Karachi is the biggest city and economic capital of Pakistan. Owing to its massive size and large population, the city is plagued with various problems, amongst which the chronic power shortages is single largest concern that affects the economic and social fabric of the city.

This guide will help Karachiites to sort out their energy crisis by resorting to renewable solar energy for power generation. We will be talking about the potential of the solar system in Karachi and solar energy cost per kWh in Karachi. So, let’s begin with by first looking at the inroads made by solar energy systems in the country.

Solar Energy in Pakistan – A Bumpy Transition

Though solar panels have made some inroads into the local populace of the country, it is still a far cry from the mainstream energy source. The primary factor contributing to the necessity of this transition is the chronic power outages that have paralyzed the economic and social fabric of the country for many decades. As a matter of fact, the country has never been able to meet electric power needs since its creation seven decades back.

Another factor that has contributed significantly towards the transition towards solar energy system in the country is overpriced electric units offered by the national grid. Pakistan is producing one of the most expensive energy units across the worlds, thanks to the large trade deficit and heavy dependency on electricity generation from imported fossil fuels. The technological advancement in solar systems across the world has helped significantly lowered the pricing of photovoltaic equipment, which translated to decrease in price for the solar system in the country.

The transition to solar systems in the only natural keeping in view the large population of the country, severe energy crisis, large budget deficit and massive foreign exchange loss to imported fossil fuel. In fact, the climate of Pakistan is also ideally suited for solar energy production; given the large and widespread availability of sunshine throughout the year.  The government has taken some initial transitional steps towards solar energy production like the building of the largest solar park in Bahawalpur, Punjab that is estimated to produce 1000 MW electricity. However, these large-scale commercial projects are costly for the thin and meager government funds and thereby hard to replicate elsewhere in the country.

However, the residential solar energy system units come at affordable pricing for many middle-income bracket commoners and people have started to invest in this renewable and reliable power generating system for the good.

Introducing Solar Panel

The solar panel is the fundamental component of a solar energy system. It is responsible for absorption and conversion of solar energy into electricity. The conversion from solar energy to electricity is made possible by photovoltaic cells, which are simply semiconductors put together in thousand numbers to form a circuit. The photovoltaic cells convert the incoming sunshine into DC current. Once, the sunshine is gone (at nights or on cloudy/rainy days) the electricity production comes to a halt. These photovoltaic cells are placed inside a rigid frame to be able to withstand pollution and environmental degradations. The glass covering of the frame helps secure the photovoltaic cells from dirt, dust, and water.

Technically speaking, there are two main types of solar panels available in the market; monocrystalline and polycrystalline. Visually the monocrystalline panels come in small size compared to polycrystalline panels, have black color appearance and void of any edges. Contrarily, the polycrystalline panels come in larger size, have edges and bear royal blue color. Polycrystalline panels also regarded to generate more electricity than monocrystalline counterparts.

Solar System in Karachi

Karachi is the economic and tech hub of the country has by far the largest mainstream availability of solar systems in the country. Various companies are supplying residential solar systems in Karachi, all suited to varying needs of residents.

A typical residential solar system in Karachi measures 65 x 39 inches and a 1.8 inches depth. Most residential solar systems in Karachi comprise of about 60 photovoltaic cells, relating to the lower power requirement of residential units. A solar energy system can generate anywhere from 50 to 270W, mostly depending upon the Longevity and frequency of available sunshine. A typical residential unit in Karachi consumed energy between 300 to 900 kWH on monthly basis. This means a medium powered residential solar system in Karachi can easily compensate for the energy requirement.

Solar Energy cost per kWh in Karachi

As mentioned above there are various configurations of solar energy system available in the market. Each configuration and model comes with a varying price tag. However, as a general market impression, Chinese manufactured solar systems cost less than European versions (remember, most Chinese manufactured solar energy systems are adequately reliable and durable). Below is a brief segmentation of solar energy cost per kWh in Karachi with varying configurations:

Cost For 300 Watts

• Electrical Applicances: 2 x Energy Savers, 1 x Fan
• Solar Panel Cost: 34K
• Inverter Cost (5KVA): 85K
• Battery Cost: 36K
• Installation and Cabling Cost: 50K
• Estimated Total Cost: 205K

Cost For 600 Watts

• Electrical Applicances: 2 x Energy Savers, 2 x Fans, 1 x LCD TV
• Solar Panel Cost: 70K
• Inverter Cost (5KVA): 85K
• Battery Cost: 36K
• Installation and Cabling Cost: 50K
• Estimated Total Cost: 241K

Cost For 750 Watts

• Electrical Applicances: 4 x Energy Savers, 3 x Fans, 1 x LCD TV
• Solar Panel Cost: 86K
• Inverter Cost (5KVA): 85K
• Battery Cost: 70K
• Installation and Cabling Cost: 50K
• Estimated Total Cost: 291K

Cost For 1000 Watts

• Electrical Applicances: 4 x Energy Savers, 3 x Fans, 1 x LCD TV, 1 x 0.75HP Water Pump
• Solar Panel Cost: 115K
• Inverter Cost (5KVA): 85K
• Battery Cost: 144K
• Installation and Cabling Cost: 50K
• Estimated Total Cost: 394K

Cost For 1500 Watts

• Electrical Applicances: 10 x Energy Savers, 5 x Fans, 2 x LCD TV, 1 x Laptop, 1 x 0.75HP Water Pump
• Solar Panel Cost: 172K
• Inverter Cost (5KVA): 85K
• Battery Cost: 144K
• Installation and Cabling Cost: 50K
• Estimated Total Cost: 451K

Cost For 1500 Watts

• Electrical Applicances: 10 x Energy Savers, 6 x Fans, 2 x LCD TV, 2 x Laptop, 1 x Water Dispenser, 1 x 0.75HP Water Pump
• Solar Panel Cost: 230K
• Inverter Cost (5KVA): 85K
• Battery Cost: 144K
• Installation and Cabling Cost: 50K
• Estimated Total Cost: 509K