keep cleaning them if you do. Tilting them at about 10 degrees is best.
If in the northern hemisphere, mount them such that they face to the south, and in the Southern hemisphere, vice-versa
The cables need to be as short as possible, because the shorter the cables are, the less the resistance, hence the more the current flowing through from point A (the panel itself) to point B (the household appliances).
For the AC system, please make sure that the wiring is completely separate from the DC section, to prevent any chance of overloading on the DC circuit.  

13. That doesn’t sound so difficult; surely most can install these systems easily on their own???

Well, if one’s profession deals with electricity, then absolutely, save some of your hard-earned money! However, for the average person taking on such an investment, it is highly advisable that you get a professional to install your solar panel.
There are 3 reasons for this:
For grid-tied systems, councils require certification, which is supplied by your solar installer. If this is not supplied, your rebates can not be claimed..
For your warranty of product, if it is proved that your system has no certification, it will be next to impossible to claim for a refund
For optimum efficiency of your solar panel, a lot of factors need to be considered, which a professional installer is most suited to handle when installing.

For Zimbabwe, we have a partnership with an installation agency… Please check the contact section for details.   

14. How much can, say, a 1KW system power?

A 1KW Solar system simply means that, for a period of 1 hour, ideally you can power up to 1KW in appliances. In practice though, due to power losses occurring between the panel and the house wiring, you can generally power up to 600W in appliances (60% efficiency).

In Africa, over a whole year, people generally have at least 5.5 hours of good sunshine a day. A 4KW system will practically take care of all electricity needs for the standard house..  

15. So the size of a house does not have any bearing on the long-term costs of installing a solar power system?

Right - the size of a person’s house generally has no impact. You might pay a lot more for the initial investment, but after 20 years, you will generate much more electricity than if you were to buy a smaller system, which evens out the situation..   

16． How much area must be reserved to mount your solar power system?

Roof area: Generally, every KW of solar power requires approximately 100 ft2 of unshaded area……  

17. I rent a property, and I have got permission from the property owner. Should I go ahead with installing the system?

Yes, I can imagine why the owner would approve of such- it adds value to his property the day you will leave.... Obviously, solar panels cannot be transported; they are a very long term investment, so it is highly recommended to have them installed on a property you own.

On the other hand, for owners intending on leasing out properties, there’s never been a better time to install solar power. Generally, solar panels add about 15 times the yearly power bill savings to your house’s total value.
For example – if you save US$600 in a year due to your solar system, then it has added US$9 000 to the value of your house…    

18. What methods can I use to maximize my solar power? And where can I found out more on power ratings, to do my own calculation

To maximize solar power, you can replace your regular incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). They use about 60% less energy.

For power ratings, please refer to  
http://howto.altenergystore.com/Reference-Materials/Power-Ratings-typical-for-Common-Appliances/a21/    

19 What is the difference between a normal lead-acid car battery, and a deep cycle battery (used for solar backup power)?

Although both of these are lead-acid batteries, the car battery is designed such that it provides a huge amount of current for a short period of time, needed to get the engine going during ignition. The alternator then provides all the power the vehicle needs, meaning this battery might never ever be drained by more than 20% of its total capacity.

However, a deep cycle battery provides a moderately large amount of current over an extended period. This enables it to be get discharged to very high percentages (such as 70%), over and over again. To be able to carry this out, it has thicker plates than the normal lead-acid battery.   

20. A friend of mine, had his inverter of 1000 watts overheat and malfunction when he tried to power his 600 Watt refridgerator. Why did this happen?

Great question.. Although appliances in general show on their packages their power rating, for some of them, when they’re being fired up initially, they will use up much more power, at times 3x as much. With this being the case, although costly, it is imperative that you get a high capacity, high quality inverter, which fortunately we provide in our systems.  

21. Do I have to frequently maintain my solar panels?

Besides periodically cleaning off dirt and debris, and checking electrical connections (can be handled by your average technician), no…..
 
THE INFORMATION HERE NOT ENOUGH? PLEASE REFER TO
http://www.thesolarguide.com 

 or send any queries to our certified electronic engineer. through This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .