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Beware Fake Solar Equipment Invade Market

Osbert Tindimwebwa of Uganda Solar admits that the market isflooded by sub-standard solar panels and the habit is goingunchecked. He urges the Uganda National Bureau of Standards tocrackdown on the fake solar panels. He also cautions prospectivebuyers to be on the look out for the genuine dealers.

    "The industry needs some regulations, but sadly, even our umbrellaorganisation, the Uganda Renewable Energy Association is in limbo.It died out as soon as the donor project phased out. It is now afree-for-all business," he says.

    Tindimwebwa explains that the unscrupulous perpetrators oftentarget the premier solar panels, which they take to Nasser Road andduplicate stickers to increase the price of the solar panels. Hesays they mainly add labels, say for the 14 watt panels are changedto 40 watts. The 50 watt panels are also changed to 100 watts andthen sold to unsuspecting customers.

    "They tell customers that the 100-watt panel can work for sixhours, but when the customer reaches the village, the panels cannotstand the time. Interestingly, when they go to report the anomaly,these fellows insist on funny clauses in sale agreement, therebycheating the customers what rightly belongs to them. A professionalcompany cannot engage in such practice," he notes.

    He advises that if solar panel customers want genuine products,they should contact the Private Sector Foundation of Uganda (PSFU)ask for the solar companies operating under the Business UgandaDevelopment Scheme Energy for Rural Transformation.

    He says the companies under this umbrella undergo stringentscrutiny and have their operations checked every year. They(companies) are also required to have professional people to selland install the panels. What is more, PSFU has a data base on allinstallations made in the country as proof.

    Tindimwebwa explains that when it comes to inverters, the fakedealers mainly sell the square-wave inverters, while genuineoperators deal in the pure sine-wave inverters.

    "Not any equipment can run on the pure-sine wave and modifiedinverters, but they operate seamlessly on pure sine-waveinverters."

    Chirag Dalwadi, the technical support manager of Seven Hills Impex,agrees that that dealing with recognised brands is one way to avoidfake equipment.

    He says dealing with the world renowned Su-kam widely respected inthe field of inverters, batteries and solar systems has done thetrick. The products are hard to duplicate.

    He says they have realised that power generation needs are uniqueand cannot be met by the ordinary inverters or generators, which iswhy the Su-Kam sine-wave inverter takes the entire spectrum ofneeds in the most cost-effective manner.

    "It supplies the highest quality power to run expensive andsensitive household appliances. Its user friendly operations andlow maintenance costs are added advantages," he explains

    He says whereas solar is expensive at installation, it turns cheapin the long run. This adds up, considering the lifespan of thegenuine inverters and solar panels is more than 10 years.

    "They have proven that they work without disturbance and eventhough they are fairly higher-priced than similar items on themarket, satisfied customers have always referred others," Dalwadisays, adding that they have since permeated into areas where thereis no electricity.