South African consumers have several options available if they want to reduce their reliance within their homes on Eskom power and mitigate the disruption of loadshedding.
Solana Energy director Seath Scowby tells Sunday World households have four options to reduce or end their dependence on Eskom.
The options are a diesel or petrol generator, an off-grid inverter and battery, hybrid inverter and a completely off-grid inverter with renewable energy, especially solar.
Further steps they can take include using energy saving bulbs, installing gas for household water heating and switching your electric stove to a gas one.
Scowby says when installing one of the available options, there were two key factors to consider.
“First, what peak load and maximum power do you require? Second, what is the total amount of energy you need to produce? You also need to decide how much power you require when there is loadshedding. Most clients go with enough power to last from two to four hours.”
He says a basic off-grid inverter and battery requires the lowest capital outlay.
SolarAdvice director Neil Berrow says a generator is also a relatively cheap option when considering the capital outlay, but the ongoing cost is expensive.
A completely off-grid solar installation with battery backup requires the biggest outlay.
Scowby says the cost of a generator is 25% of the initial capital outlay of an equivalent solar installation. However, he says over five years, the capital outlay, together with the ongoing costs of a generator and a solar installation, is about equal.
“It is a penny-wise, pound-foolish decision when you go with a generator. However, these are tough times,” he says.
Berrow says for a household to go completely off-grid could be a huge cost as a household has to factor in low solar production days.
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