Solar Advice - https://solar.co.za/

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Veroland

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Hi

Have anyone delt with Solar Advice - https://solar.co.za before and are able to give feedback on the service?

I see on HelloPeter it is mostly positive but some people have been struggling with after sales service.

Thanks
 
Service from Solar Advice is awesome. I did struggle a bit to get their JHB installer to return to install my CT, but that was mainly due to the current demand. I contacted the owner Neil and he sorted everything out...
 
Mike Hoxbig said:
Service from Solar Advice is awesome. I did struggle a bit to get their JHB installer to return to install my CT, but that was mainly due to the current demand. I contacted the owner Neil and he sorted everything out...
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply. With reference to the CT, does the inverter not give you the usage?
 
Veroland said:
Thanks for the reply. With reference to the CT, does the inverter not give you the usage?
Click to expand...
Inverter will work without the CT coil but not all installers know how / why its needed. Its there to stop / manage the inverter back feed wither to the grid or to non-essentials
 
Veroland said:
Thanks for the reply. With reference to the CT, does the inverter not give you the usage?
Click to expand...
Nah doesn't have anything to do with usage. Like @Mzezman explained it's to prevent backfeeding into the grid. It also allows you to feed excess power to your non-essentials. This is for Sunsynk/Deye inverters.

The issue for me was they were not able to install it the first time because my inverter was more than 20m from the DB. They had to come back to make it work...
 
Veroland said:
Hi

Have anyone delt with Solar Advice - https://solar.co.za before and are able to give feedback on the service?

I see on HelloPeter it is mostly positive but some people have been struggling with after sales service.

Thanks
Click to expand...
I had a good experience with them, but their backlog for the Inverter/Solar installation is now crazy (waited 62 days). But for everything else, about a week's wait time (solar geyser conversion kit).
They do require that you pay 100% before booking and installation date. If you decide SolarAdvice I dealt with Ayden Smith.
 
Mike Hoxbig said:
Nah doesn't have anything to do with usage. Like @Mzezman explained it's to prevent backfeeding into the grid. It also allows you to feed excess power to your non-essentials. This is for Sunsynk/Deye inverters.

The issue for me was they were not able to install it the first time because my inverter was more than 20m from the DB. They had to come back to make it work...
Click to expand...
Cool, thanks for the explanation
 
Toolkit said:
I had a good experience with them, but their backlog for the Inverter/Solar installation is now crazy (waited 62 days). But for everything else, about a week's wait time (solar geyser conversion kit).
They do require that you pay 100% before booking and installation date. If you decide SolarAdvice I dealt with Ayden Smith.
Click to expand...
Eek!!!! Do they have a 2 month waiting list?

My usage over the last 2 years is as follows:
1673947114903.png

How accurate is their calculator? This is what it spits out for me:
1673947395737.png

12 x panels
455W Mono Percium Solar Panel
901 kWh Monthly Production

1 x Deye 5kW Hybrid Inverter

1 x Dyness 5.12kWh Block

1673947534617.png


How do I interpret the results?
If I add 1 more panel it gets me to 105% self-powered figure. Will that getme just about off grid? Will the battery last overnight though? (assuming decent sunshine)
 
Last edited:
abudabi said:
Eek!!!! Do they have a 2 month waiting list?

My usage over the last 2 years is as follows:
View attachment 1458981

How accurate is their calculator? This is what it spits out for me:
View attachment 1458985

12 x panels
455W Mono Percium Solar Panel
901 kWh Monthly Production

1 x Deye 5kW Hybrid Inverter

1 x Dyness 5.12kWh Block

View attachment 1458991


How do I interpret the results?
If I add 1 more panel it gets me to 105% self-powered figure. Will that getme just about off grid? Will the battery last overnight though?
Click to expand...
1 battery is unlikely to take you through the night unless your evening baseload is like 150w - you'd need a 2nd. This system is decent and should give you some savings but most importantly you wont be affected by loadshedding. If you have some large draw appliances you may need to manage those on the 5kw inverter though
 
Mzezman said:
1 battery is unlikely to take you through the night unless your evening baseload is like 150w - you'd need a 2nd. This system is decent and should give you some savings but most importantly you wont be affected by loadshedding. If you have some large draw appliances you may need to manage those on the 5kw inverter though
Click to expand...

Understood. Swopping to the 8kw inverter and adding another battery is R170k and gives this.
1673949164273.png

Thanks for your insights.
 
abudabi said:
Understood. Swopping to the 8kw inverter and adding another battery is R170k and gives this.
View attachment 1458999

Thanks for your insights.
Click to expand...
If you can afford it then get the 8kw - less for you to worry about. But the basis of that is understanding your energy usage - do you go over 5kw often / for long etc.
 
Veroland said:
Is it possible to add another inverter later and run 2 at the same time?
Click to expand...
yes it is... the systems are really modular. You can add more inverters, batteries and panels. something to note is usually they must be the same type as is already installed but there are ways around this
 
Mzezman said:
yes it is... the systems are really modular. You can add more inverters, batteries and panels. something to note is usually they must be the same type as is already installed but there are ways around this
Click to expand...
chances are each modular addition would add significantly to the cost, isn't it ? Especially installation side ?

Also, I am looking for one stop shop as solaradvice seems to be sub-contracting and lot of Ts & Cs about exclusions but at least they are being upfront.

1673953687942.png
 
Last edited:
Lufuno_ said:
chances are each modular addition would add significantly to the cost, isn't it ? Especially installation side ?

Also, I am looking for one stop shop as solaradvice seems to be sub-contracting and lot of Ts & Cs about exclusions but at least they are being upfront.

View attachment 1459057
Click to expand...
Yes - any further installation would incur an installation cost
 
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