Mike

important information on new charges. They are cutting the 4 brackets and now it will only be two. <600kwh and >=600kwh Eskom1 Most important information on this xls: Eskom2 What I have learnt from that is the homepower is what Me and langgat gets. Langgat a very big effect on charges is the NMD number. Check what yours is on your bill. Also homelight = prepaid from what i understand , so if you are on prepaid you fall under this. You guys still get 50 units free in some cases (roughtly R40 woohoo). What is shocking though is that if you put in 755kwh on both homepower(16kva) and on powelight(60A selection) I get R868 vs R764 That means that having a prepaid meter will save you R100 per month if you use around 755kwh??? apart from the 50 units you get free(probably not forever)

i get up to 82 Deg C on a sunny day, but in winter around 45 Deg C thats why i removed one evacuated tube and fitted a 1800W element to help out.My Solar pc controller switches the element on if the water aint at 60Deg at 16H00 every day.

for me i have just added the 400w turbine unit as a secondary. in the hope that in winter we do get a fair bit of wind and rain and that can boost the battery bank. Summer time with the good ol SOuth Easter should not be to bad however primary is pv panels for me.

in my opinion, yes for the summer months, but winter can be a little bit of a problem. i installed my own one last year but removed one of the evacuated tubes and fitted a 1800w element which does the trick on the winter days.I also installed a solar controller for the geyser - i chose not to use the geyser wise unit over this one as it controls automatically the filling of the tank, the temperature, and a few other things......

up to you then. i have never used it.imported a lot once...last one

My gift to You then. it is Yours

I got this little unit, folds up so nice and compact. website on the packaging and you can enquire as to costing aargg...cant upload the pics. website : http://www.yinglissolar.com

April 23 2013 at 06:50pm By Suren Naidoo Workers at the hi-tech ART Solar photovoltaic (PV) solar panel manufacturing plant in New Germany, west of Durban, which opened recently and is touted to be the he largest and most modern PV module fabrication plant in Africa. Durban is now home to the first locally owned photovoltaic (PV) solar panel manufacturing plant in South Africa and the most advanced facility of its kind in Africa. That’s the word from the directors of a newly establishing company, ART Solar, based in the New Germany Industrial Park. The ART Solar plant, believed to be an investment of between R50 million and R100m, was quietly opened. However, the owners have aspirations for the company to grow into a significant player in the renewable energy or “green technology” sector. The investment represents a significant private sector boost to the provincial government’s nascent plans for KwaZulu-Natal to become a “green technology” manufacturing hub on the continent. “This newly established facility – the largest and most modern PV module fabrication plant in Africa – has the capacity to manufacture 250 000 PV modules annually. This is the equivalent to 75 megawatts of electricity, which is sufficient to power at least 15 000 homes a year,” said Dr Ronald Lange, chief operating officer for ART Solar. Interest in PV technology has heightened since the launch of the government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Programme in 2011. Through this initiative, the government aims to procure and install 1.45 gigawatts of PV capacity by the end of next year. Mark Walsh, managing director of ART Solar; left; with Dr Ronald Lange, a photovoltaic (PV) solar panel technology expert and chief operating officer of the company. AP Mark Walsh, managing director of ART Solar, said the company had made a “significant investment” in the 3500m² hi-tech facility but was not at liberty to talk about the value of the capital investment into the private venture. He said the company was locally owned and set up by a group of KZN business people who wanted to take advantage of the opportunities arising out of the growing renewable energy sector. He said the company employed about 20 people in this first phase and with growth more jobs would be created. “What sets ART Solar apart in an increasingly competitive sector is the company’s investment in the latest machinery from Switzerland and Germany, adherence to stringent global quality manufacturing specifications, a comprehensive training programme by overseas specialists and co-operation with international PV experts. “PV modules, which adhere to stringent International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) specifications, are certified at ART Solar by the leading and independent test institute, TüV Rheinland in Germany. The establishment of ART Solar gives the South African market access to high quality, aesthetically pleasing and locally manufactured PV panels,” said Walsh. “With the investment in solar PV modules, users are able to generate electricity and benefit from cost savings in the long term. An advantage for the local market is that funding for renewable energy projects is available. South Africa will also benefit from noting the faults and successes of solar power projects implemented around the world,” said Walsh. Liesel Beires, a “green economy” specialist at KZN’s Economic Development Department and chairwoman of the Provincial Renewable Energy Workgroup, said the ART Solar investment was an exciting project for the sector in KZN. “We had the opportunity to tour the facility and it was very impressive. Well over R50m must have been invested in setting it up, but more importantly, it is a great showcase project for the renewable energy sector in KZN,” she said. “This could mark the start for great things in this space for KZN. It will not only stimulate the local market, but as the first manufacturing facility of its kind, it could attract other renewable energy projects to the province. The provincial government has serious ambitions for this sector and for KZN to become a hub of ‘green economy on the continent’,” said Beires. Lange said PV technology was a reliable and proven source of electricity because of its environmentally friendly and cost efficient features. “PV modules – which use daylight to generate electricity – are gaining popularity globally as a form of renewable energy that is clean, emission and noise-free, sustainable, safe and cost efficient. These modules are easy to install and require no maintenance, apart from occasional cleaning. They also have an estimated 40-year lifetime,” he said. Lange said ART Solar had also launched a PV competence network in KZN which would create a solar market and drive the market’s development with local enterprises.

i bought a ProVista MPPT 30A controller for R1500 incl in December. works fine for me. I have 4 x 180w panels on it and am getting around 27.4amps out of it.

depends on how the wind is in Randburg?

this is interesting for when it is available to us. I also know of a few folks that are doing this on the down low at the moment. problem is that some breakers trip in the street box and Eskom then come into the picture and it becomes an issue.

we used 5mm sheet steel and cut out a template to fit my parapet wall. drilled 3 10mm holes, epoxy bolts into wall and tightened down. Also added 2 x upright 5mm steel plates for vertical strengthening. painted with NS4. Also added Rubber insertion rubber between wall and steel for dampening. Glad you like

I decided in November 2012 to start a little project of learning and installing my own little Solar PV system with the aim of upgrading as finances would allow. I started out firstly with 2 x 180w Solarworld PV panels and a 1000w bi-directional inverter going via a 30A MPPT controller with 10 x 102ah High cycle Deltek batteries ( secondhand ). After about a month i realised that by going and buying secondhand batteries i had just shot myself in the foot as i could not add to the old bank with new batteries. So my first word of warning would be --- NEVER buy second hand batteries, rather wait until you can afford new. So there i went and started again, i bought myself 8 x 105AH Royal deep cycle batteries, configured then into a series/parrallel 24V bank, added another 2 x 180W PV panels, and here we go again... bought a second hand 2000w Juta pure sine inverter, all went well until i switched on my pool pump and when it switched off, i received a healthy cup of Back EMF ( blew the inverter ) So there i went to Mantech and bought 30 x Mosfets to replace blown, and wait for it.......Started again but with another upgrade to new items. Now i went and bought a new 2500W pure sine solar inverter and 2 x 200W Solar panels ( to install still ) and a new 400W wind Turbine, installed that today. All that i still need to install is my Victron 602 battery monitor kit, hopefully tomorrow and i can then monitor everything. OK, so that is my hardware done for now. I have got connected to it the following: 1. House light circuits mostly using 7w cfl downlights 2. my studies computers ( 2 x Laptops ) 3. All my CTWUG aeriels & routers WISP routers. 4. All my CCTV camera's and DVR Tomorrow i will start with dedicated solar power points to other areas of the home without going overboard or overloading the inverter. I have found a lot of information out there on what and how to do......NOT all of it is correct and so far only found one company / person that goes out on a limb to assist you / get you the best price possible and basically be there 24/7 if you ask anything. not sure if i can say here but ask me via mail...Just shop around and you will see who just wants the sale and who has your interest at heart. thats it for now, will add as i progress.I must add that i feel the best advise one could get is from others that have started the journey to green enegry. They can point out the pitfalls we are so sure to encounter.Attached are a few pics from my start to present. till next time Mike