Eskom is proposing new ways for South Africans to pay for electricity

Lupus said:
For the solar install :). When you do one you need to ensure it covers what you need
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Hardly a case of not doing homework. The point made is how quickly an expensive system (without generator) lets you down.

It functions perfectly during loadshedding.
 
Bliksis said:
It does warn, but what can you do? Mostly the cause of downtime is not something you can fix quickly.

8kw inverter, 10kwh batteries. Will confirm panels.

So, not much he could do.
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Something is not right if he goes off at 11am the next day when the sun has been blazing for 5 hours already. Probably has shading on the panels or something.
 
wingnut771 said:
Something is not right if he goes off at 11am the next day when the sun has been blazing for 5 hours already. Probably has shading on the panels or something.
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I wouldn't say sun has been blazing for 5 hours in Cape Town, but I don't recall it being excessively overcast.

Fact is, this is what happened. The system is perfect for carrying on your life as usual during loadshedding, but not for prolonged outages. You could, if you seriously cut down electricity use.

I'm not sure how much a family of 4 use, but that is the problem he sat with. I'm waiting for him to confirm his panel setup, that could provide more context.

But, unless you have a generator, eventually you're going to run out.
 
Bliksis said:
I wouldn't say sun has been blazing for 5 hours in Cape Town, but I don't recall it being excessively overcast.

Fact is, this is what happened. The system is perfect for carrying on your life as usual during loadshedding, but not for prolonged outages. You could, if you seriously cut down electricity use.

I'm not sure how much a family of 4 use, but that is the problem he sat with. I'm waiting for him to confirm his panel setup, that could provide more context.

But, unless you have a generator, eventually you're going to run out.
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Yeah, if he can make it through the night, then there is no reason why there would be a problem at 11am. Maybe he needs a geyser timer or something.
 
Bliksis said:
I wouldn't say sun has been blazing for 5 hours in Cape Town, but I don't recall it being excessively overcast.

Fact is, this is what happened. The system is perfect for carrying on your life as usual during loadshedding, but not for prolonged outages. You could, if you seriously cut down electricity use.

I'm not sure how much a family of 4 use, but that is the problem he sat with. I'm waiting for him to confirm his panel setup, that could provide more context.

But, unless you have a generator, eventually you're going to run out.
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I have had the entire area, mini sub, lightning storms and my beautiful 5.4Kw solar and 5KW Growatt SPF5000ES has been working life a dream car. Pylontech batteries about 9kwh batteries.

The problem with 99% of some you okes systems is you under size your capacity and use a crap ton of power
 
HartsockZA said:
I have had the entire area, mini sub, lightning storms and my beautiful 5.4Kw solar and 5KW Growatt SPF5000ES has been working life a dream car. Pylontech batteries about 9kwh batteries.

The problem with 99% of some you okes systems is you under size your capacity and use a crap ton of power
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That's the point I'm making.

Even with a system like he has, if you continue with your usual routine during prolonged grid outage, you're still close to sitting in the dark.

Not depending on a power utility is not easy, and not cheap.
 
wingnut771 said:
He should add another 8 panels. R1600 x 8 = R12800
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Yes, his system is specced for living life as usual, during loadshedding. Not failure. Lol.

Edit: Just a few minutes ago when he responded, he says he wish he didn't sell the generator. The fuel was expensive, and sometimes they'd simply not bother to start it if they don't HAVE to.
 
Bliksis said:
That's the point I'm making.

Even with a system like he has, if you continue with your usual routine during prolonged grid outage, you're still close to sitting in the dark.

Not depending on a power utility is not easy, and not cheap.
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I would make a plan to state proof myself if the grid costs R1000 per month just for access fee.
 
Bliksis said:
Yes, his system is specced for living life as usual, during loadshedding. Not failure. Lol.

Edit: Just a few minutes ago when he responded, he says he wish he didn't sell the generator. The fuel was expensive, and sometimes they'd simply not bother to start it if they don't HAVE to.
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I don't think it should have cost R210k though.

The best thing he did was convert the genny to LPG.
 
wingnut771 said:
8kW inverter: R30k
8 x 550W: R15k
10kW battery: R40k

Total: R85k
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His cost plus installation was 200k, around 2 years ago. Another friend has a similar system, also 200k.

Installation probably doesn't account for the difference, perhaps cost at that time, or brand.
 
Bliksis said:
His cost plus installation was 200k, around 2 years ago. Another friend has a similar system, also 200k.

Installation probably doesn't account for the difference, perhaps cost at that time, or brand.
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Installation add another R20k, so R105k.

They probably installed during the height of loadshitting when prices were ridiculous because of high demand.
 
Bliksis said:
That's the point I'm making.

Even with a system like he has, if you continue with your usual routine during prolonged grid outage, you're still close to sitting in the dark.

Not depending on a power utility is not easy, and not cheap.
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I don't think you understand, but I don't use the grid to run my system. Let me take the time and explain what Solar power is and why many "experts" and "installers" get the wrong idea of what solar power is.

Solar Power is NOT a saving, doesn't mean to say it saves your butt from power outages and stressful situations cause it does BUT a solar system is not a Saving.
Solar Power is a means by which you the end user become Power owner and producer - you are what makes your system great by implementing the right solutions to the items that require power throughout your property's lifespan.
You have to do your homework - Solar power is not the silver bullet, you need to identify your household main power drawers and then identify solutions that can assist your system in becoming smart IE boiling water takes about 2KW to do, a double-door fridge can draw 600 Watts and you need to identify running and startup capacity. How you plan on cooking, etc. Offset some items and you can build the most efficient system out there. Mine was around 150k including a backup generator which on the odd odd occasion I will run to give power to the batteries. (2 weeks no sun)

I knows guys in the UK full 100% cloudy day and there's still like 60% power in the batteries. Hell even lightbulbs need to be changed cause 60Watts is a lot of power. Insulation, hot water heating systems, gas, solar cooking & most importantly EDUCATION teach your kids and your wife working together makes everyone's life better. - never said a hippy... hahaha oh and educate yourself on what system is the right fit for you, every inverter and battery has different scalabilities and limitations.
 
system32 said:
When I fill up with petrol, I don't have to pay "a fixed fee" for connecting to the pump or having access to the station or any of the back end infrastructure like wells, transport and refining.

This is just a scam and we should resist,
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Oh yes yo do have a to pay a 'fixed fee' for petrol.. Botswana petrol is R8.50+- and ours is R23 something.. Botswana make a really good profit at R8.50 so the +-R15 is the fixed fee you pay for petrol (on Botswana retail price).. You can also call it tax if you like. (and that is on top of the 'profit' Bots and SA already make, and then also on top of the profit SA makes when selling it to Bots in the first place.. I would imagine that Bots would not be making less than 100‰ profit on the sale of their petrol so then SA is selling it to them for less than R4/litre.. Therefore SA cost/litre is around R3.. So then SA 'fixed fee' is around R20 per litre.. Just saying for a friend. I may be totally wrong, but hey, its just what I think.. And I'm really old, white, and a bit thick at times, also forgetful regularly.. BTW I used the words 'fixed fee', profit, tax, 'feeding at the trough', vdaylight robbery', interchangeably here.
 
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