Off the grid - Electricity

I.am.Sam

I.am.Sam

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Hello all

so with loadshedding and Eskom increases im thinking about going solar

anyone do this to they house ?

came across this ad on facebook

i assume we use between 10-20kwh per day

anyone experience this during winter ?

does the numbers drop big time (shorter hours)

any recommendations as to who else can offer a better cheaper service
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I.am.Sam said:
Hello all

so with loadshedding and Eskom increases im thinking about going solar

anyone do this to they house ?

came across this ad on facebook

i assume we use between 10-20kwh per day

anyone experience this during winter ?

does the numbers drop big time (shorter hours)

any recommendations as to who else can offer a better cheaper service
View attachment 1179864
Click to expand...
Can't really assume, you'd need to track it properly, don't want to shed yourself.
 
ShaunSA said:
90 grand? did you win the lotto Sammy?
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shaun .. if i spend R1500 a month on electricals

and if i use less than the 20kwh advertised and if i do get the 20kwh

given my poor maths the device will be paid off in around 5-7 years

now the other issue is the battery, they claim it can last 16 years

so even if it lasts 10 years i would have free electricity for around 3 years

in that 3 years i can save +-50k and be able to replace the battery for free

the next 10 years il be having free electricals
 
zolly said:
All you need to know.

But in all seriousness, maybe post in the Eskom/Energy subforum. More likely to get good info there.
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Price isn't bad for the generation though.
 
I.am.Sam said:
now the other issue is the battery, they claim it can last 16 years
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This is the problem.

Maybe capacity is down 50% after 2 years. Then what?

If self-generation was such a financial no-brainer then people would be falling over themselves to finance it for you rather than asking for all your money up-front.
 
Tomtomtom said:
This is the problem.

Maybe capacity is down 50% after 2 years. Then what?

If self-generation was such a financial no-brainer then people would be falling over themselves to finance it for you rather than asking for all your money up-front.
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yeah true but not many people would finance these deals as they can take a loss which is worse for them

not many people have the cash laying around as well

but yes thats what im asking from guys who have solar. Whats the life expentancy like ?

is the claims far from the truth ?
 
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I.am.Sam said:
shaun .. if i spend R1500 a month on electricals

and if i use less than the 20kwh advertised and if i do get the 20kwh

given my poor maths the device will be paid off in around 5-7 years

now the other issue is the battery, they claim it can last 16 years

so even if it lasts 10 years i would have free electricity for around 3 years

in that 3 years i can save +-50k and be able to replace the battery for free

the next 10 years il be having free electricals
Click to expand...
If there still is a south africa after 5 - 7 years.
 
I.am.Sam said:
shaun .. if i spend R1500 a month on electricals

and if i use less than the 20kwh advertised and if i do get the 20kwh

given my poor maths the device will be paid off in around 5-7 years

now the other issue is the battery, they claim it can last 16 years

so even if it lasts 10 years i would have free electricity for around 3 years

in that 3 years i can save +-50k and be able to replace the battery for free

the next 10 years il be having free electricals
Click to expand...

tl/dr
 
I'm curious as to why there is almost zero drive to connect households with piped gas. You could heat, cool, cook and run generators using gas.

If households could only be switched to gas heating & cooking from electricity, Eskom's supply issues are solved.
 
Tomtomtom said:
This is the problem.

Maybe capacity is down 50% after 2 years. Then what?

If self-generation was such a financial no-brainer then people would be falling over themselves to finance it for you rather than asking for all your money up-front.
Click to expand...
I am in Pretoria, north facing basically flat roof - and my winter production is about 60% of what I get in summer.So keep in mind winter production will be less than summer production (how much depends on the angle the panels are installed at)
You are excluding geyser/cooking from your daily usage ?
Also if you going off grid, make sure your battery is large enough to handle couple of no sun days or make sure you have a generator
 
starmage said:
I am in Pretoria, north facing basically flat roof - and my winter production is about 60% of what I get in summer.So keep in mind winter production will be less than summer production (how much depends on the angle the panels are installed at)
You are excluding geyser/cooking from your daily usage ?
Also if you going off grid, make sure your battery is large enough to handle couple of no sun days or make sure you have a generator
Click to expand...

what system do you have and the cost ?

what output does the system produce ?

also is yours excluding the geyser and stove ?

good point about the off the grid however i will still keep the eskom cable for back up ..dont know if thats possible
 
90k seems suspiciously cheap.. typically you'd pay around 120k+ for 5kW inverter panels batteries installed..

Just do your homework on this company and research on the inverter quality etc..
 
WAslayer said:
90k seems suspiciously cheap.. typically you'd pay around 120k+ for 5kW inverter panels batteries installed..

Just do your homework on this company and research on the inverter quality etc..
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Yeah. I paid around 85K for my system. Seems a bit cheap

5kw
6 x 455W panels
5kw battery
Installation
 
For starters, I wouldn't trust anything I see in a facebook ad. That aside this forum (your post has been moved) has a lot of information. I suggest reading all the posts dealing with solar, panels, inverters, batteries, off-grid, etc. Then use the knowledge to shop for the right solution. This thread is a good place to start.

Edit: His two updates is worth a read too.
 
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I.am.Sam said:
what system do you have and the cost ?

what output does the system produce ?

also is yours excluding the geyser and stove ?

good point about the off the grid however i will still keep the eskom cable for back up ..dont know if thats possible
Click to expand...
  • 3kVA Victron Multiplus II GX
  • 150/45 Victron Bluesolar MPPT
  • 150/70 Victron SmartSolar MPPT
  • 2 x Pylontech US3000B, 1 x Pylontech US3000C
  • 6x355w Canadian Solar PV array
  • 6x450w Peimar PV array

    Cost me about +-R200 000. From around 1 Oct it produces at least 20kwh/day (could do more, but I have nothing to use the excess power on). June-Aug I usually struggle to get at least 15Kwh/day.
    Been in a bit more than a year now. Used to use 600+ units a month, this is now down to about +-70 per month in summer (depends on no of rainy days) and +-150 in June/July/Aug (depends heavily on how cold it is) --My last Tswane electricity bill was only R300 but that includes the connnection charge etc
    2 of us. Includes both cooking + geyser.
    Batteries goes down to +-40% daily.
 
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