FAQ

A PV system can significantly reduce or even eliminate your electricity bill, especially if it is sized to meet your energy needs. System size, sunlight availability and your usage patterns all influence how far the bill falls.

The payback period varies with system cost, energy savings, incentives and financing terms. In many cases the investment is recovered within 5 to 10 years, with continued savings over the system’s 25-year lifespan.

Yes. Upfront costs include the panels, inverter, mounting hardware, installation labour, permits and any battery storage. Financing options such as solar loans can spread those costs out.

PV systems generally have low ongoing maintenance costs. Routine maintenance means the occasional cleaning of panels to remove dirt and debris, and inspections to check the components are working properly. Warranties cover most component failures.

PV solar systems work through the photovoltaic effect, where sunlight interacts with the semiconductor material in solar panels, generating an electric current. This direct current (DC) is then converted into usable alternating current (AC) electricity by an inverter for powering homes, businesses, or feeding into the grid.

The main components of a PV solar system include solar panels (composed of PV cells), mounting structures, inverters (to convert DC to AC), wiring, and sometimes battery storage systems for energy storage.

• The battery storage options are mostly dependent on your budget.
• We would advise everyone to invest in lithium-ion batteries as they offer great warranties and excellent performance. Unfortunately, lithium-ion batteries are expensive.
• There is no one-size-fits-all battery. Every system or solar setup requires a specific battery storage solution meeting your needs and your budget.
• You can choose a battery depending on how much work you are willing to do for battery maintenance versus the cost of the battery you want to install.

Some advantages of PV solar systems include renewable energy generation, reduced electricity bills, low maintenance requirements, long lifespan (typically 25 years or more), and environmental benefits such as reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

PV solar systems can last for 25 years or more with proper maintenance. Solar panels typically come with warranties ranging from 20 to 25 years, but they can continue to generate electricity beyond the warranty period.

Challenges of PV solar systems include high upfront costs, intermittency (dependence on sunlight availability), energy storage limitations (for off-grid systems), land use requirements, and potential aesthetic concerns.

PV solar systems can still generate electricity during cloudy days, although at reduced efficiency compared to sunny days. Modern solar panels are designed to capture diffused sunlight, allowing for some electricity generation even under overcast conditions.

PV solar systems are suitable for most locations with sufficient sunlight exposure. However, factors such as shading, orientation, tilt, and local regulations may affect the feasibility and efficiency of solar installations.

Yes, PV solar systems are environmentally friendly as they produce electricity without emitting greenhouse gases or pollutants. They contribute to reducing reliance on fossil fuels and mitigating climate change.

We offer backup battery kits, off-grid solar kits, grid-tied solar kits and hybrid solar kits.

It depends on what you need: to be independent of the utility grid, to save money by reducing what you draw from it, or the best of both worlds. Grid-tied systems that feed electricity back into the grid are not available in every region of South Africa.

If you are not sure, use our system designer and it will size one from your bill.

Yes. We provide solar installations throughout Gauteng, using our own solar installer contractors who carry out our residential installations.

It depends which of the two you are buying, and they are genuinely different things.

A package is a built job. The price on the page is the whole thing — equipment, protection, mounting, cable, earthing, labour, the Certificate of Compliance and VAT — with delivery and installation included for projects in Gauteng.

Components bought on their own are supplied without installation, whatever the quantity. Three inverters and ten batteries is still a component sale rather than a package. We can arrange the installation through our own installer contractors where you want it, and we quote that separately.

Yes. Stock moves quickly, so we ask every customer to confirm availability with us before payment. You will see that reminder at checkout, and your order is held as "awaiting stock confirmation" until we have checked it and come back to you.

A kilowatt-hour (kWh) represents the amount of energy consumed or produced by a device with a power rating of one kilowatt (kW) operating for one hour. It is the standard unit used by utility companies to measure electricity usage on your bill, and is also used to quantify the output of electricity-generating systems like solar panels.

In easier terms: a utility unit, as shown on your bill, is equal to 1 kW or 1000 W of electricity used.

If you power a 100 W light bulb for one hour, you are using 100 watt-hours. Power the same bulb for 10 hours and you are at 1000 watt-hours, or 1 kWh.

A hairdryer running at 1000 W for one hour consumes 1 kWh. All electrical appliances have different ratings and consume a different number of watts every hour. Wattage multiplied by the number of hours gives you the kWh.

Off-grid

Operating totally off the grid requires a large battery array capable of powering the property through periods of low sunlight in winter, and an inverter capable of supplying the maximum load ever required at one time. This means a significant investment in panels, inverters and especially batteries, which cannot normally be justified where a good grid connection is available. Off-grid suits rural areas with little or no grid connection.

Grid-tied

A pure grid-tied system with no storage is viable in South Africa, but it needs to be sized carefully to minimise wasted generation, as typically no surplus power can be exported. In practice the system is sized to cover the base load during the day: the fridge, freezer, pool pump and other permanently-on devices. The low investment cost of a small system with a high self-consumption rate makes this attractive, especially for households with someone at home during the day.

Grid-backup / hybrid

Where load shedding is a concern, adding a battery inverter or a hybrid inverter along with a battery makes it possible to combine energy from the PV array with stored energy to power at least the essential loads. The battery size depends on the essential loads and how long they need to run. Load shedding typically falls in the evening peak, when there is little or no solar power available to supplement the battery.

Performance is influenced by sunlight availability, the orientation and tilt of the array, shading, temperature, system size and efficiency, and proper maintenance.

Net metering is a billing arrangement that lets owners of solar systems receive credit for electricity they generate and export to the grid. It allows consumers to "bank" excess electricity and use it to offset future consumption.

1. Installation: a renewable energy system is installed on the property.
2. Generation: the system generates electricity used on site.
3. Export: any excess is exported to the utility grid.
4. Metering: a bidirectional meter records both imported and exported electricity over the billing period.
5. Credit: the utility credits the consumer for the exported electricity.
6. Offset: those credits offset the electricity bill in later periods.

Availability varies by municipality in South Africa, so check with your local supplier before counting on it.

The battery is one of the most important decisions in a backup or hybrid system. The two common types are lead acid and lithium-ion.

Always compare on cost per usable kWh over the life of the system rather than on the sticker price. A battery that is too small provides little benefit; one that is too large is money that never pays back, and may not fully recharge on a short winter day.

"Photovoltaic" is a marriage of two words: "photo", meaning light, and "voltaic", meaning electricity. Photovoltaic (PV) panels form part of a complete solar system to generate energy from sunlight.

At the heart of this technology is a semi-conductor material which can be adapted to release electrons. The most common semi-conductor material used in photovoltaic cells is silicon, an element most commonly found in sand. Silicon is the second most abundant material on Earth.

Solar panels are made up of a series of cells. All these cells have two layers of semi-conductors: one positively charged and one negatively charged. When light shines on the semi-conductor, the electric field between these two layers causes electricity to flow, generating direct current.

The greater the intensity of the light, the greater the flow of electricity. A PV system does not need bright sunlight in order to operate; it can also generate electricity on cloudy days. Due to the reflection of sunlight, days with slight cloud can even result in higher energy yields than days with a completely cloudless sky.

With South Africa’s long sunny days, PV technology is the perfect way to generate power from such an available and renewable source.

Start with the loads that genuinely have to keep running, and how long they need to run for. It is not usually practical to back up everything: an oven, geyser and pool pump all draw heavily and would need a very large battery.

Then divide by 24 and multiply by the hours of backup you want, and divide by the battery’s allowed depth of discharge. For example 6220 Wh / 24 × 12 hours / 90% is roughly a 3.5 kWh battery.

Also check the battery can be fully recharged by your array on a typical winter day. A battery that is large relative to the PV system never fills, so it is never fully available when the grid goes down.

The amount you save depends on your electricity usage, your tariff, the size and efficiency of your system, and how much of your generation you actually use. Most households save a substantial amount over the lifetime of the system.

South Africa has had several incentives aimed at encouraging renewable energy. These have included allowances for businesses investing in renewable energy projects, accelerated depreciation on qualifying assets, and the Section 12B allowance under the Income Tax Act.

Incentives change, and the rules differ for individuals and businesses. Please confirm what currently applies to you with SARS or your accountant before counting on any of it. We are solar installers, not tax advisers.

Research suggests a solar installation can increase a home’s value, as buyers are often willing to pay more for the long-term energy savings. The exact effect varies with local market conditions and the size and quality of the system.

Use our system designer: enter the units on your bill and how many days it covers, or your monthly spend and tariff rate, and it will size a system and show you the packages we can build from current stock. From there we can put real numbers to it.

A PV solar system, also known as a photovoltaic system, converts sunlight into electricity using solar panels made of semiconductor materials.