Solar Power Solutions
We supply and install the following solar power solutions:
Grid tie
Off-grid
Back-up
Hybrid
See details below
We advise on energy usage & energy cost saving opportunities. Our main objective is to enable you to reduce your energy bill and to save on energy cost.
Grid Tie
- Grid-tie solar power systems are connected to the local municipal electrical grid. Firstly grid tie will allow you to generate solar power for your residence and to supply excess power into the local municipal electrical grid.
- A grid tie system will also allow you to use solar power from your system as well as electricity from the municipal grid at the same time.
- When there is no demand for electricity the solar system will send excess power back into the grid.
- When your residence requires more than what the your grid tie system produce you will be able to use the balance automatically from the municipal grid.
- Grid-tie systems are a simplistic type of solar power system that do not require any batteries. Excessive power is fed into the municipal grid.
- Grid tie systems are mainly to be considered for price and its cost savings potential.
- Owners of a grid-tie systems normally complete a net metering agreement with their municipal provider. This agreement allows customers to receive credit for the excess power supplied into the grid. Net metering policies and agreements are different for each local provider and you will have to obtain information from them.
- Living with a grid-tied solar system is no different than living with your local municipal electricity provider, except that some or all of the electricity you use comes from the sun.
- Grid-tie systems do not provide protection against Eskom power outages. When the electrical grid fails, grid-tied systems will not continue to operate and you will have loadshedding as a result.
- Life expectancy of a quality grid tie system is 25-30 years and it will require almost no maintenance.
Grid tied system components include:
- A grid inverter
- Solar panels
- Roof mounting rails, brackets and electrical connections to connect to the grid
Off-grid
- Off-grid systems are used where no electricity is available to ensure the supply of power without a grid connection.
- Off-grid systems operate independently from the local municipal grid to provide solar power to a residence.
- An off-grid solar system must be large enough to produce enough solar power to cover 100% of the energy needs.
- Most residences have an electricity demand in the evening or at night whilst there is no solar panel production. For this reason off-grid systems will require a battery bank for storage to allow usage at a later stage when required.
- Off-grid systems are more complex and less flexible than grid-tie systems.
- Off-grid systems are the most expensive solar power solution as it requires a large battery bank for storage.
- Off-grid systems are more common in remote locations without an energy service.
- In all off-grid scenarios electrical usage must be monitored and kept below the maximum output of the panels and batteries
- The life expectancy of an off-grid system will depend mainly on the quality of the battery bank. Quality inverters should last 20 years, whilst most panels will last 30 years.
- Batteries have a number of cycles and will last according to the cycles and usage patterns. Quality Li Ion batteries can last up to 20 years.
- Off-grid systems will require minimal maintenance.
Off-grid system components:
- An off-grid inverter
- Solar panels
- A battery bank
- A charge controller to protect the battery bank from overcharging
- Roof mounting rails, brackets and electrical connections to the residence.
- A monitoring system to monitor solar production and to enable the user to optimise his system.
Back-up
- The main purpose of a back-up system is to avoid loadshedding. This will allow you to enjoy an independent reliable 24-hour energy supply.
- A back-up system supplies power when Eskom power is unavailable.
- Back-systems are normally designed to cater only for the supply of power to essential equipment only. For this reason all equipment with elements are normally excluded from essentials.
- When Eskom power is available the unit acts as a charger ensuring the charging of the battery bank.
- During a power outage the inverter converts the stored battery power to normal AC power to supply all essentials.
- In cases of extended power failures the back-up system can be further charged with a generator.
- Back-up systems can be installed with or without solar panels. A back-up system with solar panels is similar to a Hybrid system, except that it is smaller in size and production capacity.
- We recommend back-up systems that are solar ready that can be integrated into a complete hybrid system to ensure maximum future value for money.
- Life expectancy of back-up systems will depend mainly on the quality of the inverter and the batteries that you install.
Back-up system components:
- An off-grid inverter
- A small battery bank
- Electrical connection to the grid
- Solar panels and a charge controller are optional
Hybrid
- Hybrid systems are clever solutions that incorporates a grid tie system, an off-grid system and a backup system into a single system solution.
- Certain off-grid inverters with an ESS (energy storage system) design functionality can also operate as a hybrid solution. Inverter with the ESS function are installed as a grid tie with battery storage. This will offer the best of both worlds, grid tie and off grid in one solar solution. Excess solar power generated can be stored in the batteries and if more power is required than what the solar system is delivering it can use Eskom power to assist.
- Hybrid systems are proposed for self-consumption with a grid presence to offer you all the benefits of the grid, off-grid and backup systems.
- With Hybrid systems the backup batteries are charged by either or both the grid and the solar panels.
- The system will run a residence off-grid during the night, discharging the batteries to a predetermined level. Unlike Grid tie systems the Hybrid system freely switches to off-grid operation in cases of grid power failure. This means that your solar power will be available during loadshedding.
- Hybrid systems are cheaper than Off-grid systems as it usually requires a smaller battery bank to supply only essential equipment during loadshedding.
Hybrid system components:
- A hybrid inverter or only an Off-Grid inverter with ESS functionality
- Solar panels
- Medium size battery bank
- Charge controller to protect the battery bank from overcharging
- Roof mounting rails, brackets and electrical connection to the grid.
- Monitoring system to enable the user to monitor energy production and to optimise system usage.
Our products
Inverters (in various sizes to cater for each unique requirement)
- Victron inverters and MPPT’s
- Victron Easysolar 48V (3KVA & 5KVA)
- Victron MultiPlus 48V Off grid Inverters 800W to 15000W
- MPPT controllers
- Colour control display
- Blue power panel
- BMV battery control
Panels (PV modules)
- We sell only Quality panels, various products are available and includes JA Solar, RenewSys and other. All our products offer a 10-12 year product warranty as well as a 25-30 year linear performance warranty.
Batteries
- BSL Li Ion LIPO4 available in 5,3KW, 6,4KW, 7,0KW, 8,8KW, 10KW & 15 KW units with 10 year warranty
- BSL Li Ion LIPO4 available in a new 5,0KW unit with 8000cycles and a 15 year warranty
- Freedom Won Lithium Ion Phosphate batteries (LiFeP04) 48V series 5KW, 10KW, 15KW & 20KW units with 10 year warranty
- Pylontech Lithium Ion Phosphate batteries (LiFeP04) 48V series 2,4KW & 3,5KW units with 10 year warranty.
Mounting systems
- We use quality aluminium rails, stainless steel roof hooks and aluminium mounting clips to secure our panels on most types of roofs.