Warning for "plug-and-play" balcony solar system users

[Daniel Puchert]

Warning for these solar power users in South Africa

South African homes that want to save money with solar power but are hesitant due to high installation fees should be aware that so-called "plug-and-play" balcony solar systems still require registration.

In addition, using one of these systems in a house without a bidirectional meter could result in self-generated energy being detected as consumed energy, increasing your electricity bill.

 

[Kosmik]

Serious question, surely plugging it into a wall socket is the same as back feeding a generator and illegal?

 

[1am7h30n3]

Serious question, surely plugging it into a wall socket is the same as back feeding a generator and illegal?

But the generator wouldn't synchronize it's output to the electricity in the wall socket, so if the power returned while you're back feeding with a generator it would cause problems whereas with a microinverter that's synchronized it would work correctly and safely I think? (But yes I'm also not sure of the legality?)

 

[deweyzeph]

These balcony system do not work if the grid connection goes down which makes them completely unsuitable for South African purposes. As the article states, their primary purpose is to supplement the grid to save you money, they are not designed to be a backup solution for when there is loadshedding or any other kind of electricity failure.

 

[Sworaxe]

Yeah, I see these systems being mentioned more and more, especially in complexes with renters.

How long till someone says, "I can make something similar for cheaper" or "I know a guy that can do it for cheaper" and then proceeds to burn down their house / apartment / complex.

 

[Hanno Labuschagne]

Serious question, surely plugging it into a wall socket is the same as back feeding a generator and illegal?

The diffference is these systems have anti-islanding. They shut down solar power when there is no grid power. However, they are still grid-tied which means they can feed electricity into the grid at other times, so seem to meet Eskom's definition of a "grid-tied" system requiring registration.

 

[deweyzeph]

The diffference is these systems have anti-islanding. They shut down solar power when there is no grid power. However, they are still grid-tied which means they can feed electricity into the grid at other times, so seem to meet Eskom's definition of a "grid-tied" system requiring registration.

Which is exactly why they are not suitable as backup power systems.

 

[Kosmik]

But the generator wouldn't synchronize it's output to the electricity in the wall socket, so if the power returned while you're back feeding with a generator it would cause problems whereas with a microinverter that's synchronized it would work correctly and safely I think? (But yes I'm also not sure of the legality?)

Regardless of synchronization, a person would be back feeding on a normal plug circuit, that's rated at best 15A, that equates to around 3kw of load. If there was a dedicated point and circuit sure but this sounds like backfeeding which can be very very dangerous.

Depending on a generators output voltage, it would override a incoming grid voltage if plugged in, although again, one should not connect it as a back feed to a plug socket but rather a dedicated socket with sensing crossover.

TBH the whole meter story is inconsequential safety wise.

 

[Kosmik]

The diffference is these systems have anti-islanding. They shut down solar power when there is no grid power. However, they are still grid-tied which means they can feed electricity into the grid at other times, so seem to meet Eskom's definition of a "grid-tied" system requiring registration.

Solar and battery? So if no grid power then no battery either? Also to be honest it says some of them. I can guarantee, if someone can afford the cost of these portable systems, they will splurge a bit more for the battery backup etc and assume the same plugin in wall.

 

[Smiggles]

Yes if you use a magnifying glass to start a fire you'll need to register it as well.

 

[spiff]

asscum so racist - it only looks after "paying" customers health & safety.
if you don't pay or steal lectric - tuff sh_it - you can die! asscum don't care about you

 

[LazyLion]

What I want to know is who is contantly pushing this "news story" into the national narrative. Somebody feeds this story several times a month via several news outlets into the national feed. It's almost like somebody wants to keep this as a talking point, and don't tell me "it's only Eskom"...

 

[Terence1983]

So am i correct in saying, my system consists of an 50ah lithium inverter trolley and a 450w panel, the inverter is plugged in for eskom power, during the day its charged by panel and at night by eskom, it does not feed power into my house via the plug point to the grid.

Do i need to register this? What happens if i unplug and switch the inverter off and only use it during the day if we have load shedding, this registration nonsense is starting to get complicated.

 

[G.A.S]

This automatically turns off solar generation when the grid goes down, an important safety feature that Eskom deems essential for protecting its crews working on infrastructure during outages.

Kinda beats the point for loadshedding (I think it is possible to plug something directly into the inverter, though)

 

[Benedict A55h0le not]

What I want to know is who is contantly pushing this "news story" into the national narrative. Somebody feeds this story several times a month via several news outlets into the national feed. It's almost like somebody wants to keep this as a talking point, and don't tell me "it's only Eskom"...

They are bombarding the public with anti private solar news because they are trying to discourage not relying on Eskom. Who is going to pay for the freeloaders and the cadre trough if paying customers are moving to private solar? South Africa is a socialist cuntry, this is why the GNU-GNU is pushing the narratives of "must register". Because private solar is not socialist, and the use of the sun must be taxed.

 

[Cumulus]

So am i correct in saying, my system consists of an 50ah lithium inverter trolley and a 450w panel, the inverter is plugged in for eskom power, during the day its charged by panel and at night by eskom, it does not feed power into my house via the plug point to the grid.

Do i need to register this? What happens if i unplug and switch the inverter off and only use it during the day if we have load shedding, this registration nonsense is starting to get complicated.

I watched a YouTube presentation by Afriforum about this topic. The conclusion was that there is no need to register SSEG systems. This was yesterday, 15 July 2025. I don't know how to put a link to the presentation but it should be easy to locate.

 

[deweyzeph]

The safest way to connect a trolley system to the house is to use an automatic transfer switch sitting in front of the mains switch on your DB board with 2 inputs (the grid and your trolley system) and 1 output (to your DB board). This safely switches from grid to your trolley system with no risk whatsoever of feeding back into the grid. Make sure it's a 4 pole ATS so that you can bridge neutral and earth and ensure your earth leakage still works correctly.

 

[Unhappy1]

asscum so racist - it only looks after "paying" customers health & safety.
if you don't pay or steal lectric - tuff sh_it - you can die! asscum don't care about you

View attachment 1834843View attachment 1834844View attachment 1834845

 

[Kosmik]

I watched a YouTube presentation by Afriforum about this topic. The conclusion was that there is no need to register SSEG systems. This was yesterday, 15 July 2025. I don't know how to put a link to the presentation but it should be easy to locate.

If it is NOT feeding into the wall socket and is used off itself, then yes. But as soon as it touches a feed into your db and has the possibility of going external, its a danger.

Someone once explained it to me as think of it like water pressure. The self generating devices output at a higher voltage than the grid when talking to a connected system. So that means your local devices will consume the "higher voltage" feed first and there is normally a sensor on the mains to detect both draw and voltage so it knows how to adjust.

So if you are running like a trolley inverter/backup system that has a wall plug BUT the outputs are via its own dedicated points, you are fine. As all its doing is sensing the incoming grid voltage via the socket or charging the inverter and its batteries if needed. But when outputting, its on dedicated ports.

Now if you were to take what is colloquial known as a suicide cord and connected the outputs to the wall plug to back feed , that's a issue. Or if you connected it to a dedicated input socket to power your lights etc. Same as with a generator, if you run directly OFF it , its not grid tied but if you output to a location with grid connection ie: a db board with a mains, you have the possibility.

By anti-islanding, they are meaning isolation, ie that system cannot operate without a grid connection. But if you buy one of the backup ones with batteries etc meant for loadshedding and backfeed it, you are in trouble. However the regulation here is that if you are buying a system that requires grid connection ( grid-tied ) then it should be registered which is what Eskom and co are trying to say because it needs to comply with the safety and sensing standards to protect not just your home but others around you and external.

 

[deweyzeph]

Not sure they're being sold as backup.

They're not, but you'd be surprised how many people think they are. Ecoflow's balcony system, for example, you've got to dig pretty deep through the marketing blurb before you can fully understand exactly what a system like this is and how it works. It's not immediately obvious that it actually is of no use for a backup power situation.