Why Solar?

Going solar has a wide range of benefits and whether it’s economic, environmental, or personal, all of these benefits are fuelling the South African solar power boom.

Here are our top 10 reasons to go Solar:

 

Reduce your electric bills

Electricity costs can make up a large portion of the overall budget for your home, business or organization. With a solar panel system, you’ll be generating power over your system’s 25-30 year life cycle. Even if you don’t produce all of the energy you consume, your utility bills still will be much smaller. Either way, you’ll be saving a lot of money.

Earn a great return on your investment

Solar panels need to be seen not as an expense but as an investment that pays handsome returns often challenging those of more traditional investments such as stocks or bonds. Substantial savings as well as the potential in some areas to generate revenue result in Return on Investment (ROI) of 20% or more, making solar one of the best ways to invest your money.

Protect against rising energy costs

Because energy prices can be unpredictable, they make managing your budget very difficult, especially for businesses or homeowners whose cash flow changes from month
to month. By making these costs more predictable, solar power systems have the added benefit of improving a home or business owner’s expense management capabilities.

Increase your property value

Early studies have found that buildings and homes equipped with clean energy systems have higher property values, selling twice as fast over similar homes in the same area.
Appraisers are increasingly taking solar installation into consideration as they value the home at the time of a sale. As appraisers and consumers become more educated,
homes or commercial properties equipped with solar panel systems will be more in demand and may even get even a higher premium.

Boost South Africa’s energy independence

Solar energy is a pathway to achieving energy independence from coal and a viable solution to our growing energy crisis.

Create jobs and help your local economy

Studies predict the clean energy sector will generate over a million ‘green’ jobs over the next 10 – 15 years. Because these jobs tend to be higher paying and sourced locally, they represent a significant contributor to our economy.

Protect the environment

Solar is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint. Buildings are responsible for close to 35% of all carbon emissions and going solar can decrease that number significantly. A typical residential solar panel system will eliminate 3-4 tons of carbon emissions each year—roughly the equivalent of planting over 100 trees every year.

Build your brand, demonstrate your commitment to sustainability

Sustainability and corporate social responsibility not only tie to an organization’s culture and values, they also produce bottom line results. Increasingly, consumers and
communities are recognizing and rewarding businesses that choose to operate responsibly. Businesses are finding that “green” credentials are a powerful driver of
consumer purchasing decisions, creating goodwill and improved business results.

Increase employee morale

Just like consumers, employees have a demonstrated appreciation for their employers’ commitment to operating responsibility. Employees share in the success and
contributions of their organizations. When they feel good about where they work, they are more engaged, have higher levels of morale and lower turn-over rates.

Stay competitive

Companies quickly are realizing the social and economic benefits of adopting solar power. As early adopters pull ahead of the competition, many companies are exploring solar power as a way to keep up.

How Solar works

Grid tie system basics

Solar Grid Tie photovoltaic (PV) systems are not particularly complex. First there are panels, which collect the sunlight and turn it into electricity. The DC signals are fed into an inverter, which converts the DC into grid-compatible AC power (which is what you use in your home). During daylight you generate your total demand and use it as you please when you please.

The solar PV-generated power is connected to your home's grid at your DB box where your municipal power feeds into the DB.

Keeping it simple pays. In general, the vast majority of customers install the simplest possible system on their roofs because this allows for the best return on investment. You can get real fancy with solar PV, but costs rise fast. Stick with proven, field-tested equipment that's as simple as your situation merits and you'll achieve the best return on investment.

Here is a list of the PV system basics:

Panels

PV panels, which cost anywhere from R9.50 per watt to over R18.00 per watt, are the single biggest expense of a Grid Tie PV system. Their placement and mounting affect your system performance more than any other facet of the job.

Mounting Equipment

Mounting your PV panels is of critical importance. First, you need to mount the panels where they'll get maximum sunshine over the course of a year, facing north. But the more difficult problem is to mount them with enough integrity that they'll stay put for 25 years or more.

DC to AC Inverters

Inverters take the low-voltage, high-current signals from the PV panels and convert them into 220V (or 380 V), which is directly compatible with grid power. From a reliability standpoint, they are generally the weak link in any PV system, so quality is a must.