PHOTOVOLTAIC SOLAR PANELS

Ÿ grid-tied system (no battery back-up)

Ÿ grid-tied/hybrid system with battery storage

Ÿ off-grid/standalone system

PV SOLUTIONS:

Determining the size of your solar energy system starts with 2 simple questions;Ÿ do I just want to lower my electricity bill?Ÿ do I want to go off grid?Most people want to produce enough energy to eliminate their need for municipal electricity, however, the rst step is determining what size solar system will produce enough power to meet your household consumption levels. Ultimately, you will be calculating how many kilowatt hours of power you will need and nd the correct system size to power your house.

Make your house solar ready. What is solar ready?Start with getting a solar geyser, gas hob and led lights, this will greatly reduce your consumption.

Grid-tied systems are so named because they function alongside a working grid supply, and do not normally have any backup storage (battery) capacity. Your grid tied inverter will utilise the power that you produce from your PV panels rst, and top up with the grid, or feed power back into the grid during periods of low demand – if this is allowed in your area. Generally the most cost-effective systems and easiest installation.

These are highly intelligent PV systems that offer the best of power worlds. Tied to the grid during normal operations, using solar power to charge batteries and allowing feed-in back to the grid (if allowed in your area), these systems can convert to stand-alone systems when the grid goes down, inverting power from the solar panels and batteries to provide for the home's needs.

Ÿ Provides grid independence in the event of a grid power outage, pushing solar and battery power to the home

Ÿ Benet from grid-tie when requiredŸ Achieve high utilization of PV produced power

compared to off-grid solutionsŸ More complex design and installation process

Ÿ grid-tied system (no battery back-up)

Ÿ Inverters use your own power rst before pulling power from the gridŸ If feed-in is allowed in your area, excess power created can be fed back to the gridŸ Critically, grid tied systems shut off when the grid itself is down. This means you can't use your PV power

during power outages – this is due to local and international safety requirementsŸ No battery backup means there is no protection from power outages built into this system, although grid

tied systems can be installed together with backup battery systems to run critical appliances during power cuts

Ÿ grid-tied/hybrid system with battery storage

Ÿ off-grid system with battery storage

Off-grid systems are designed to be stand-alone systems that operate without any grid connection. The PV panels need to be sized to generate the full power requirement of the site, and recharge the batteries at the same time, and a large battery bank is needed to store power for periods when solar power is not available.

Ÿ Generally the most expensive conguration due to the high number of batteries needed to store the entire home's power requirements for a few days of backup

Ÿ May still result in blackouts when batteries are over-used or solar conditions are poor

Ÿ Off-grid systems often have a backup power source like a generator

factors to bear in mind

what does it mean to be solar ready?

In order to be ready to install a PV system, it is important that you reduce your energy consumption by as much as possible, targeting the biggest “energy consumers” in your home rst. The more you can reduce your kW usage, the less you will spend on a PV system:

ü Water Heating: By installing a solar geyser, you can

reduce your bill greatly. This should be your starting point

ü Heating and Cooling: Ensure good insulation &

change to gas

ü Appliances: Make sure you use the ‘eco’ cycle, and

install energy efcient appliances

ü Lighting: Swap to LED’s, not only do they last longer,

but you’ll only use a fraction of the electricity compared to conventional lighting

ü Roof Space: Do you have sufcient roof space to install the required amount of solar panels?

ü Why PV

C Do you want to move off the grid?

C Do you just want to reduce your energy consumption?

C Do you want to ensure you have sufcient power in the event of load shedding?

ü Am I ‘solar ready’: As per above, have you reduced consumption as much as possible?

ü Average kW usage a month: What is your approximate energy consumption over the last six months. The

below chart will give you the ball park wattage of the various appliances in your home. * It is important to check your own appliances as these amounts can vary. Look on your appliances, it will

have the correct wattage. Ask us for our assessment form, and do your own energy audit.

water heating25%

fridge7%

appliances25%

lighting17%

heating/cooling20%

cooking7%

Appliance Watts* Appliance Watts*

Tumble dryer 3500 Microwave oven 1000

Stove / Oven 3000 Toaster 800

Washing Machine 2300 Pool pump 750

Geyser 2000 Desktop Computer 480

Kettle 2000 Refridgerator/freezer 400

Hair Dryer 1800 Plasma TV 350

Air Conditioner 1500 Chest Freezer 250

Clothes Iron 1500 Laptop 250

Coffee Machine 1500 LCD TV 250

Hotplate - 2 plate 1500 Electric blanket 200

Iron 1500 Ceiling Fan 100

Vacuum Cleaner 1400 Lighting - Single 100W 100

Dishwasher 1350 Cellphone Charger 28

Heater - 2 bar 1000 Decoder / DVD Player 25

what does kilowatt (kW) hours mean?

packages

Power is the rate at which energy is generated or consumed and hence is measured in units (e.g. watts) that represent energy per unit time. For example, when a light bulb with a power rating of 100W is turned on for one hour, the energy used is 100.

1000 watts (W) = 1kilowatt (kW)

The ‘kilowatt hour’ (kWh) is a unit of energy equivalent to one kilowatt (1 kW) of power expended for one hour of time. The kilowatt-hour is not a standard unit in any formal system, but it is commonly used in electrical applications. So for example, if your geyser is 2000 watts, that means it is a 2kW geyser, and consumes 2kW of energy per hour it is running.

The kilowatt hour is one unit of electricity that you get billed for.

OFF GRID/FULL HYBRID SOLUTION PACKAGEFor a quotation to move completely off grid, or for a complete hybrid solution, it is important that we do a thorough assessment. If you are interested in this solution, we kindly request:Ÿ You complete our ‘Energy Consumption Checklist” in as much detail as possibleŸ Send us your latest 6 month electricity accountOnce we have this information, we will work out some pricing for you, and come through to your property to conduct a formal assessment.

4kW Hybrid Solution, fully installed1 x CB Solar Synapse 5kVA / 4000W 48Vdc 60Amp MPPT10 x 310W Solar Panels1 x Mounting System1 x DC / PV DB Board1 x AC DB Board1 x Cables, Crimps, Fuses and Connectors4 x 100Ah 12V AGM Deep Cycle CB Solar BatteriesR64,999 ex VAT

5kW Grid Tied Solution, fully installed1 x 5kW Solar Edge Grid Tied Inverter, single phase18 x 325W solar Module18 x 350W Optimiser, 1 x 72 cell module1 x 1PH/3PH 230/400V Elect. Meter W/ RS4851 x 50A Split- Core Current Transformer6 x Solarstrut 6 meter length, 1.6mm Hot dip galv32 x Dowel screw for roof installations72 x PowAR Snap module mounting clip w/grounding12 x Tiltable Solar Panel mounting bracket 15'-30'6 x Joiner, galvanised solar strut, c/w screws4 x End stop Galv, c/w spring nut & cap screw1 x AC DB and Switchgear &1 x DC DB and Switchgear1 x Cables and connectorsR139,999 ex VAT