Solar Power Systems

[isie]

@Sinbad Providing energy to the grid is exactly what Im doing. Please do not accuse me of theft.

I would have asumed the same thing as Sinbad - not acusing you, but we werent aware eskom allows this.
So did you have to fill out some paperwork to do this?

 

[etwylite]

@Arthur I have 4 x 210 AH AGMs which i finally chose because of maintenance free sealed tech. The tech guys at First national battery are really helpful and I would consider their Msolar range as best 2V units especially as they are locally manufactured and supported.

I have 20 x 240w tenesol panels with a SMA sunny boy 5kw bi-directional inverter

Obviously first prize would be to get rid of the prepaid meter and get a ol fashioned mech meter.

@Sinbad..no worries just detest illegality and dont subscribe to it.
In your instance of hot water draw a heat pump would prove a better option than solar geyser. Glad to see youve reduced your consumption so much. Big up!!

@isie there is no pertinent legislation in this regard. Currently as long as you dont run into a credit situation where you would be owed as they can not account for this, it is deemed acceptable. There is paperwork to be done, about 40 pages as i recall.

 

[lucifir]

@etwylite - very interested in doing similar, but did not think we could feed back into the grid ... did you have to get a special meter?? also, is it maybe only available from your municipality?? can you tell us which municipality allowed this, and maybe what we would tell our municipalities to do, to allow the same??

 

[spiderz]

And those batteries only last 5 years if your lucky, but getting anything more than 3 years is good going.

If you run a Lead-acid battery no lower than 80% they last a lot longer.

 

[Sinbad]

r.

@Sinbad..no worries just detest illegality and dont subscribe to it.
In your instance of hot water draw a heat pump would prove a better option than solar geyser. Glad to see youve reduced your consumption so much. Big up!!

No worries
Ideal would be a solar geyser with a heatpump element instead of a resistive element... but that would be $$$

 

[Sinbad]

If you run a Lead-acid battery no lower than 80% they last a lot longer.

Problem is, by definition you need to deep cycle them in this application. You need to run all night, where there is no charging happening ...

 

[etwylite]

@etwylite - very interested in doing similar, but did not think we could feed back into the grid ... did you have to get a special meter?? also, is it maybe only available from your municipality?? can you tell us which municipality allowed this, and maybe what we would tell our municipalities to do, to allow the same??

You actually need the standard old mechanical inductive meter for this to work. Reversing the current flow reverses the meter direction its that simple. I am in the North of Joburg and get my electricity directly from Eskom, so unfortunately I can not comment on any municipalities, although I can not see why it should be any different as a municipality is merely a reseller. Actually where you purchase from a municipality the payback should be quicker because of the higher municipal pricing.

Remember all the electrical work beyond the meter is for your account and responsibility anyway. They would still go about reading the meter per normal, the only diff would be a reduced account.

The paperwork was so that eskom would know the feed in amount for load balancing purposes more so than authorisation.

 

[etwylite]

@Sinbad - True there. I have a 300l solar geyser set to 70 degrees C feeding into a 150l geyser with airsource heatpump.

As an aside i also feed my washing machine and dishwasher off the hot water circuit

By my calcs my hotwater saving vs electrical resistance geyser is between 88 and 92%

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

I would have asumed the same thing as Sinbad - not acusing you, but we werent aware eskom allows this.
So did you have to fill out some paperwork to do this?

Eskom still does not allow this, its called Net Metering.

Here is a nice local blog on the topic and why it should be allowed: http://netmetering.co.za/wp/2012/03/03/net-metering-buzz-words-2012-03-03/

 

[Sinbad]

Eskom still does not allow this, its called Net Metering.

Here is a nice local blog on the topic and why it should be allowed: http://netmetering.co.za/wp/2012/03/03/net-metering-buzz-words-2012-03-03/

Net Metering South Afria are working towards a small scale Grid Tie installation price is R24 per watt including VAT, so the system price is R192,000.

yeah. R192k. Return on investment in what, 20 years or so?

 

[etwylite]

Eskom still does not allow this, its called Net Metering.

Here is a nice local blog on the topic and why it should be allowed: http://netmetering.co.za/wp/2012/03/03/net-metering-buzz-words-2012-03-03/

Eskom does not have the policy or systems to allow for net metering where buy back and a refit tariff is involved. Hence my first statement that you should never run into a credit situation.

As for grid tie it is allowed. BP head office in Cape Town has a 60+kW system and has been grid tied since 2004.
http://www.powersolutions.co.za/docs/BP-Project-sheet2011.pdf

Vodacom have done the same at their Cape office
http://www.iol.co.za/business/busin...o-cut-carbon-footprint-1.1307437#.T9Xe45grZF8

 

[Pietleeu]

The Big Problem is that it is still not yet economically viable with the cost just being too high.... I reckon 5 years from now when electricity is like R5 per kwh, and the pv technology has improved, it might be easier to considder...

You best start small now and invest in a solar geyser or heat pump.

We installed a 300 lt Solar Geyser (it seems big I know but they explained that we actually use around 70 lt pp pd, becuase we dont have a shower and all 5 of us just bath) just over a year ago and slashed our electricity with about 30-50 percent(depending on the time of the year)... It took a little getting used to , but i dont even notice it anymore!

We used 4 Seasons Solar ( http://www.4seasonssolar.co.za ) . Which is my friends company, but I did some research beforehand and really did find them to offer the best product and service!

 

[Vishnug]

I have gone solar

Now I have 2 X 200L solar geysers.
A solar voltaic system 4KW produces approx 25 - 30 KW/h a day

My bill for electricity reduced from R2300 to (R300 -R350) per month

The grid tied system costs R42 000 with installation budget approx R47 000

The best company for service and support and pricing is Solarsec contact them sales@solarsec.co.za

System Kyoto 4000W
10 X 235Wp solar panels

Loan taken from bond R100 000 pay back R1000 per month.

Saving per month approx R2000 - R1000(loan) =R1000

ROI = 24% the best investment possible.

 

[dotnerd]

How about just having a battery-less setup for your pool, eg. The pump only runs when the sun shines, but then it can run for free technically, as long as there is sun.

I just bought a nice sized house and considered going full solar, but to build a solution that simply replaces what equipment and household items you currently use is not the best way to go about this. Replacing fridges, kettles, aircons, tv,s etc to far more energy efficient ones will significantly drop the requirement for battery/solar array but it will cost just too much..

I have decided to just do the pool pump and get about 1kw of solar panels to feed my current UPS/Battery backup. This will atleast power all the LED lights and keep my Marine tank running in times of trouble.

Let us just not add up all the costs here...

 

[wetkit]

@Vishnug, I would love to know in which area you are located and what type of electrical meter you have?

I have asked around at our local municipality, but they still do not have approval for the NET meters required for this type of solar system.
I would LOVE to put that Kyoto 4000W into my house.

 

[maumau]

Any good installers in joburg? Solarsec recommended above are in secunda.

 

[Lukcydog]

Any good installers in joburg? Solarsec recommended above are in secunda.

Hi Maumau

Solareff are based in Johannesburg. I personally know the directors of the company and believe they do a good job although i can't afford a off-grid system myself.

info@solareff.co.za or check their website www.solareff.co.za

LD

 

[F1 Fan]

Eskom does not have the policy or systems to allow for net metering where buy back and a refit tariff is involved. Hence my first statement that you should never run into a credit situation.

As for grid tie it is allowed. BP head office in Cape Town has a 60+kW system and has been grid tied since 2004.
http://www.powersolutions.co.za/docs/BP-Project-sheet2011.pdf

Vodacom have done the same at their Cape office
http://www.iol.co.za/business/busin...o-cut-carbon-footprint-1.1307437#.T9Xe45grZF8

Do you have a breakdown of what the system costs?

 

[maumau]

Hi Maumau

Solareff are based in Johannesburg. I personally know the directors of the company and believe they do a good job although i can't afford a off-grid system myself.

info@solareff.co.za or check their website www.solareff.co.za

LD

Thanks i'll give them a call.