Home Solar Power Solutions You Can Count On
Renewable energy technologies are stepping up to the spotlight and putting solar power solutions within reach for the residential home and office.
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With both environmental and financial benefits for the whole family, solar technologies help you to save on your monthly electricity bill, supporting you to meet and manage your current energy needs and providing you with energy security for the future.
With today’s new and improved solar energy systems available, there is a solution for everyone whether you want to power a few lightbulbs to keep the lights on during night-time loadshedding or if you want to power your entire home on solar energy with power storage backup.
With electricity prices on the rise, solar energy solutions provide lasting savings on the cost of energy going forward and deliver a return on your initial upfront solar investment; all the while adding value to your home or property for the future.
Understanding the many possibilities of solar solutions on the market can be confusing and time consuming to figure it out yourself and considering the costs you will have to outlay; it is not something you want to get wrong.
This is why KES Electrical and Solar – your local solar specialists – is here to help you find the quickest and most affordable solution for your unique power needs with an easy to understand overview of solar solutions available to you right here in the valley and the greater Cape Town area.
The 3 Main Types of Solar Systems are:
On Grid Solar System: Recommended for homes and businesses, this solar system helps you stay connected by supplementing your daytime grid usage with solar power. You still pay Eskom for the electricity you use but you have the advantage of backup power whenever you need it and can feed electricity into the grid for a financial benefit. It’s the most affordable solution on the market as it only uses solar panels and an inverter (no battery required) to produce the power you need during the day.
Solar Solution Estimate: This solution will cost you between R55 000 and R60 000 to set up and will see you using less grid electricity, helping you save on your electricity bill. With an expected average increase from Eskom of 30.5% year on year you have a solution that provides you with backup power system return on investment (ROI) that saves you money in the long-term.
Off Grid Solar System: Location is an important factor when it comes to solar and the off grid solar solution is for when you need your own power source because using the grid is not possible or when it is too costly to connect to the main grid. Here, the solar panels help to charge a battery bank used to power your appliances and lights as well as storing power to run everything in your home until the batteries can be recharged by solar power alone. The average off-grid home solar system requires about 7 Kw (or 7000 Watts) of power to generate and run entirely on its own off-grid energy production system.
Solar Solution Estimate: Generating twice as much power as you consume is a wide safety margin for your off-grid system. This off-grid energy production system requires approx. a 9-battery solution that needs 14 solar panels but can store up to 33kWh, which provides a safety net of having double your daily average supply and will cost you around R250 000 to set up.
Hybrid Solar System: A hybrid solar system has the advantage of generating and storing electricity for most of the time, only drawing from the grid when needed. The hybrid system adds battery storage between the solar panels and your inverter and blends power from the grid, solar panels and battery so you have a seamless power supply. Reliable, quiet and safe to use, switchover’s are quick and your hybrid inverter saves you extra costs over the long term, while keeping you connected to the grid for any back up power as and when needed.
Solar Solution Estimate: You will need to install two batteries to have sufficient power stored to ensure against long periods of overcast weather and approximately 8 solar panels costing between R115,000 and R120,000.
The return on your solar energy system investment (ROI) is increased with added value, savings and convenience to your home and office over the long term and is a good investment in clean energy which protects the climate using the sun’s free and renewable energy.
Backup Systems for Power Failures of the Grid:
When the power is off and you need continuous power supply, a power inverter system with lithium iron phosphate battery enables you to continue working. Your inverter is fully automatic and permanently connected to your mains power keeping your inverter battery charged until the power fails and automatically switching over to the inverter to continue supplying power to your computer, television, security system etc. protecting them from damage and allowing you to continue to work. Your inverter can be remotely managed from your cell phone where you can monitor the battery capacity and system performance at any time. These systems can cover you in power outages anywhere from 2 to 24 hours.
These power backup systems are not to be confused with a UPS system which is designed to backup sensitive equipment such as computers, servers, medical equipment etc. A standard UPS system has a small internal battery set and only provides short backup times of around 10 minutes.
Most solar batteries are 10 kWh in size, which can power the basic operations of a house for approximately 24 hours.
Apart from solar panels, inverter and batteries, your solar system – corresponding to the current Safety Standards of South Africa – will also need the correct wiring and switches which enable you to connect switches that disconnect your AC power, DC power and battery so that should any maintenance or repair work be required, your electrician is kept safe. Your AC protection box should always have surge protectors in them to protect your system from electrical surges.
Residential Solar Questions to Ask Yourself:
- How much available sunlight and roof space do you have?
- Does your home face North?
- At what times do you consume the most power?
- Which appliances do you use the most?
- What is your average kWh consumption?
- Have you changed your globes and outdoor floodlights to LED and installed timers on your geysers and pool pump? These can help reduce your electricity bill by up to 50% and will give you the same savings whether you switch to solar power or not.
Ask an Expert before you Buy
With cutting edge products and prices popping up every day , it is important to ask an expert when investing in your solar power future. For example, the Fox 10.5 Hybrid Inverter is a new class of inverter with an all-new Single Phase 10.5kW Hybrid Inverter full of advanced features paired with the Fox Energy Cube range of high voltage battery storage to deliver you with a lego block style 4.03kWh stackable solar solution.
Your solar system must be installed by a qualified and registered electrician who can also ensure any product warranties and after sales support. Kommetjie Electrotech (KES) in partnership with KTT Solar Solution caters to customers who prefer to have a custom designed system, suited to their bespoke needs and budget.
Ask our solar specialist for a professional assessment of your residential or corporate needs
T: 079 531 2992 or let us quote you on
E: office@kommetjieelectrotech.co.za