SPECIFICATIONS FOR SOLAR LANTERN

(As per MNES specification for 1997-98 SPV Programme )

Ref.: no:32/33/97-98/PV/SE dated 30/9/97

    1. DEFINITION

      2. A solar photovoltaic lantern is a lighting system consisting of a lamp, battery and electronics, all placed in a suitable housing made of metal, plastic or fiber glass, and a PV module. The battery is charged by electricity generated through the solar photovoltaic module. The lantern is basically a portable lighting device suitable for either indoor or outdoor lighting, covering a full range of 360 degrees. A lighting device which provides only unidirectional lighting will not be classified as a solar lantern in the present context.

    2. DUTY CYCLE

      3. The solar lantern should provide a minimum of three hours of lighting per day under average daily solar radiation conditions of 5 kWh/sq.m. on a horizontal surface. The actual duration of lighting may vary depending on the location, season. etc.

    3. MODEL

      4. The solar lantern should conform to the following :

      Model

      		  

      Battery capacity at C/20 rate

      PV module rating

      Model II-A as per MNES specification

      		  

      12 V, 7 Ah

      10 Wp

       

      A test certificate from SEC, MNES obtained after 31.10.96 to show that the model is approved by MNES must be enclosed with the tender documents.

      The individual specification for lamp, battery, module, electronics etc. are given below:

    4. LAMP
  1. The lamp will be compact fluorescent (CFL) type with a rating of 7 W
  2. The lamp should be of 4-pin type of Phillips or Osram or equivalent. If equivalent is supplied, a certificate should be produced from any standard test laboratory stating that the CFL is equivalent in performance and design to that of Phillips or Osram. A suitable pre-heating circuit must also be provided. (Since ANERT has been using only 4-pin lamps in the solar lanterns for the past many years and MNES also clearly specifies that use of 2-pin is only a transitional arrangement and 4-pin lamps will be made mandatory in future, ANERT has specified only 4-pin lamps for 1997-98 programme. Also it will be easier on the part of ANERT to carry out repairs on these lanterns after the warranty period is over since trained people on 4-pin lamps are already available with ANERT and in the point of availability of spares in the State also.)
  3. The lamp should preferably be mounted in a base up configuration.
  4. The light output should be 370 ± 5% lumen for a 7 W lamp.
    1. BATTERY
  1. The battery will be sealed maintenance free lead acid type
  2. The capacity of the battery will be a minimum of 7 Ah at 12 V at C/20 discharge rate at 20ºC.
  3. ET&T have worked out an arrangement under which they plan to procure batteries in bulk and supply them to lantern manufactures. This is expected to result in a lower cost of the lanterns. Solar lantern manufactures may take advantage of this optional facility for improving their competitiveness.
  4. Eighty percent of the rated battery capacity should be between the low voltage and high voltage cut-off points.
    1. ELECTRONICS
  1. The inverter will be of quasi sine wave/sine wave type with a crest factor less than 1.7 and the frequency in the range of 20-35 kHz. Half wave operation is not acceptable.
  2. The overall efficiency of the control electronics should be at least 80%.
  3. No blackening or reduction in the lumen output by more than 10% should be observed after 1000 ON/OFF cycles (two minutes ON and four minutes OFF is one cycle).
  4. The idle current (i.e. the current consumed when the lamp is switched OFF and no charging is in progress ) should not be more than 1 mA.
  5. The PCB containing the electronics should be capable of solder free installation and placement.
  6. Electronics should operate at 12 V and should have temperature compensation for proper charging of the battery through out the year. However, systems not having temperature compensation facility would also be allowed under this year's programme.
    1. PV MODULE
  1. The power output of the module under STC should be minimum of 10 ± 0.5 W.
  2. The operating voltage corresponding to the power output mentioned above should be 16.4 V.
  3. The module should preferably have an arrangement (stand) for mounting at the optimum angle in the directions facing the sun.
  4. In case of thin film solar cell modules the specified values refer to the power output after the initial degradation
    1. ELECTRONIC PROTECTIONS
  1. Adequate protection is to be incorporated under no load conditions (e.g. when the lamp is removed and the lantern is switched ON).
  2. Battery cut off & reconnects should be provided to protect it against overcharge and deep discharge conditions.
  3. A fuse should be provided to protect against short circuit conditions.
  4. A blocking diode, preferably a Schottky diode should be provided as part of the lantern electronics to prevent reverse flow of current through the PV module, in case such a diode is not provided with the module itself.
  5. Full protection against open circuit, accidental short circuit and reverse polarity should be provided.
    1. OTHER FEATURES
  1. The lantern should be provided with 2 LED indicators: a green LED to indicate charging in progress and a red LED to indicate deep discharge condition of the battery.
  2. A good reliable switch suitable for DC use is to be provided on the lantern. A cable at least 5 meters long should be provided for inter-connection between the module and the lantern.
  3. The following details should be marked indelibly on the lantern and the Photovoltaic module :
    1. Name of the Manufacturer or Distinctive Logo.
    2. Model Number.
    3. Serial Number.

    The manufacturer’s logo and the serial number of the module should be laminated inside the module itself.

  4. An operation, Instruction and Maintenance Manual, in English and Malayalam, should be provided with the solar lantern.

    5. The following minimum details must be provided in the Manual :

    1. About Photovoltaics
    2. About Solar Lantern
    3. About PV module
    4. About CFL
    5. About Battery
    6. Clear instruction about mounting of PV module
    7. About electronics
    8. About charging and significance of indicators
    9. DO’s and DONT’s
    10. Clear instructions on regular maintenance and trouble shooting of the lantern
    11. Name and Address of the person or service center to be contacted in case of failure or complaint
  5. Components and parts used in the solar lantern should conform to the BIS specification, wherever such specifications are available and applicable.
  6. The PV module will be warranted for the minimum period of 10 years from the date of supply and the lantern (including the battery) will be warranted for a period of minimum of fifteen months from the date of supply.
  7. The warranty card to be supplied with the system must contain the details of the system supplied, as given in ANNEXURE. The manufactures can also provide additional information about the system and conditions of warranty as necessary.
  8. Additional features such as a socket for powering another appliance such as a fan or radio may be provided along with the switch. This is however purely optional. If such features are provided, they should not interfere with the independent switching on and off of the lantern.
  9. A sticker carrying the official logo for the 'Golden Jubilee Year of Indian Independence' should be put on all solar lanterns.
    1. OTHER CONDITIONS
  1. An Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) should be provided for a period of four years after the fifteen months warranty period. The scope of the AMC must cover supply of spares (excluding batteries) and services during its tenure. Orders will be placed only on companies which agree to offer such an AMC to ANERT or to the end users.
  2. Minimum one sample should be submitted along with the Tender documents. More than one sample can be submitted for evaluation with different makes / models of various components.. All samples should be marked separately and separate prices may be quoted for each sample. Components of each sample can not be interchanged after submission for evaluation.
  3. Once a sample is approved by ANERT, only same make/model of the components/system should be supplied to ANERT. No change in the make or model is permitted at a later date.
  4. The supply should be as per the supply schedule given in purchase order, to various ANERT/IREP offices and HQ, Thiruvananthapuram.
  5. 5% of the total payment to the supplier who are not bound to remit Security Deposit retained during the warranty period will be released only after the expiry of the warranty period.
  6. If any lantern is found defective during the warranty period, the manufacturer should replace or repair the same within ten days from the date of intimation sent to the manufacturer at manufacturer's cost.
  7. The quality inspection will involve the testing of samples and manufacturer's site inspection.
  8. Unsuccessful samples will be returned to the tenderer. Successful samples will be retained. This will be returned only after the completion of the whole supply or at the end of the warranty period.
  9. The samples of second and third lowest among the successful bid will be returned only after a delay of three months just as a standby arrangement for consideration of placing purchase order in case of problems of completion of supply by the supplier to whom orders were placed.
  10. The samples will be returned in as-is-where-is condition. The tenderer should collect the samples from HQ, Thiruvananthapuram on his/her own expenses.
  11. The technical evaluation may be conducted either by ANERT or any other external agency or reputed laboratories as decided by ANERT.
  12. The supplier should give the list of make, model and serial nos. of lantern, module and battery, with the date of supply, guarantee period and name of office to which supplied with each lot, in a printed form, and also as a database file in a 1.44 MB floppy diskette along with every invoice submitted for payment. This is as per MNES request. Payment will be effected only after all these details are provided completely.
  13. Electronic circuit diagram with complete details and test points should be submitted after the receipt of the purchase order, and before the first supply is effected.
  14. Test certificates valid for 1997-98 should be submitted with the tender.
  15. Any specification which is not mentioned explicitly above should be as per MNES specification for the year 1997-98.
  16. The following words should be printed/embossed/engraved on each PV module, battery and light unit on all supplies as per instructions in the Purchase Order. The same should be printed on each packing also for easy identification. The packing should be in a standard form normally followed in various consumer manufacturing units.

 

 Annexure

Format For Warranty Card
to be Supplied with Each
Solar Lantern
  1. Name & Address of the Manufacturer/Supplier of the System
  • .................................
    .................................
  1. Name & Address of the Purchasing Agencies
  • .................................
    .................................
  1. Date of supply of the system
  • .................................
  1. Details of PV Module(s) supplied in the system

Make (Name of the manufacturer)

  • .................................

Model

  • .................................

Serial No(s).

  • .................................

Month/Year of Manufacturer

  • .................................

Wattage of the PV Module(s) under STC

  • .................................

Warranty valid up to

  • .................................
  1. Details of Battery

Make (Name of the manufacturer)

  • .................................

Model

  • .................................

Batch / Serial No(s) .

  • .................................

Month/Year of Manufacturer

  • .................................

Rated V & AH capacity at C/20 / C/10 rate at. 20 C.

  • .................................

Warranty valid up to

  • .................................
  1. Details of Electronics &: other BOS items

Make (Name of the manufacturer)

  • .................................

Model

  • .................................

Serial No (s) .

  • .................................

Month/Year of Manufacturer

  • .................................

Warranty valid up to

  • .................................
  1. Designation & Address of the person to be contacted for claiming Warranty obligations
  • .................................
    .................................

 

 

 

(Signature)
Name & Designation
Name & Address of the Manufacturer/Supplier
(SEAL)

Date

 

Place

 

(During the warranty period, MNES / State Agencies / users reserve the right to cross check the performance of the systems with the minimum performance levels specified in the MNES specifications)

 

 

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