Professional Solar System Projects

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Do you supply Solar Geysers for water heating?

No. Our systems generate electrical power from making use of Solar Photovoltaic panels. Solar water heating uses heat whilst Solar PV uses light.

2. What happens at night?

Solar PV generates power from the solar irradiation that the sun provides. The brighter the sun, the more electricity is generated. At night no power is generated. Should you require energy at night you could either use it from the utility grid, or we could supply you with a battery system that would store energy generated during the day for use at night.

3. What happens when it rains for days on end?

In cloudy and rainy conditions Solar PV panels generate less power. Your reliance on the utility grid or storage (like batteries) would be greater during these times. Should you have a battery bank, the grid could be used to “top-up” the batteries during the period of inclement weather.

4. What does it cost?

Commercial Rooftop systems generally cost around ZAR 20.00 per Wp. Ground Mounted Commercial systems generally cost around ZAR 25.00 per Wp. Due to the customised nature thereof, Residential systems vary in price from ZAR20.00 to ZAR 60.00 per Wp depending on the needs of the specific client.

5. What is Wp or kWp?

Watt peak or kilowatt peak refers to the rated maximum power output of a Solar PV module. A 300Wp module would therefore produce 300 Watts of electrical power at the optimal condition.

6. What equipment can I power from the system?

Any equipment that uses electricity to operate can be powered from a Solar PV system. The design of the system would however vary according to the type of equipment that needs to be powered. As an example an off-grid system with a highly inductive load would require a larger system than an on-grid system with no inductive loads. Design remains the key to have an efficient system.

7. What is meant by an “off-grid” system?

This is an electrical system that operates independently from the utility grid. It generates and distributes its own power from Solar PV or other sources for use within the proximity of the system. The most common examples are remote rural farms where no electrical grid is available. Some urban installations also consider and use off-grid systems to be independent from the electrical grid to avoid unscheduled outages.

8. What is meant by an “on-grid” or “grid-tied” system?

In this instance the utility (national of municipal) grid installation for a specific property remains intact. The Solar PV system is used to generate power that gets fed into the property’s electrical reticulation. The more power that is generated by the PV system, the less the reliance is on the grid, and visa versa. In this instance the utility grid is relied upon for security of supply.

9. What is the payback period?

Generally on commercial systems the payback periods vary from 2 years to 6 years and on residential systems from 4 years to 8 years.

10. What is the life expectation of these systems?

Solar PV systems has a design life in excess of 25 years and do last for as long as 35 years.

11. Would a Solar PV system add value to my property?

Yes. These systems would lower the cost of ownership and increase the security of supply to the property.

12. Can I feed power back into the grid?

The Solar PV system technology provides for feeding power back into the utility grid but the current legislative regulatory framework in South Africa does not make this possible. Legal net-metering, wheeling and back-feed are however imminent.

13. How will this improve commercial competitiveness?

Energy cost is the single fastest growing cost to most businesses. A photovoltaic system fixes the cost of energy that it generates for the next 25 years.

14. Can it assist in my risk of electrical supply?

Yes. Depending on design you could either be independent from the risk associated to the supply from the national or municipal grid, or you would be partly reliant on the grid.

15. What size roof space is required?

With South African solar irradiation conditions generally 10m2 is required per kWp.

16. Are these systems hail and weather resistant?

Although the Solar PV module is covered with glass, it is tested to withstand most elements nature throws at it. From our own experience we only saw hail damage to modules once during a freak storm that hit the eastern suburbs of Johannesburg during October 2012. The insurance company replaced the modules without hassle.

17. Can Solar PV produce 3 phase power?

Yes. It is however dependent on the design of the systems which makes it important to use qualified electrical engineers like those in our service to design your system.

18. How proven is this technology?

Solar Photovoltaic technology has been in use for longer than most people know. The reason that it haven’t been taken up on a larger scale before was due to the relative low cost and consistency of grid-supplied electricity. We have personally visited sites that have been installed since the early 1980’s and own a module that is now 27 years old.

19. What safety risks are associated with a Solar PV system?

A system properly designed and installed by duly qualified persons has no safety risk to people.

20. Do these panels become hot to touch?

These panels operate from light that is absorbed and does not become hotter than any other surface that is exposed to direct sunlight.

21. How big or small can these systems be?

These systems can be designed according to each specific need and size. Starting from a small backup supply to a large scale solar farm.

22. What maintenance is required for these systems?

A Solar PV system installed by a qualified person using quality components requires low to no maintenance over its lifetime.