A noobs Solar Journey

[JoE]

Thanks for the reply

With the water, We currently buy purified water so will need the filters, family of 5 so would need a big one such as 3000l ? or more ?, what is best running of the jojo and pump 24/7 even while municipal is on or running only when municipal is off?

With regards to the solar, budget can allow for a increase in inverter size and or batteries or panels as when I planned originally I went with 30Kw of battery storage (3 x 10kw) as I would also like to have a good amount of battery if eskom goes off for days on end or if sun is not out. With regard to off grid, not trying to be entirely off grid but say 90% would like to rely on the solar

Also in Durban, is it better to go on Prepaid to cut the eskom fees ?

With regard to aircons, we use ours 6-8 hours at night

Currently at home we use +-1000 units a month but our house is smaller than the one will be moving to

Oven use is very rare as we would use gas and the airfryer more and kettle and microwave

Would prefer to put the geyser on solar or on a timer for morning and evening if possible just for bathing to conserve battery, not sure what is best to manage the geyser use

Appreciate the feedback

Wish I had your budget

If you have the space, get the bigger tank. Jojo or Eco brands are the best according to most of the feedback I've received. I only run the jojo when there is no municipal supply and I drink the water from my taps but since you guys filter I'd presume that's what you would need to do as well.

Since you have the gas stove / oven perhaps look at a gas geyser as well which would then make the setup work for the 90% use case but you can work that out with the installer and decide if maybe an additional battery is required to get you through the night without having to tap into eskom. If you're not going gas geyser then the popular geyser timer that guys use is the geyserwise system. I've got a hybrid d.i.y smart home system using google home connected to many different iot devices that integrate but if you're looking at something similar, the aqara system is what I would start with if I didn't already have my existing. PS. The air fryer takes almost as much as the oven, just in shorter bursts.

Going prepaid is better from what I've heard as they say the older meters tick a little faster so you pay more. The problem is getting the meter so I think apply for it and use the existing until that's installed. Your eskom fees will substantially drop either way by just going onto solar.

Also regarding the jojo tanks, which installer did you go with and would you recommend them ?

I would recommend you use your plumber so that any other configurations could be done at the same time. Like the wellpoint, etc

So you have to have system to prevent the water feeding into the municipal supply.

Wouldn't the non return valve solve this? Also thanks for the wellpoint tip. Will investigate this prior to pursuing the borehole plans I've been cooking up.

 

[rh1]

Wish I had your budget

If you have the space, get the bigger tank. Jojo or Eco brands are the best according to most of the feedback I've received. I only run the jojo when there is no municipal supply and I drink the water from my taps but since you guys filter I'd presume that's what you would need to do as well.

Since you have the gas stove / oven perhaps look at a gas geyser as well which would then make the setup work for the 90% use case but you can work that out with the installer and decide if maybe an additional battery is required to get you through the night without having to tap into eskom. If you're not going gas geyser then the popular geyser timer that guys use is the geyserwise system. I've got a hybrid d.i.y smart home system using google home connected to many different iot devices that integrate but if you're looking at something similar, the aqara system is what I would start with if I didn't already have my existing. PS. The air fryer takes almost as much as the oven, just in shorter bursts.

Going prepaid is better from what I've heard as they say the older meters tick a little faster so you pay more. The problem is getting the meter so I think apply for it and use the existing until that's installed. Your eskom fees will substantially drop either way by just going onto solar.



I would recommend you use your plumber so that any other configurations could be done at the same time. Like the wellpoint, etc



Wouldn't the non return valve solve this? Also thanks for the wellpoint tip. Will investigate this prior to pursuing the borehole plans I've been cooking up.

I have bought a few non return valves, they tend to give problems after a while, which is why I did not recommned. I will include, but I will also include some decent shut of valves to make sure nothing flows into COCT water supply.

 

[rh1]

My suggestion, use the blue pipes, it can be pvc welded, which is alot better than the black irrigation pipes (which leaks all the time).

Plumbing from blue pipes to copper is easy, just use the correct fittings.

 

[William1102]

The biggest risk here is bacteria, since there should not be foreign contaminents, so an UV light may be sufficient. If you dont trust Durban water to free from foreign matter, then you must filter.


I have a small RO system under my island counter tap. It filters muni water for drinkimg and cooking.


How big your garden, how often and how long. Will 2000 litres be enough for a week?


Laundry can use a lot of water.


A wellpoint pump cost on its own is from R2000. Generally an installer will include pump and pipe. There must be a power supply point to the pump. Your neighbours will generally let you know. All my neighbours had wellpoints. I jist had a black pipe and galvanise bend sticking out of the ground. There was a rusty pump in the garage. After speaking to my neighbour, I bought a pump, connected it to the black pipe, primed it and have free water since.


In Cape Town.


No problem

Thanks for the reply and all the Info

Filtering would be the most important for us we already are used to the RO water

With the washing machine , how much does it consume ? It’s not a necessity if the water goes out but bathing and toilets are as well as drinking

The house is in a complex so not sure how much they’d allow us to install

 

[William1102]

Guess I wouldn’t like to spend more than 200k maybe a little head room but if more is needed to have a reliable little compromise system

Not sure how I would reduce the cost though obviously would like to save money where I can

We’re a family of 5 so I assume >5000l is required

Gas geyser might not work out unfortunately as it’s not piped gas but canisters connected outside so would have to change it more often I assume

What about changing the element to 2kw ?

Airfryer is like 30 minutes max though and unfortunately always in the evening so something to consider

Do you know what are the fees with a normal Eskom connection ? Just want to avoid those connection fees and etc

Goal with the solar system is to be able to run the house without Eskom being used too much such as if we have an outage

With regard to the timer I assume I can just use the timer to turn on the geyser only at required times to reduce battery consumption

Is my solar system above too overkill in terms of batteries ?

 

[JoE]

If 200k is your budget you’re not going to get everything imo. Like I said you have to alter your lifestyle to ‘make it work’ eg. My geyser only runs during the day so the family knows if they want hot water, that’s the time because it’s not going on at night without my permission. That way it’s free and saves a chunk of your eskom bill.

Your airfyer will take up about 1-2kw of your battery per night of use depending on settings etc. You’ll learn to work it out as you use the system. You’re not getting rid of eskom, just minimising your reliance so work on reducing first then go from there.

Also in a complex you need to get body corp permission for installing solar or jojos so follow the rules as they can make you remove them at your own cost. Shouldn’t be a problem but some body corps can be difficult so best you get their blessing first.