Off-grid system prices from Solar Advice

Capeinfo said:
I've done it cheaply - https://capeinfo.com/blogs/smarterl...g-goodbye-to-eskom-is-cheaper-than-you-think/
Click to expand...
I could equally argue that you haven't, and you'll end up spending more to get to where you need to be.
You've fallen for the trap of short term savings, vs investing in a longer term solution.

It looks cheap, but you are currently in the process of I just need more Lead Acid for a little while, instead of just spending on some Lithium which will offer more bang / buck. Initial investment is more, but you've already spent more than you would have to just buy 2.5KW of LFP battery in the first place, and the LFP will last longer than your dead acid.

Your specific needs are also quite low, and won't fit many peoples use patterns. They barely fit yours.



I've gone that route - my first offgrid install had a higher budget than yours, and lasted me a good few years - I spent around 30k on panels and inverter and battery (dead acid also), and lived off that for +-5 years.
Winter was marginal, but I made do. Admittedly the rand was stronger at the time, so my bang/buck is only now starting to be beaten, at least for panels and inverter cost.

I always knew that Lithium was a better bet, but pricing at the time didn't make sense.
In the last 3 years that has changed, and costs have dropped nicely, which is why I spent the money in 2019 to get Lithium storage. I got a great deal on that and paid R3.5/w (10KW for R35k). Pricing is higher than that now - current pricing for Lithium is around R4-R6/watt now, and dropping., but getting back to those levels.
If the rand doesn't take another dump, then we'll probably start seeing those sort of levels again late next year.

Yes, thats a whack of money, but amortize that over 10 years and I'm looking at an end cost of approximately R1.2 for storage. 10KW gives me around 8KW usable without killing the batteries in the short term.
Daytime solar is plenty to use and charge the batteries, overnight the batteries drain.
(8KW usable /day * 365 * 10 years = 29200KW ) 29200/35k -> 1.19 or R1.2 for my storage per kw cost.
I expect the batteries to still be usable after 10 years, unlike Lead Acid.

As an aside - if the rand wasn't such a crap currency (thank you ANC...), then we'd have battery storage at current Eskom pricing.
 
itareanlnotani said:
I could equally argue that you haven't, and you'll end up spending more to get to where you need to be.
You've fallen for the trap of short term savings, vs investing in a longer term solution.

It looks cheap, but you are currently in the process of I just need more Lead Acid for a little while, instead of just spending on some Lithium which will offer more bang / buck. Initial investment is more, but you've already spent more than you would have to just buy 2.5KW of LFP battery in the first place, and the LFP will last longer than your dead acid.

Your specific needs are also quite low, and won't fit many peoples use patterns. They barely fit yours.



I've gone that route - my first offgrid install had a higher budget than yours, and lasted me a good few years - I spent around 30k on panels and inverter and battery (dead acid also), and lived off that for +-5 years.
Winter was marginal, but I made do. Admittedly the rand was stronger at the time, so my bang/buck is only now starting to be beaten, at least for panels and inverter cost.

I always knew that Lithium was a better bet, but pricing at the time didn't make sense.
In the last 3 years that has changed, and costs have dropped nicely, which is why I spent the money in 2019 to get Lithium storage. I got a great deal on that and paid R3.5/w (10KW for R35k). Pricing is higher than that now - current pricing for Lithium is around R4-R6/watt now, and dropping., but getting back to those levels.
If the rand doesn't take another dump, then we'll probably start seeing those sort of levels again late next year.

Yes, thats a whack of money, but amortize that over 10 years and I'm looking at an end cost of approximately R1.2 for storage. 10KW gives me around 8KW usable without killing the batteries in the short term.
Daytime solar is plenty to use and charge the batteries, overnight the batteries drain.
(8KW usable /day * 365 * 10 years = 29200KW ) 29200/35k -> 1.19 or R1.2 for my storage per kw cost.
I expect the batteries to still be usable after 10 years, unlike Lead Acid.

As an aside - if the rand wasn't such a crap currency (thank you ANC...), then we'd have battery storage at current Eskom pricing.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that article was cringeworthy to read.
 
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