How to reduce Human-Wildlife conflicts with a solar-powered electric fence in Kenya

Ideally, it should be possible to live with wild animals in their natural habitats. However, wild animals are unpredictable. You can not control wild animal behaviors or actions. For instance, you want to build a lodge, a beautiful home or a farm near a game reserve. It is possible that wild animals would get curious about the new development. Either they will come to destroy your investment or just roam around. Therefore, when setting out your next project near wildlife habitats, it will be a good idea to think of an electric fence. Solar-powered electric fences in Kenya are ideal since you can keep your fence energized at all times without the worry of huge power bills.

Components of a solar-powered electric fence

Electric Fences Kenya will supply all the components required to setup an effective electric fence. Components used for solar power system.

1. 150 Watts Solar Panel, depending on the setup one panel may be enough or two sets.
2. 70 Ah or 100 AH Solar Battery. This should be maintenance-free if possible.
3. 10 amps or 20 amps solar charge controller. If possible the one with an LCD Display would work better as it is easy to check the status of the charging.
4. 6mm² or 4mm² solar PV cables.
5. Solar mounting kit.
6. Battery mounting kit

The above, however, can be sized to fit any particular requirements for example a 10 Km farm fence or 50 Km game fence.

Designing a solar electric fence

Foremost, the idea to fence is conceptualized.

1. The design phase. Here, the perimeter to be fenced is identified either on the ground by marking the beacons or on the map by drawing the ma to be fenced.
2. The perimeter lenght to be fenced is determined using the beacons set on the land to be fenced. We can also use map drawings and surveyor’s reports.
3. A perimeter security fence is designed using data from the client with either one central control centre or multiple control and power points.
4. The load profile of the fence is determined using the length of the fence powered by each individual energizer machine.
5. The daily requirements of the fence system are used to detemine the rating of the componets to be used.

The biggest advantage of using solar powered electric fence is the huge saving in running cost. There are no monthly power bills.

Brands we use for solar-powered electric fence in Kenya

1. Stafix Energizer machines
2. Jinko Solar Panels
3. Amaron Solar Batteries
4. Steca Charge Controllers