How much you will have to pay to say “Goodbye Eskom”

[rpm]

How much it will cost you to say “Goodbye Eskom”

Eskom load shedding is here to stay, and electricity prices in South Africa are expected to increase significantly. Here is how much it will cost to quit Eskom

 

[kingrob]

Rudolph, are you and Cara off the grid?

I assume MyBB has business continuity plans in place to keep running?

 

[rpm]

Rudolph, are you and Cara off the grid? I assume MyBB has business continuity plans in place to keep running?

Not yet It is surprisingly difficult to get anyone to assist with battery banks, inverters and the like...

 

[BlackMamba]

It is bit expensive to part with R233 000 therefor eskom will continue to bully us until a cheaper than this comes to play

 

[kingrob]

Not yet It is surprisingly difficult to get anyone to assist with battery banks, inverters and the like...

I was very impressed with the Carte Blanche story on Sunday night and the guys who have done it. Definitely the way to go.

If you can afford it.

 

[Fudzy]

I was very impressed with the Carte Blanche story on Sunday night and the guys who have done it. Definitely the way to go.

If you can afford it.

Me too, very concise and to the point.

 

[supersunbird]

The more they raise the prices, the more people will find solutions to cut themselves off the grid or at least reduce their load a lot.

 

[Swa]

It is bit expensive to part with R233 000 therefor eskom will continue to bully us until a cheaper than this comes to play

I don't know where they got their costs. 24 240W panels costs R60,000 giving you 5760W. That can give you over 1.5kWh per month which is way more than an average household uses. Shop around and don't take the word of any installer. If you don't agree with their breakdown quote show them the actual prices.

The more they raise the prices, the more people will find solutions to cut themselves off the grid or at least reduce their load a lot.

Loadshedding is driving the off-grid solutions while the prices are probably driving the much cheaper grid tied systems. Electricity price is going up while technology price is going down.

 

[Swa]

Haven't gotten an answer to this yet

Can someone explain why we don't have these in SA?

Anyone know?

 

[Daruk]

Not yet It is surprisingly difficult to get anyone to assist with battery banks, inverters and the like...

True, very few making a business of it.
Also, when people DIY, there are many things to consider - proper ventilation for the batteries, fire prevention, etc. You have to know your stuff when working with that kind of output.

 

[Daruk]

I was very impressed with the Carte Blanche story on Sunday night and the guys who have done it. Definitely the way to go.

If you can afford it.

With the number of people who can afford R300k + cars out there - which are a very short term write off - i'm surprised there aren't more doing this. Capital costs perhaps? I assume banks won't finance it. Break even at current rates would probably take 20 years + in many cases IMO. That said, we can be sure rates won't be 'current' for long. It's going to go up... but that's buffered by tech improving and costs coming down 'bang for your buck wise' for the off the grid solutions. Solar is getting better and better. What about wind (PE and other costal towns especially)?

 

[Daruk]

Haven't gotten an answer to this yet

Anyone know?

More than likely cost and market.

 

[HavocXphere]

This whole thing is pushing all the big paying households off the grid / making them reduce demand via gas etc.

Which leaves illegal connections and subsidised users...

If Eskom pushes too hard on the increases then they'll be left with even less money than before...

 

[Swa]

More than likely cost and market.

I understand them to be more cost effective in the long run. Solar generating plants have started using them.

This whole thing is pushing all the big paying households off the grid / making them reduce demand via gas etc.

Which leaves illegal connections and subsidised users...

If Eskom pushes too hard on the increases then they'll be left with even less money than before...

My fear. If Eskom loses its paying customer base there would be no one left to subsidise the nonpaying users. It would be hard to justify still supplying them.

 

[Masataka]

My hope would be that, with the increased demand, we will slowly get more people building/importing solar panels, which will hopefully drive some competitive pricing.

The technology is also ever evolving especially with the current battery development in electric/hybrid vehicles - this might also mean better batteries at better prices.

 

[midnightcaller]

Has anyone assessed the implications of going off grid on

1. Sale of the property
2. Property values
3. Home owners insurance - structure

 

[Swa]

It's for the battery side I'm hoping. With all the new technologies this is definitely the decade of batteries. There's even a guy using pill making machines to press battery materials.

Solar is already being driven down. China has actually taken the step to only support about a quarter of panel manufacturers as the market is way too overcrowded.

 

[Seriously]

True, very few making a business of it.
Also, when people DIY, there are many things to consider - proper ventilation for the batteries, fire prevention, etc. You have to know your stuff when working with that kind of output.

A battery room can be very explosive!

 

[Murmaider]

Geoff Vickerstaff from Plan My Power said that even at a cost of over R200,000 per household, you will save money in the long run.

“If you are to amortise the capital amount over 20 years, the cost is around R2,000 per month,” he said.

That calculation is so broken.


R233 000 financed over 20 years with the current prime interest rate of 9.25% = R2134 p/m
Which makes your total payment for the system over 20 years (240 months) = R512 153

You need to replace your batteries every 10 years, this will cost R922 p/m for R72000 over 10 years, making the battery cost R110 620 paid every 10 years.

Plus build in a factor a 20% overall cost for replacement of failed panels, panels getting hit by hail stones, maintenance, etc for the 20 year period - R102 430

Total cost of the system is more like : R725 203 over a 20 year period.

If you are currently paying R1000 p/m for electricity now and Eskom increases their electricity cost by 10% every single year for the next 20 years, you have only paid a total of R687 299

If they increase at 15% every year for the next 20 years, you will have paid R1,229 322.99

So in a nutshell, if the the total increase in electricity cost over the next 20 years is at or below 11% average over those years, then you will pay almost exactly the same amount and save nothing.

I on the other hand only pay around R550 a month for electricity, LED lights, Heatpump, etc help for that, so the system makes absolutely no financial sense to me.

 

[Swa]

That calculation is so broken.

R233 000 + replacing your batteries twice in that 20 year period at a cost of R72 000 each time (R154 000) = R387 000

R387 000 financed over 20 years with the current prime interest rate of 9.25% = R3544 p/m
Which makes your total payment for the system over 20 years (240 months) = R850 657

If you are currently paying R1000 p/m for electricity now and Eskom increases their electricity cost by 10% every single year for the next 20 years, you have only paid a total of R687 299

If they increase at 15% every year for the next 20 years, you will have paid R1,229 322.99

So in a nutshell, if the the total increase in electricity cost over the next 20 years is at or below 12% average over those years, then you will pay almost exactly the same amount and save nothing.

I on the other hand only pay around R550 a month for electricity, LED lights, Heatpump, etc help for that, so the system makes absolutely no financial sense to me.

Another problem: "Real-life example: Big family home completely off the grid"
Big family home is no longer a realistic-life example with today's economy. Most of us use way less than R2000 electricity per month so large installations like these make no sense as an example and only put people off. Our cost is around R800/month for 750kW. My brother is paying R1400 per month for two families plus he's running a business.