How much you will pay to say goodbye to Eskom

Hanno Labuschagne

Hanno Labuschagne

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How much you will pay to say goodbye to Eskom

Years of Eskom load-shedding have pushed many South African households to source their electricity supply from outside the national grid.

Things are not expected to get better at the utility any time soon, with its own forecasts for the next three months showing it anticipates shortages in supply.

One of the options for South Africans to generate electricity and power their own home is solar power panels combined with a battery backup system.
 
Another one, exactly the same title as well. Hmmm
 
You're definitely not saying goodbye to eskom with any of those especially if you have a few days of cloud or adverse weather. Perhaps add a generator.
 
Still a poor investment as you would remain shackled to the anc.
 
I don't know much about electricity but is two 5kw inverter necessary? I thought one 5kW can meet all your energy requirements.
Especially if you use gas hobs, heater and solar geyser maybe substitute air conditioner and add LED celling fans
Solar water pump can make difference
 
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Joseph matane said:
I don't know much about electricity but is two 5kw inverter necessary? I thought one 5kW can meet all your energy requirements.
Especially if you use gas hobs, heater and solar geyser maybe substitute air conditioner and add LED celling fans
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Depends on the home and your peak demand. +-20A may not be enough wiith a single 5000W inverter plus if its an integrated unit with charger you need to size that appropriately too.
 
How long do these things last? I'm interested in going completely off the grid in the next couple of years but if these things need to be replaced every now and then then it can be quite an expensive endeavour.
 
HartsockZA said:
Went to Buntu power and got my inverter and I am slowly building my dream power station. Not rushed
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People think they have to get a major installation in one go. This is not required.

If you're willing to rough it, get a gas oven, and gas geyser, then at the minimum you can get 1x fridge and a couple of lights on solar. This will be a good start. This will allow you to escape Eskom shackles and save up for extra panels and batteries etc.

This minimal system will ensure you can have hot water, hot food, and food in the fridge, lights at night, and electricity (during the day) for laptops and cellphone charging.

Then you can expand on that should you require more power.

But you gotta start at a point. No sense in jumping at the deep end and drowning in debt by procuring a YUUUUGE solar system.

Oh, and be prepared to experiment with the optimal location for solar panels.

Be mindful that you put the PV panels in an accessible place (for you) but where these cannot be seen for criminals, as theft of PV panels is a possibility. Or make a plan to "lock down" the panels so these cannot be removed easily.

A definite bonus point is if the inverter can allow you to hook a generator up to provide power to your appliances during inclement weather.

Don't be shy to ask. Visit other people, look at their layout, listen to their experiences, and build on that.
 
Gas stove, electric oven, gas hot water, Led lights it appears that our power needs are declining. Batteries and solar panels are becoming cheaper over time. Eskom are finished. It's so bad Eskom are finding a way of punishing all those who have gone the solar route.
 
R65k...which is money I don't really have right now. Drop the price of solar for mass adoption.
 
Iffy calculations for panel size.

You size for winter, not summer. 14 panels would likely be insufficient for 30KW in winter. You'd need more panels or more battery. More panels is far cheaper to do...

I'd suggest 3hrs of sun in Winter as an average, so 5kw * 3 in winter would only give 1/2 of whats needed.
 
R22,000 and it will be worth every penny.
 
R100K

If I can go offgrid, excl. Geyser, with Panels and batteries I'd ask for a extra bit of moola out of my home loan
 
Solitude said:
How long do these things last? I'm interested in going completely off the grid in the next couple of years but if these things need to be replaced every now and then then it can be quite an expensive endeavour.
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Panels will last as long as you need them. Useful lifetimes are 40-50 years++
They're typically rated to 80% of original spec at 25 years.

Inverters you can work on 10 year lifetime, but if you don't overstress them, they should last longer.
Lithium based Batteries are usually rated for 10 years. At 10 years they should have 80% of original capacity.

Lead Acid Batteries will typically be toast after a few years. The price difference (they're more expensive) makes them unsuitable for use other than for small installations.
 
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