This is how much it will cost to take your home off the grid - and avoid load shedding forever

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Eskom is now rationing electricity at stage 6. Experts have warned that South Africa will struggle with electricity provision for many more years given a myriad of problems at the utility, including shoddy maintenance.

For those too frustrated to deal with that kind of pain, off-grid home solutions won't come cheap – but they are no longer entirely beyond the reach of an upper-middle-class family either. Business Insider South Africa approached various renewable energy solutions companies to see how much it would cost to go off the grid. Prices vary depending on what your electricity usage is, but for a standard four-person family home you could expect to pay around R200,000 – without taking government rebates into account. 

According to Paul Lombard from energy solutions company Regenergy, a fundamental challenge to renewable energy has been the upfront costs. But these days, most companies offer monthly instalment plans to allow users to pay off the investment over anything up to 15 or even 25 years.

“Many customers feel that the pride and peace of mind of solar ‘pays for itself’ as soon as the system powers on, and they can remotely monitor and adjust their system on their smart phone app,” said Lombard.

These are the key components to move your house over to solar energy:

Solar panels

As a rough guide, a 1 kilowatt (kW) solar array takes up about 8m2 of space on your roof. This can produce about 3-5 kilowatts hours of energy (kWh) per day depending on the angle and direction the panels face. Solar panels are typically installed facing north in South Africa, in order to maximise exposure to the sun’s rays. 

You will need to replace today's panels every 25 to 40 years.

Battery storage View this post on Instagram
 
A post shared by Regenergy (@regenergy) on Mar 13, 2019 at 6:57am PDT

Key to going off the grid is a battery storage unit. Newer battery types have been able to push the limits to improve storage for longer periods as well as stand up to more recharges before running out of steam, two of the major problems with home installations to date.

“Lithium batteries need replacing every 8 to 10 years, especially in hotter parts of our country. Typical solar deep cycle batteries like lead, calcium or other AGM [absorbed glass mat] batteries only provide 1,500 to 2,500 recharges. These ‘old school’ batteries require replacing every 3 to 5 years,” said Lombard.
 
Inverter and/or charge controller
 
Batteries produce output power in direct current (DC) form, which can run at very low voltages but cannot be used to run most modern household appliances. Utility companies and generators produce sine wave alternating current (AC) power, which is used by most commonly available appliances today. Inverters take the DC power supplied by a storage battery bank and convert it to AC power. You can expect your inverter and/or charge controller to have 10 to 15 years of operation. 

Three companies give cost estimates, based on some typical home installations. 

The three companies that gave us broad-stroke proposals give some idea of the range you can expect to pay to take a home off the grid right now: between R150,000 and R350,000.

Here's what each of the three companies quoted.

Regenergy

2 person home using 15kWh/day - R152,000
4 person home using 25kWh/day -  R270,600
5 person home using +35kWh/day – R359, 790

SolarConnect

10kW (29 - 46kWh) average 4 bedroom home  - R215,000 
15kW (75kW) 5+ bedroom - R240, 000

Zeroth 
​
10kW 2-4 bedroom home - R249,669 (excluding Vat)
15kW 5 + bedroom home - R349,669 (excluding Vat)

If you feel that a full off-the-grid solution is too much, there are also other options. Björn Potgieter of SolarConnect, says they can provide a grid back up system using solar electricity for R120,000 or for R49,500 a basic back up that excludes powering stove, geysers, air conditioning.

Article referenced from:
​https://www.businessinsider.co.za/this-is-how-much-it-will-cost-to-take-your-home-off-the-grid-and-avoid-load-shedding-forever-2019-3