Solar questions

[Snyper564]

@Snyper564's noob thread...

i just thought the same, oh how far we have come

 

[itareanlnotani]

I lean towards oversizing your PV capacity as the cheaper option on this. As @Sinbad says, solar geysers are definitely more efficient, but I do believe upsizing PV is cheaper. Here's my thinking.

As you mentioned, retrofitting your geysers will cost R30k, so that is our target cost. To heat 300l of water you will need 15kwh daily. 15kwh with 7 hours of sun is 2.15kw of panels. From sustainable's home page, a 335W Canadian solar panel is R2228 meaning the required 7 panels are R15 596. This leaves R15k which you can use to add even more PV, upsize the inverter or simply save.

You also need inverter (assuming you aren't just going DC here and throwing a whack of current into the elements)

Winter isn't catered for either.

While I do love me some solar, I think a more balanced approach is needed here. I'd do both, funds permitting (solar pv + solar hot water).
Alternately, spend the initial funds on a heat exchanger (heat pump), then add solar.

 

[Snyper564]

You also need inverter (assuming you aren't just going DC here and throwing a whack of current into the elements)

Winter isn't catered for either.

While I do love me some solar, I think a more balanced approach is needed here. I'd do both, funds permitting (solar pv + solar hot water).
Alternately, spend the initial funds on a heat exchanger (heat pump), then add solar.

Snyper's Solar Farm

Hi all, I am finally getting round to making this thread. After loads of research and another bout of load shedding I finally decided to pull the trigger and load shed Eskom. Prior to going solar I already had all the lights on LEDs, house is kitted with energy efficient appliances and...

mybroadband.co.za

This is how it all played out.

I would have taken the 30k spent on the two evac geysers and put them straight into the system I got a year later... The 30k benefits the whole system not just "hot water"