Solar is best when trying to mitigate rolling blackouts
Solar comes with a hefty cost, but in the long run is a better option for those who can afford it.
With no end in sight for the current Eskom crisis, we asked a local solar power expert for advice for those thinking about alternative electricity systems.
Hugo Erasmus who lives in the Northcliff area works for Thusano, a company that installs small household solar power solutions all the way up to massive systems for businesses and farmers.
The Northcliff Melville Times had a conversation with him to help demystify this topic.
For an average home, why choose solar power rather than an inverter battery?
Inverters, which mostly look like small black boxes contain gel batteries (1.2 or 2.4 KVA) that only have 400 cycles. A cycle is when the power goes out or load-shedding is happening, and the battery is powering whatever you are running off the device. With such a limited cycle life, in high-demand times like we are currently experiencing, an inverter’s shelf life is extremely limited.
We speak to people who have spent thousands on inverters that ultimately fail as they are in use so often.
In the long term, solar, even though it can be costly with the initial layout, is a far better option and contains solar panels, a hybrid inverter, and lithium phosphate batteries.
Homes and small offices are easy to quote on as they will generally never need a system larger than a 5, 10, or 15KW solution.
Will having a solar system mean that the user is completely off-grid and no longer reliant on Eskom?
There are completely off-grid solutions where no power is drawn from Eskom but we prefer to install a hybrid system. This means electricity is created from the sun but in periods as we have just experienced a lot of rain and bad weather, power can be drawn as needed from the city.
There are off-grid and on-grid solutions, but we do a hybrid solution because there are going to be times like we recently had with consecutive days of bad weather and low sunshine.
If someone wanted to power their home or office, what are we talking about in terms of cost?
5KW solution is the smallest size we offer which comes in at R145 000 and can be paid for in cash or via a rental option.
What is one piece of advice you would offer someone who is thinking about installing a solar system?
There are so many unscrupulous companies and technicians out there at the moment who are taking advantage of the Eskom crisis. If someone is unsure about what they are being sold, they must keep asking questions until they feel they fully understand the system they are being sold.
Households are incurring massive costs for systems that are often larger than they need and are not fully compliant. It can be a complex discussion when learning about lithium ions, tiers, panels, and so on, but a reputable installer will be able to guide anyone through this discussion in lay terms, so the client understands.
Hundreds of companies that are fly-by-nights that might install faulty, incorrect, or non-compliant systems have been registered in the past few months.
There are generally different options available. Systems can be paid for in cash or many companies have rent-to-own plans where over 60 months for example you will make payments before you fully own the hardware. There are also PPA plans or power purchase agreements. These are for large installations like shopping centres or for farmers. This option allows us to fully install, maintain and supply electricity to the client at rates far below costs if drawing power from. For example, did you know that farmers buy electricity from Eskom for a whopping R5.60 per KW, we would sell it at R1.40 which is a massive saving.
What are some tips people should keep in mind?
-> Make sure your installer has been in business for at least 5 to ten years and has the requisite experience.
-> Check for online reviews of the company that is quoting you.
-> Ensure you choose a company that has traceable trade references
-> Before purchasing the hardware, ask to see the system being sold to you in an existing home or business.
-> Check what warranties and maintenance plans are in place.
-> If the quotation you receive is far below competitors in price, check it is an authentic quote. As they say, if it seems too good to be true, there is usually a catch somewhere.
-> If you have any hesitation or feel you are being bullied into a purchase walk away.
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