lexor

I also paid R26k to an installer for my 5kw heat pump some 2 years ago at the previous house. It will always be cheaper if you have some DIY capabilities. We can't be expected to DIY solar panels and plumbing.
Some stuff you will have to get an expect. I used probably close to 6kw to heat the geyser today which is fine on sunny days but if there was an outage I would have opted for no hot water today. If I had a heat pump I would have tried to heat it even through an outage. It looks like i would have managed the 1kw needed for that ITS heat pump from the graph.

I think ITS is just supporting their approved installers. I asked some plumbers that are our clients and the range to install a heat pump ranged from R4-5000. Electrical connection. 4 rawl bolts and 2 T pieces in the existing cold and hot water pipes. The most expensive part is the copper piping between geyser and heat pump. 
If an existing geyser the power is already taken care of. It just needs an isolator outside. It should not take more than 4 hours. 
 

 

This is shocking. Totally the opposite of my dealings with ITS and yes I have mine for 12 yrs. Cannot be happier with the product. Only had dealing with a request for service once and their appointed plumber came out. This was within a few days as a setting was not correct. 
Since then I only needed support 5yrs ago for a pump replacement and I used a non appointed plumber for it. 
At a point after install I wanted a technical chat and their head office had an engineer available to answer any question and that impressed too. 
My 2c will be that the heat pump just circulates the water and cannot increase the pressure to a point that the pressure relief valve opens. Cannot comment about the pipe that came off from the connex fitting. This must be pressure related. 
Are you sure your system has a balanced system including the normal pressure regulator of 400kPa with air breakers? 

I've also been using my SPS 1000 for about 3 years now.
It just works - no issues.

I've also been using my SPS 1000 for about 3 years now.
It just works - no issues.

I've also been using my SPS 1000 for about 3 years now.
It just works - no issues.

You'll earn interest with a bank, likely making it easier and faster to save up for your desired setup.
This lay buy / store credit story is a recipe for disaster. If the business does a runner with your money, what are you going to do

I've also been using my SPS 1000 for about 3 years now.
It just works - no issues.

I thought I would add this to the forum as people are being mislead and no one is doing anything about it.
I'm an electronic engineer and have 30+ years experience in electronic design of many types. Specializing in microcontrollers mixed with analogue designs and the like. From concept to final product. 
A couple of years ago I did a solar camera installation for a farmer in Limpopo. Long story short; I used Royal 45Ah and 65Ah lead acids as the battery of choice. Then after 2 years they started failing. They couldn't hold current anymore. The solar is only 140w 7.7A 18v panels. My charger is a self designed circuit based on the LT3790. Capable of delivering all 7.7A of current at 14.7v. I then went to sintech in 2020 (will NEVER use them again) and bought 9 new batteries; they analyzed my design and recommended Omnipower 60Ah 12v Agm/VLR batteries. So I bought them. 6months later they started to fail. Could not even deliver 20Ah (or 1.5A for 14Hrs) I took some back and they accused me of exposing the batteries to high temperatures of 45degrees... WHAT! I took the OPR60 data sheet and showed them that at a constant temp of 60degees C they say the battery must last 2years.. at 25 degrees at leat 10 years!! They therefore did not want to honor the warrentee.. 
I also bought x2 100Ahr batteries and installed that in my garage on a 1500KVA UPS. At a constant temp of around 25degrees in a 19inch rack. They too are now starting to fail. 1 year down the line; Being charged by the UPS and doubled with solar. 
There is a fundimental issue with omnipower batteries. And I think I know what the issue is. Nothing to do with Temperature but all to do with charge current!!
But Sinetech refused to honor the warranty; even when they advised me on the batteries and now DENY EVERYTHING flat out. They never knew my application.. really..
I'm in the process of making a consumer goods council case against them. I bought temperature loggers and logging battery temperatures. I also cut some batteries open to see if the batteries are dried out as this is the tell tale of high heat.. 
I'm also buying a battery analyzer to test the batteries
I believe there is a fundamental flaw in these batteries and if NOT charged in lab conditions will deteriorate Very quickly!! 
So be warned. Omnipower batteries are NOT worth it. Communica also buys them from sintech and I bough one from communica which also started to fail.
I will post my results of the tests as I go along. Even trying some desulfication techniques on the dead batteries NOW 1year old 
 

Growatt Technical Support Representative –Johannesburg, South Africa
 
Introduction
 Growatt New Energy Technology Co., Ltd is a professional, fast growing organization. The company is well known and respected globally as a world leading manufacturer of cost-effective, high efficiency photovoltaic inverters and storage solutions.
Growatt offers a comprehensive range of solar inverters, from 1kW to 2.52MW, together with energy storage solutions for on and off-grid applications and smart home energy management solutions. As of early 2017, the company had 1200 employees. Growatt's inverters have thus far been exported to more than 100 countries throughout the world.
 
Office Location / Working Place
Johannesburg, South Africa
 
Job title: Solar Inverter Technical Support Representative
Job responsibility
(1)  Responsible for the products’ after sales service in South Africa.
(2)  Fast response & quick fix to customer’s technical inquiry, over phone call conversation, or via email, WhatsApp, etc.
(3)  Instructing installer for installation of the product, monitoring, maintenance, etc.
(4)  Travel for field service when it is required.
(5)  Check & repair devices in warehouse.
(6)  Customer training. Train retailer, installer, etc for the product & warranty procedure, etc.
 
Requirement
(1)  Electronic, electrical related subjects graduate preferred. Electronic, electrical job related experience preferred.
(2)  Fluent in English, mandarin or Chinese is preferred.
(3)  Based in Johannesburg, South Africa. The office is in Johannesburg.
(4)  Skilled in office Word, office Excel.
Active, conscientious, strong responsibility feeling in working. Good communication ability & team working. Well in task planning & target hitting.
 
Welcome to join us!
Please send your resume & mention the expected salary to: [email protected]
We would contact you in 2 business days.
Please visit www.ginverter.com for more company profile.
 
Thank you!

Hello
First, thank you to everyone for their help, comments, criticism, and questions along this journey. As a complete amateur with all things solar, this forum has been a source of information in helping me along the journey. Also, a big thanks for Steve for all the chats and advice along the way. 
Current Install
1 x 8 KW Sunsynk Invertor
2 x Hubble AM2 5.5
10 x JA 540 East, West Tile roof
Reason for Install
I am a work from home employee and has been for the last nine years already.
I live in PMB on the border of the suburbs of Clarendon and Prestbury, and with PMB being in the current situation, we suffered outages more than 5 hours quite frequently. So not only did load shedding cause issues, but so did the lack of maintenance on the current electricity supply. To make matters worse, when the power goes out, the cell phone signal drops as well, so I cannot work at all.
Scope of Install and selecting an installer
The initial plan was to only install the invertor and batteries, but after chatting to Steve, I agreed to add panels to help me recover some of my investment at least. In terms of sizing, I knew our house uses quite a bit of electricity, so I went as big as the budget allowed in terms of batteries and invertor. The panels I decided on the JA 540's since roof space is limited.
On the selection of installer, my first port of call was calling an electrician that previously ran neutrals to my light switches. He recommended an installer that recently left a large solar install company and started his own business. He came out and quoted and seemed very keen. However, he was not an electrician, and was not a certified installer. After chatting to Steve, he recommended Hendrik from HGP electrical. Hendrik is a qualified electrician and a certified installer. Hendrik made contact, quoted me on the install, and explained all the SANS regulations that needed to be complied with to issue a COC at the end.  Hendrik quoted for the install, and I accepted. Disclaimer: HGP's quote was much higher than the quote received from the non-certified installer. However, I received a full breakdown of material and labor costs, so there was a reason for this higher quote.
 
Install Process and 1st Load Shedding
After the receiving the Invertor and batteries, arrangements were made with Hendrik to start the install. Hendrik and an assistant arrived, and the install was a go! My whole house is on essential load, except for a 24 000 BTU AC unit in my living room. Hendrik did not want to exceed 32Amps on the invertor, so we played it safe. I am however monitoring the load with Node Red, and have some automations configured to reduce load, should we get close to the invertor rated capacity. Once again, with Node Red, I power off the geyser and pool pump, should we have a loss of grid.
The first night of load shedding, and the invertor installed, was pure bliss! We had the over going, load shedding kicked in, and the house kept on running without any dips. The oven ran for 35 minutes, and after load shedding, we used about 30% of the battery capacity. Last weekend we were blessed with a 5-hour outage, and once again, no issues. To say that I am impressed, is an understatement.
With the initial install of batteries and invertor complete, and the panels still awaiting delivery, Hendrik was scheduled to complete the install this week. After about two days, the panels were fitted, and I could see some black magic happening between the sun and the panels. I am posting some screenshots below from Solar-Assistant below.  Today is raining and overcast, so the yield is iffy.

 
Future Expansion
A third battery has been ordered, and I am awaiting a quote on some additional panels. My panels are facing east and west, and I would like to decrease my reliance on the grid. Please note, I am decreasing my grid reliance without any changes on the household. I am not asking the wife to not run the tumble-dryer at 6am in the morning, nor I am scheduling the geyser on a timer.
 
Final Thoughts
I was warned that this a rabbit hole, and it's so true. The feeling of not having to be worried about the electricity supply is refreshing. At the same time, it is incredibly sad. Having to install expensive equipment for the sake of having stable electricity, should not be the norm! 
 
Ok, enough ramblings. Hopefully, someone finds this post helpful.
 
 

The above picture( last one) can be found in some overseas websites.
http://www.roof101.com/solar-roofing/solar-energy.php
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/house-solar-gm501865675-43285798?irgwc=1&esource=AFF_IS_IR_TinEye_77643_&asid=TinEye&cid=IS&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=TinEye&clickid=SXEX8g32MxyLTY60Rw0UrUzuUkERH0R2D1a4xg0&utm_term=&utm_campaign=&utm_content=435504&asset_type_keyword=_
https://lori.ru/11702387
 
 

May I suggest that you also place this negative review on HelloPeter to warn  more potential victims.
https://www.hellopeter.com/
Also consider taking the owner to the small claims court.
 
 

Great news - thanks a lot

Very good idea. I will intergrate that.
J

I think people would rather buy a 3.5kW pylontechs for R20K, comes with a 10 yr warranty, works seamlessly with some inverters..
2nd Hand batteries are still new to the market with no documented history that allows one to feel confident in the purchase...
 
What are you upgrading to?

I am no expert and cannot comment on the setup you are looking at.
Before you buy also have a look at this unit ( pure sine wave) - my father has one and he is happy with his setup.
https://www.takealot.com/smart-power-trolley-1-5kva-1000w-pure-sine-inverter-ups-charger-/PLID41356450
http://smartpowersystems.co.za/
 
SPEC-1000.pdf