Is My System Compliant?

Hi all. I am based in Hillcrest/Durban which falls under ethekweni municipality. To date there hasnt been a requirement to register our sseg system with them but am sure its coming along with some penalties for low usage. Has anyone out there heard of any new info regarding solar and Ethekweni ? Thanks

Since I have installed my own Solar System (Deye 8kw, 24 Canadian Panels (10360w) and 2 x Dyness 5200 batteries), I wanted to ensure I was compliant by obtaining a CoC. I have previously obtained a CoC for my Eskom Board, including my Inverter installation, but that was before I installed Solar and from what I understand, you need a CoC for all Solar installations as well. So, I contacted a guy who is apparently a certified/registered electrician and is also Solar certified (has a PV green card) and provides Solar CoC’s, and according to him, the ECA Rules (Electrical Contractors Association) has the following requirements: https://ecasa.co.za/technical/pv…

Hi I recently added panels to my inverter and battery that was running as a UPS, the 1st installer went bust, so I needed another installer to add panels - which they have, they have also made my system compliant where possible. Now I need to do my SSEG registration, but since the 1st installer no longer exists, and the 2nd installer just added panels (they advised that I do this myself - is this achievable). 2nd - i live in Cape Town, and have since received a notice to fit a new meter - my house is old, so I am still on the analog (spinning disk) system, I can confirm that the system does not feed in to the grid - it has been running now for a few…

So the company that installed my system back in 2019 has folded. They cite lack of demand as the reason for being unable to sustain the business. And I guess now that we're a long spell without load shedding, this must have hurt some people as folks are now choosing to not break into the piggy bank. There are some problems for me. I don't have any proof of purchase for any part of the system. If I want support from FreedomWon, now what? I won't even ask about the Goodwe inverter. But how many other installers have gone the same way? How are those that have survived surviving? And what happens to somebody (let's call him Bob) who had a system, had support for it.…

Hi everyone, I need urgent help please!! My wife and I moved into a house in the Northern suburbs of Cape Town. The single garage in front of the house is rented out separately to another tenant. On the day I collected the keys, I was told that I HAVE to ensure that there is always units on the prepaid meter, as the flat is drawing from the house and the Landlord will pay us back after the fact for the consumption of the flat. So I have to buy electricity in advance and get paid back a month later. This sparked a few questions: Is this legal in the sense that surely the flat should have it's own direct source and prepaid meter. How are we to know what t…

Hi everyone, I am renting a house here in Cape Town. When I moved in, I installed a surge arrestor, (single pole), timer for my geyser and a data logger to the DB board. My question is - do I need a CoC for this? I did not alter or change any wiring on the DB, merely added to it? I have been Googling all the Electrical Laws and as always they are very vague and my interpretation of the sections to the next person will differ for sure. Your insights will be greatly appreciated. Thank you

Hi I recently bought a new house and with the bond requested solar finance. I see one of the terms /conditions are: The supplier who wil instal the solution must be an accredited member of the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association. Does that refer to "members" on Sapvia? The list includes banks, lawyers, wholesalers and from what I can gather commercial installers? Anyone recently went this route and have some guidance? Thanks

Someone at Eksdom had a brain fart this is pure madness... https://mybroadband.co.za/news/energy/575073-big-warning-for-solar-power-users-in-south-africa.html?source=newsletter

Good Day All Just wanted to enquire if anybody here is using the reverse meter with the City of Cape Town and if their is a monthly fee for this. I have quite a bit of excess solar so juts want to see if this is worthwhile considering, also my SSEG was approved on non grid feedback, I know i will need the new reverse meter but will i need to apply for the SSEG again and get the engineers sign off again with this process? Thank you

Hi All, I am new here and need someone to advise me on a self build solar system. Basically my nieghours complained to the council now I have to get it passed off or else. Here is what was sent to me by the council. "If you do not have approval for the solar panels from a competent installer, you will need to submit a building regulations regularisation to cover the works. Failure to do so will mean the file remains open and the enforcement case will continue. Including staying on the properties records for any future searches for example mortgage or buyer." Any advice.

Hi All, We are in the process of purchasing a property and the sale is close to being finalized. An electrical COC has already been issued, but to me it is questionable. I want to find out whether or not this COC is valid, or should I push back with the attorneys/current owners/electrician with the COC. The property comes with a solar system and a solar geyser setup: Solar system summary: 3000VA Victron inverter 2x2.4kw Pylontech batteries 8x solar panels Geyser system: 200L geyser Geyserwise Max system Collector tubes on the roof 12v solar pump to circulate the water On the COC there is a section st…

https://mybroadband.co.za/news/energy/497027-major-victory-for-home-solar-in-cape-town.html “From October 2023, all SSEG applications at the City of Cape Town will be treated as grid-tied systems. This means that all systems need a City-approved inverter and professional sign-off,” Van Reenen stated. I would like to know the reasoning behind this, safety concerns? Has something happened? Fly by night installers?

Hi, for those who have experience of the CoCT and the draft CoT regulations, I would like to ask the following for a 60Amp Single Phase Residential Supply with a conventional meter: If I have a Fronius 5.0-1 (5kW) PV Inverter AC Coupled on AC Out and a 250/85 PV Charger (4.08kW) DC Coupled with 9kWp of actual panels (rating) which can produce a maximum of 8kWp of power due to west facing azimuth of some of the panels and I use the feed-in register of the SCADA system (Cerbo) to limit feed-in (set it to 34 =3.4 kW), I have 22.2 kWh of lithium storage, does this qualify for SSEG ? My actual feed-in will be negligible, I worked out that the maximum feed-in using S…

For a few years ive successfully purcased vouchers from various Retail Stores, FNB Online and using FNB App on my phone Yet today ive tried multiple times to purchase a voucher without success. At Pick n Pay they used to key in my Meter number and my name would come up but today at Pick n Pay they could not find any of my details when they keyed in my Meter Number When trying to purchase on my FNB App or FNB Online the amount would be debited from my account and the transaction would then fail ststing Unable to connect to Service Provider as Service Provider is temporarily unavailable. Shortly thereafter the purcased amount would be credited to my account ....th…

https://www.georgeherald.com/News/Article/Local-News/building-plan-needed-for-solar-installation-202408241049

Hi all. This question mostly applies to users who are in the greater Durban area and are on Ethekweni billing. I have an 8kw Sunsynk,6kw of panels and 3 x Hubble am2 and am a household of 1 so my average monthly kw/h bill was about 480 kwh per month.I use my system to its max and from my sunsynk data my daily import from eskom is about 3 or 4 kw if that.For the last 4 months my bill has been only estimated and about 3 weeks ago the meters were actually read but my bill that came yesterday STILL only had estimated.I am wondering if others are finding this and if Ethekweni are just ignoring the actual readings and will keep on billing us solar users at estimated r…

For info, extract below from the SARS comprehensive guide for tax returns, Pg97, on rebates for solar panels. For those looking to claim a rebate. Maybe of interest also for those looking to install the maximum number of panels for export. IT-AE-36-G05 - Comprehensive Guide to the ITR12 Income Tax Return for Individuals - External Guide (sars.gov.za) Effective Date: 24 June 2024 8.2 SOLAR ENERGY TAX CREDIT a) Government introduced a rooftop solar tax incentive for individuals who invest in solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. • The tax credit will only apply to new and unused solar PV panels acquired and brought into use for the first time durin…

Hi, Is there anybody here with knowledge or who had done feedback into the grid with Ekurhuleni? I am having an issue with my sunsynk inverters not measuring grid input correctly which I did start a thread on here but unfortunately no solution and my useless installers are now claiming my mains meter must be faulty. If I get Ekurhuleni to look at the meter they will install a prepaid meter. My meter is probably over 40 years old. The other option is to do the SSEG application and have the meter replaced with a four quadrant automated meter reading type that is required for that. I would be interested on anyones opinions on this or anyone who has done the sseg process but …

Hi everyone, I work for a solar company in Cape Town. Over the last few weeks I have been going through the SANS 10142 Ed 3.1 (2021) in order to check that our standard operating procedures are up to scratch. This version of SANS is however a bit thin when it comes to solar regulations and also battery systems. I heard that there is a 2023 draft version out that is much more comprehensive on solar regulations that isn't yet implemented but will be in the near future and I was wondering if anyone has a copy to share?

Hi - after moving from PE who I think have a great SSEG program, scratching my head with Knysna's system which almost seems to be a disincentive system: Here are the rules I can find from their web site - from latest Tarrif docs: "SMALL SCALE EMBEDDED GENERATION (SSEG) SSEG refers in this instance to consumers who wish to fit a Solar generation plant (PV plant) to supplement their energy consumption by harvesting solar energy for their own use. These systems are generally Grid Tied to the municipal network allowing the consumer to draw energy (electricity kWh or Units) from the municipal network when their PV plant does not produce enough energy for their use. I…

If you want to add a solar pv geyser in Cape Town you need a SANS2 and 4 form filled out by a "competent person". For solar thermal geysers you just need a plumbers letter. I am exploring the idea of prefeeding a gas geyser with an Elon100 system. Where do I find someone to sign these forms though, the only electrical engineer i know who signs off most of Cape Towns PV installs doesn't do geyser PV systems. The building inspector is adamant i need these forms even if i run the elon 100 in offgrid configuration which would obviously make it 100% energy efficient

I have a question regarding the SSEG process for a specific requirement. I have a client that resides in a small business park. This park has only 1 ERF but there are multiple tenants. My client is one of the tenants wanting to install an inverter system and solar. The owner of the ERF is concerned that if we do the process for this client, they will not be able to update the application on the ERF should other clients also want to go the solar route at a later stage. So, my question is this: Are you able to update your application if you make changes after installation? Are you able to do multiple applications for one ERF if there are multiple tenants on t…

Hi, I'm looking at expanding my current set up and essentially going off grid. My current set up is a 2.4kw Axpert inverter with 3x 200w solar panels and 2 x s120 Hubble batteries connected in series for the 24v set up. I built the system is 2014 with AGM batteries. The drop in Hubbles were a nice addition in 2022. So now I've been looking at what's changed and what's available and I'm busy calculating my solar needs. My daily usage is between 10-12kwh (including what I draw from my current solar set up). I'm thinking of 12 x 550w solar panels, 3 - 4 5kw batteries and possibly 2 x 5kw inverters (I'm undecided on that because it's very rare my draw exceeds 4kw, but may jus…

Looking for advice from any Electrians out there. Does this setup comply? I have a Electrian who can come and do the Coc but I would like to get it right before he comes out as not to waste his time.

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