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Solar panels on a whole house
- Thread starter Salmank
- Start date
You need to calculate your usage first to determine the best size for your system.
Get an energy monitoring tool to track your usage over a few weeks. I have an efergy home electricity monitor that's tracks my current usage and peak kw.
I use about 900kwh per month with peak power of 12kw.
I would also first look at getting an evacuated tube solar panel for your geysers.
Get an energy monitoring tool to track your usage over a few weeks. I have an efergy home electricity monitor that's tracks my current usage and peak kw.
I use about 900kwh per month with peak power of 12kw.
I would also first look at getting an evacuated tube solar panel for your geysers.
This might give you some sort of idea of likely savings. We had 5 years municipal records prior to our solar geyser installation in Dec 2009, and have kept track since then. Apart from visits from family (probably 3-4 weeks annually) and friends, and our trips (probably 3-5 weeks annually) our 2 person household has remained constant.
start by getting a solar geyser installed - no need for electricity to heat water so you can take that out the equation
next look at gas stove / gas heater / gas booster geyser - again take electricity out of the equation
look at LED lights - this will reduce your electricity cost even further
get energy efficient appliances - this will reduce your electricity cost even further
once you have reduced your electricity consumption - then do an energy audit to determine what size panels you will need.
the pool pump will be a problem - but there is a gadget that can run your existing 220vac pump direct from solar but it is expensive at R25k - panels excluded! see attached pdf
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kWh used per day i.e. the "units" that come on a municipal bill, or get bought for a pre-paid meter, averaged according to the number of days in the month. As in the heading on the table. This is actual usage, not the units we bought.
We have a pool, but we've had a cover for all the years referred to in the table, so we have to filter less as the water stays cleaner. And most of the time it's just the 2 of us using it.
We have a pool, but we've had a cover for all the years referred to in the table, so we have to filter less as the water stays cleaner. And most of the time it's just the 2 of us using it.
We got a flyer in our letterbox yesterday that states that "more than 1/3 of your electricity bill is spent on heating water". That at least is a halfway-realistic comment. I get annoyed by companies that make bald statements that you WILL save 3/4 of your electricity bill. It might of course be true in some cases.
No gas. We have a wood-burning stove in the lounge, as well as a fairly well-insulated house. We are in Cape Town, so don't have the extreme temps of the inland cities. No aircon. We have electric blankets in the beds, so don't use electric heaters. Yes, your comment re the costs of solar vs our usage is valid. We had recently put in a new copper-lined geyser (which we still have), so it was the costs of the panel plus some plumbing and fitting. I'd need to analyse what we would have got had we invested that money, relative to what we have saved. But we took the conscious decision to do it for ecological reasons, not primarily to save money.
Yeah I’m also in Cape Town and lean to 28 units average per day.
Wall panel heaters in three bedrooms and brief firing of air con in the lounge.
Summer we are at about 18 a day.
I am however inclined to also retro fit the geyser and down the line put a Powerwall 2 and solar panels in just to stick it to Eskom and also to use especially air cons more liberally in summer.
Wall panel heaters in three bedrooms and brief firing of air con in the lounge.
Summer we are at about 18 a day.
I am however inclined to also retro fit the geyser and down the line put a Powerwall 2 and solar panels in just to stick it to Eskom and also to use especially air cons more liberally in summer.
I guess you were thinking along the lines of solar electricity powering the geyser? That doesn’t apply because the tech used for the geyser heats the water directly and so no power is used and therefore the reduction in usage.
But yes your logic is same as mine for wanting a Powerwall and solar so I can actually use more power and run my aircons all day etc.
Right now because I pay for every bit I tend to only use them very frugally when absolutely cooking.
But yes your logic is same as mine for wanting a Powerwall and solar so I can actually use more power and run my aircons all day etc.
Right now because I pay for every bit I tend to only use them very frugally when absolutely cooking.
