Paul Tappan

I have no problem paying eksdom for the amount of their electricity I consume. I also have no problem paying a connection fee. However, the simple rationale is willing buyer, willing seller. Having said this, in what way does the fact that I have a solar system have anything to do with eksdom at all? Why should I have to pay more for a connection fee than people that do not have a solar system? 
The same logic can then be applied to people that opt to drive Hybrid cars. Should they pay more per litre fuel than others simply because their vehicles have the capability to run off batteries?
This new tariff proposal is completely communistic in its approach.
 
 

I have no problem paying eksdom for the amount of their electricity I consume. I also have no problem paying a connection fee. However, the simple rationale is willing buyer, willing seller. Having said this, in what way does the fact that I have a solar system have anything to do with eksdom at all? Why should I have to pay more for a connection fee than people that do not have a solar system? 
The same logic can then be applied to people that opt to drive Hybrid cars. Should they pay more per litre fuel than others simply because their vehicles have the capability to run off batteries?
This new tariff proposal is completely communistic in its approach.
 
 

Personally I think the whole new Eskom tariff proposal for solar users is completely unconstitutional. Here is my thoughts on this. Eskom has a product which they are unable to supply, yet if you do not use large amounts of this unavailable product, you have to pay a huge tariff for what you are still not going to get. 
This is the same as if I had business that sells toasters for example whereby you order 1 unit and I send you that 1 unit, yet you must pay a as if you have ordered and received 10 units because my business would have sold you another 9 if it had stock irrespective of whether you only wanted 1 in the first place. I mean what kind of logic is this?
 

Personally I think the whole new Eskom tariff proposal for solar users is completely unconstitutional. Here is my thoughts on this. Eskom has a product which they are unable to supply, yet if you do not use large amounts of this unavailable product, you have to pay a huge tariff for what you are still not going to get. 
This is the same as if I had business that sells toasters for example whereby you order 1 unit and I send you that 1 unit, yet you must pay a as if you have ordered and received 10 units because my business would have sold you another 9 if it had stock irrespective of whether you only wanted 1 in the first place. I mean what kind of logic is this?
 

In response to your thread, I can only offer this. 
 
Everyone's circumstances are different and this is where you need to make decisions based on how deep your pockets are, what the ultimate goal is that you are looking to achieve by installing a solar system, and what you are willing to compromise from a lifestyle point of view (making the system work for you).
I can offer you my experience and what I did wrong and what worked for me. We are a household of 4 people. Me and the wife and 2 teens.
At the time that I started with my solar project last year I did not have enough cash available to do exactly what I wanted to but I managed to have 8 x 450W panels, a 5.5KW Hubble AM2 battery, and an Axpert King 5.5KW inverter installed.
I opted to have the entire house connected to the solar system except for my kitchen (oven and plugs, stove top is gas)) and my garage which also supplies power to my pool pump.
My biggest mistake was I started with a 5.5KW inverter which turned out to be too small for my needs and it was also a dodgy unit which gave me endless problems but that is another story. My solar panels were also not sufficient to power my geyser and I had to make use of supplementary battery power or utility power to ensure that I had hot water. This was not ideal. I installed a timer on the geyser to smooth out the load on my system as best possible but I still needed that little extra.
Seeing as my inverter was dodgy to start with, I had it replaced and upon doing so I opted for a more powerful replacement. I am now running a Synapse 7.2KW inverter without a problem at all.
Earlier this month I managed to scrape together some more funds and get 7 X 540W panels and I had them installed on my roof which brings my total installed solar panel capacity to just above 7.2KW which is perfect for the inverter I have. So basically I have one array of 8 X 450W panels equaling 3600W and a second array of 7 x 540W equaling 3780W for a total of 7380W.
This extra 3780W made all the difference and my geyser is now being heated up with only solar panels and the battery charges at the same time and I also have the remainder of the house load (excluding the kitchen and garage as mentioned before) running completely off solar on a sunny day. So here is your first answer that many have answered before me and that is that extra panels to heat your electric geyser if definitely the way to go. 
As luck would have it I had some more money available and have now bought another Hubble AM2 as I have way too much unused sun available during the day after all the heavy loads are finished (battery charged and Geyser at temperature) which I can capture and store. This has lead me to make the decision to put my entire house (kitchen and garage) on my system seeing as I have new panels and more battery storage.
Basically the take away and what I am saying is that you should go for an inverter that can handle some load. Anything from a minimum of 8KW and up is good. This will allow you to add a few more panels if you decide to start with a small array. Also, what I really like about the Hubble lithium batteries is that you can link them together extremely easily and they are top quality and among the best there is. You can start with one battery, assess your requirements and add as many as you like afterwards. It's always best to start with  a small system but with an inverter that allows for expansion. Do not compromise with the inverter. Once you get a feel for how your system performs based on you and your family's lifestyle, you can tailor make your system by upgrading that which makes sense for your own household. Also, Lithium batteries is the only way to go in my opinion. There are other batteries out there but lithium is just so much better in too many ways to even mention. I am not sure about connecting a Sunsync inverter to a battery and utilities alone without any solar array but I do know that with a Synapse inverter you can do that.
To answer your last questions, there are many online solar calculators that will assist in giving you an idea of your system requirements but until you have really lived with and operated a system, you will not know for sure which upgrade paths to take in order to customize the system according to your lifestyle. Most inverters have software that can also help plan your future upgrades by just using the downloadable data and graphs that you are able to generate digitally on phone or PC. The key to a solar system is to start small or you are either going to over capitalize and/or overspec the system.
Hair dryers and basically anything with an element is going to require quite a bit of juice and they range from 500W all the way to about 3500W so your inverter once again is key here.
 

In response to your thread, I can only offer this. 
 
Everyone's circumstances are different and this is where you need to make decisions based on how deep your pockets are, what the ultimate goal is that you are looking to achieve by installing a solar system, and what you are willing to compromise from a lifestyle point of view (making the system work for you).
I can offer you my experience and what I did wrong and what worked for me. We are a household of 4 people. Me and the wife and 2 teens.
At the time that I started with my solar project last year I did not have enough cash available to do exactly what I wanted to but I managed to have 8 x 450W panels, a 5.5KW Hubble AM2 battery, and an Axpert King 5.5KW inverter installed.
I opted to have the entire house connected to the solar system except for my kitchen (oven and plugs, stove top is gas)) and my garage which also supplies power to my pool pump.
My biggest mistake was I started with a 5.5KW inverter which turned out to be too small for my needs and it was also a dodgy unit which gave me endless problems but that is another story. My solar panels were also not sufficient to power my geyser and I had to make use of supplementary battery power or utility power to ensure that I had hot water. This was not ideal. I installed a timer on the geyser to smooth out the load on my system as best possible but I still needed that little extra.
Seeing as my inverter was dodgy to start with, I had it replaced and upon doing so I opted for a more powerful replacement. I am now running a Synapse 7.2KW inverter without a problem at all.
Earlier this month I managed to scrape together some more funds and get 7 X 540W panels and I had them installed on my roof which brings my total installed solar panel capacity to just above 7.2KW which is perfect for the inverter I have. So basically I have one array of 8 X 450W panels equaling 3600W and a second array of 7 x 540W equaling 3780W for a total of 7380W.
This extra 3780W made all the difference and my geyser is now being heated up with only solar panels and the battery charges at the same time and I also have the remainder of the house load (excluding the kitchen and garage as mentioned before) running completely off solar on a sunny day. So here is your first answer that many have answered before me and that is that extra panels to heat your electric geyser if definitely the way to go. 
As luck would have it I had some more money available and have now bought another Hubble AM2 as I have way too much unused sun available during the day after all the heavy loads are finished (battery charged and Geyser at temperature) which I can capture and store. This has lead me to make the decision to put my entire house (kitchen and garage) on my system seeing as I have new panels and more battery storage.
Basically the take away and what I am saying is that you should go for an inverter that can handle some load. Anything from a minimum of 8KW and up is good. This will allow you to add a few more panels if you decide to start with a small array. Also, what I really like about the Hubble lithium batteries is that you can link them together extremely easily and they are top quality and among the best there is. You can start with one battery, assess your requirements and add as many as you like afterwards. It's always best to start with  a small system but with an inverter that allows for expansion. Do not compromise with the inverter. Once you get a feel for how your system performs based on you and your family's lifestyle, you can tailor make your system by upgrading that which makes sense for your own household. Also, Lithium batteries is the only way to go in my opinion. There are other batteries out there but lithium is just so much better in too many ways to even mention. I am not sure about connecting a Sunsync inverter to a battery and utilities alone without any solar array but I do know that with a Synapse inverter you can do that.
To answer your last questions, there are many online solar calculators that will assist in giving you an idea of your system requirements but until you have really lived with and operated a system, you will not know for sure which upgrade paths to take in order to customize the system according to your lifestyle. Most inverters have software that can also help plan your future upgrades by just using the downloadable data and graphs that you are able to generate digitally on phone or PC. The key to a solar system is to start small or you are either going to over capitalize and/or overspec the system.
Hair dryers and basically anything with an element is going to require quite a bit of juice and they range from 500W all the way to about 3500W so your inverter once again is key here.