Solar energy FAQ for Nigeria
Straight answers on solar system costs, sizing, installation, warranties, batteries, financing and the myths that stop Nigerians going solar.
How much? Inverter-only packages start at ₦1.49m and complete solar packages at ₦2.35m; projects of 1 MW and beyond are quoted separately; most Nigerian homes fall between ₦3.5m and ₦16m installed.
What will it run? Every package from 5 kVA up is rated for air conditioning. A 16 kW system runs five 1.5 HP ACs alongside a full household load.
How long does it take? Installation is completed within 48 hours of payment confirmation for most systems; one to three working days for larger commercial and industrial installations.
Cost & pricing
Solar World Electric Technology Ltd. offers packages starting at ₦1.49 million for a 3 kVA inverter-only package. Complete solar packages start at ₦2.35 million. We also design custom commercial and industrial systems of 1 MW and beyond, quoted to the project requirements. Typical Nigerian homes fall between ₦3.5 million and ₦16 million installed, depending on how many air conditioners and refrigeration units the system has to carry.
Prices are quoted in two parts, the inverter package (inverter, lithium battery, cables, accessories and installation) and the solar package (the panel array, cables, accessories and installation). Many customers buy the inverter package first and add the solar array later. Our full published price charts are on the pricing page.
A 5 kVA / 48 V inverter package with one 5 kWh lithium battery, cables, accessories and installation is ₦2,820,000. The matching 4-panel 620 W solar package is ₦1,120,000, making a complete 5 kVA solar and inverter system approximately ₦3,940,000 installed.
A larger-storage version using a 15.33 kWh lithium battery is ₦4,300,000 for the inverter package and ₦1,880,000 for an 8-panel array. A 5 kVA system is rated for around 35 bulbs, 6 fans, 4 television sets, a standard fridge, a freezer, a washing machine, one 1 HP air conditioner and an electric blender.
A 10 kW / 48 V Deye inverter package with a 16 kWh lithium battery is ₦7,000,000, and the matching 8-panel 620 W solar package is ₦2,290,000: approximately ₦9,290,000 for the complete installed system.
A 10 kW system is rated for 50 bulbs, 10 fans, 6 television sets, 2 fridges, 2 freezers, a washing machine, three 1.5 HP air conditioners, a pumping machine, microwave and electric blender. It suits a duplex or a large family home.
Over the life of the system, yes. A generator has a lower purchase price but an unlimited running cost, fuel, servicing, parts and eventual replacement, and it only produces power while you are paying for fuel.
A solar system is the opposite: the cost is concentrated upfront, and generation afterwards is effectively free. Our panels carry a 25-year warranty and our lithium batteries a 10-year warranty, so the system keeps producing long after a generator bought at the same time would have been replaced twice.
There are also costs a generator carries that never appear on an invoice: noise, fumes, the maintenance burden and the risk of being without power when fuel is unavailable.
Yes. Through our financing partner you pay a 30% deposit and spread the remaining balance over 3, 6, 9 or 12 months, with a fixed 4% monthly interest added to the principal.
For example, on a ₦5 million system you pay ₦1.5 million upfront and the financing partner covers the remaining ₦3.5 million. There are no bank queues: our in-house financing team handles the process at any of our offices, approved financing is disbursed within 24 to 48 hours, and installation follows immediately.
Yes. Once your financing application is approved and disbursed, typically within 24 to 48 hours, installation is scheduled straight away. You do not wait until the instalments are complete. Most installations are finished within 48 hours of payment confirmation, and larger systems within one to three working days.
Sizing & what it powers
System size is decided by what you want to run and for how long, not by the size of the building. As a practical guide, based on our published packages:
- 3–5 kVA: lights, fans, TVs, one fridge/freezer, sometimes one 1 HP air conditioner
- 8–10 kW: a full family home with 2 fridges, 2 freezers and two to three 1.5 HP ACs
- 12–16 kW: a large home or duplex with three to five 1.5 HP ACs and a pumping machine
- 20–30 kW: an estate residence, office or small commercial building, often three-phase
- 50 kW and above: hotels, schools, hospitals, warehouses and industrial facilities
Air conditioning is almost always the deciding factor. Our engineers carry out a free load assessment before quoting, so the system is sized against your actual appliances rather than a guess. You can start with our solar calculator.
A 1.5 HP inverter air conditioner draws roughly 1.1–1.3 kW while running. Running one for a normal day, with battery to cover the night, needs roughly four to six 620 W panels dedicated to that load once losses are accounted for.
In practice we never size panels per appliance; we size the array against total daily energy use in kWh and the battery against overnight demand. For reference, our 16 kW package (20 × 620 W panels and 2 × 16 kWh batteries) is rated for five 1.5 HP air conditioners alongside a full household load.
Yes. Every one of our packages from 5 kVA upward is rated to run air conditioning, and our larger systems run multiple units continuously.
Two things make it work: a hybrid inverter with enough capacity to absorb the compressor's starting surge, and enough lithium storage to carry the AC through the night. This is why we size against the specific AC units on site, a 3 HP unit and a 1 HP unit place very different demands on the same system.
A 16 kW / 48 V system with two 16 kWh lithium batteries and 20 × 620 W panels is rated for 70 bulbs, 10 fans, 4 fridges and freezers, a washing machine, five 1.5 HP air conditioners, a pumping machine, a microwave and an electric blender.
We have installed exactly this configuration for a two-bedroom short-stay apartment running three air conditioners (two 1.5 HP and one 3 HP) plus refrigeration, television and lighting. See the full case study.
Yes. That is the point of a battery-based system. Our installations use hybrid inverters with lithium battery storage, so when the grid fails the system continues supplying your building from stored energy and from the panels.
There is no transfer delay and no switchover gap, which is why sensitive equipment such as medical refrigeration, ICT and POS systems stay online through an outage.
Yes. Solar panels generate from daylight, not direct sunshine, so they continue producing on cloudy days, at reduced output.
This is why battery capacity matters as much as panel count in Nigeria. We size the storage so that a run of overcast days is carried by the battery bank rather than forcing you back onto a generator, and we oversize arrays relative to storage so the bank refills within a single average solar day.
Installation & process
Installation is completed within 48 hours of payment confirmation for most systems, except in rare cases of unforeseen circumstances or delays. Larger commercial and industrial systems typically take one to three working days.
The full process is: consultation, personalised proposal, site visit where necessary, payment and agreement, scheduling and installation, testing and commissioning, then after-sales support.
- 1. Consultation: we discuss your energy needs, current challenges and budget.
- 2. Proposal: a personalised quotation with recommended system size, cost breakdown, warranty terms and payment plan.
- 3. Site visit: where necessary, a physical inspection of your wiring, roof strength and energy load.
- 4. Payment & agreement: payment to a company account, with a receipt issued.
- 5. Scheduling & installation: typically completed within 1–3 working days depending on system size.
- 6. Testing & commissioning: we test the system thoroughly and show you how to use it.
- 7. After-sales support: warranty coverage, priority support and regular system health checks.
No. Solar panels do not damage roofs when installed properly. In fact they protect the roof surface beneath them by shielding it from rain, direct sun and debris.
Our installations use engineered mounting rails fixed appropriately to the roof structure. Where roof condition, orientation or available area is unsuitable, we install a ground-mounted array instead.
No. A hybrid solar installation integrates with your existing distribution board, and your generator can remain in place as a backup you rarely use. Most of our customers keep the generator for the first year and then find they no longer start it.
During the site visit we check your existing wiring and flag anything that needs correcting before the system is connected.
We have 21 operations across Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt and install nationwide.
Port Harcourt: Sani Abacha 1, 2 and 3 (GRA Phase 3), Port Harcourt City Mall (SPAR) and Market Square GRA Phase 2. Abuja: Jabi Lake Mall, Wuse 2, Silverbird Entertainment Centre (first floor and basement), Ceddi Plaza and Primus Mall Gwarinpa. Lagos: Lekki Phase 1 and The Circle Mall, Jakande. Full addresses are on our contact page.
Equipment, warranty & maintenance
On our Deye and Solis product lines: 25 years on solar panels, 10 years on lithium batteries, 5 years on inverters, plus 1 year of free after-sales service support.
On our standard product line: 20 years on solar panels, 5 years on lithium batteries, 2 years on inverters, 1 year on SMF/tubular batteries, 1 year on charge controllers and 1 year of free after-sales support.
Solar panels typically last 25 to 30 years, with warranties guaranteeing performance for at least 20 to 25 years.
Battery life depends on the chemistry. Lithium batteries last 10 to 15 years. Drycell and tubular batteries last 2 to 3 years, which is why we specify lithium on virtually every system we install, the higher upfront cost is recovered several times over across the life of the installation.
Very little. Regular cleaning of the panels so they are not obstructed by dust or dirt, plus occasional checks, is usually all that is required.
Every installation includes one year of free after-sales service support, and we carry out regular system health checks. There are no filters to change, no oil to top up and no fuel to buy.
A complete solar system has five parts:
- Solar panels: photovoltaic modules that capture sunlight and convert it into direct current (DC) electricity.
- Inverter: converts DC electricity into the alternating current (AC) your appliances use.
- Battery storage: stores excess energy for use at night or on cloudy days.
- MPPT charge controller: regulates voltage and current from the panels to prevent battery overcharging.
- Mounting structures: secure the panels in place at the optimum angle for sunlight.
Buying an inverter alone gives you backup. Buying the full system gives you generation.
We supply and install Deye, Solis and ALP Solar hybrid inverters, alongside Bauman Energy, BICODI and SRNE equipment, with lithium battery storage from tier-1 manufacturers.
We publish separate price charts for our Deye and Solis product lines so you can compare configurations and pricing directly on our pricing page.
Yes. Alongside solar panels, hybrid inverters, lithium batteries and MPPT charge controllers we supply and install solar water heaters, submersible pumps, inverter air conditioners and solar street lighting systems.
All are installed by our own teams and covered by the same after-sales support.
About Solar World
Solar World Electric Technology Limited (RC 1684774) is a Nigerian renewable energy company founded in 2015, specialising in the sales, installation and maintenance of solar power systems for residential, commercial, industrial and government customers.
We have powered over 60,000 homes, offices, hotels, businesses and communities across Nigeria and have 21 operations across Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt. Our clients include the NDDC, the Nigerian Army, GIG Logistics, Woodhall Capital, The Brook Finance Company, ENERGYMATICS, EngenderHealth, Riders for Health, the National Malaria Elimination Programme and the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron.
Because with solar, who you buy from matters as much as what you buy; that is our stated belief as a company.
A solar system is a 25-year asset installed into your building. If it is undersized, badly configured or installed by a team that disappears afterwards, the components' warranties are worthless to you. We size against your actual load, publish our prices openly, install with our own teams, operate branches you can visit, and back every installation with warranty coverage and a year of free after-sales support.
Yes. We deliver commercial, industrial and public-sector projects, including systems of 1 MW and beyond, including offices, hotels, schools, hospitals, warehouses, factories, community projects and street lighting schemes.
Public and institutional clients we have worked with include the NDDC, the Nigerian Army, the National Malaria Elimination Programme (Federal Ministry of Health), the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (Oron), EngenderHealth and Riders for Health.
Message us on WhatsApp at +234 906 331 5492, email info@solarworldelectric.com, or walk into any of our 21 operations in Abuja, Lagos or Port Harcourt.
Tell us what you want to power, the appliances, how many air conditioners and whether you need it day and night, and we will size the system and send a costed proposal with warranty terms and payment options. The consultation and load assessment are free.
Solar myths
No. Solar energy is becoming increasingly affordable, with financing options and payment plans available to suit different budgets. Our entry-level 3 kVA inverter package starts at ₦1,490,000, and with our 30% deposit financing plan you can start with ₦447,000 and spread the balance over up to 12 months.
It is an investment that pays off over time by removing your fuel and electricity costs.
No. Solar panels still generate power on cloudy days. While sunlight is essential, modern monocrystalline panels are designed to work efficiently in a variety of weather conditions, including the Nigerian rainy season.
No. Solar systems require minimal maintenance. Regular cleaning of the panels and occasional checks are usually all that is needed to keep them functioning efficiently. There are no moving parts in a panel and no fuel system to service.
Yes. A properly installed solar system with lithium storage is a permanent building improvement with a 25-year panel warranty. It removes the property's dependence on grid availability and diesel, which in Nigeria is a material factor for buyers and tenants, particularly for rental apartments, short-stay properties and commercial premises.
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