26/05/2026
About two years ago, I travelled to my village for a burial.
There was no stable electricity in the area, so almost every house depended on solar power.
One of my uncles decided he also wanted a solar setup. Not really because he urgently needed light, but mainly because his neighbours had already installed theirs and he didnβt want to feel left out.
He asked me to prepare a BOQ for him, so I recommended a simple setup: a 1.8kVA inverter, four 550W solar panels, and two 220Ah tubular batteries. Honestly, that was more than enough for the kind of loads he wanted to run.
While I was explaining the setup to him, he suddenly stopped me and said:
βMy friend, I am a titled man. How can I have only four panels on my roof when small boys around me have eight or ten?πππ
I couldnβt help but laugh.
I tried explaining that four 550W panels give about 2,200W, which is actually more powerful than ten 200W panels that produce around 2,000W total. But oga no wan hear grammar ππ
He simply said he doesnβt understand all those technical explanations. According to him, all he wanted was plenty panels on his roof ππ
At that point, I just smiled and adjusted the plan. For peace to reign, I used 200W panels so the roof would look fully loaded.
Immediately he saw plenty panels, he became happy and satisfied. And me too, I no wan argue with a titled man π.
That day taught me something important:
Sometimes, the job is not only about the most technically perfect solution. Itβs also about understanding your client, respecting their mindset, and giving them confidence in what they paid for.
As long as the installation is neat, safe, and functionalβ¦ collect your money and face front π
Although deep down, I wanted to tell him the real issue was not the number of panelsβ¦ na him rusty roof wey nearly collapse ππ
But abeg, I want to live long.π
Note: The picture is not related to the story.
