NoJ

To start I will never pay that amount for that battery. How about paying R62 K for 30KW 10 000 cycles. See we live in different worlds. It should be noted I do not buy expensive. So do the calculations on 10 000 cycles 30KW for 62K and then it includes a 12V 3k5W battery. Secondly my inverters 2 x 5 1 x 2k5 1 x 7 KW and 1 x 3K6 cost me R19500 something like that I can't remember the cost of the Solis. Then if I do not have solar my account will be : 45Kw per day or 1426Kw per month then 580 x 2.6833 = R1556 846 x 3.71 = R 3137 T R4694 Thus to start I save R3500 x 6 = R21 000 + R2203 x 6 = 13218 == R34K If I then choose to have batteries I can save another R918 x 6 = R5510 for 6 months Thus the savings for 6 months is more than R40K. That is the calculations you should be doing. If one look at R31K for 15KW @ 10 000 cycles then in 5 years the batteries are paid and there is still another 15 years left. That is based on figures from COCT SAP. Not thumb suck. Show me where I can get a return of R600K on and investment of R80K and then I do not have to lift a finger. Forgive me but I am to lazy to expand. So its easier to say don't do it but I am smiling and so are those who followed this method.

I have a 3.6KW solis that feeds back. It runs at max from about 10 till about 15H00. Not exactly sure but it works hard. Gr8 product. I was not sure about everything when I started due to all the comments and the cost difference. So I started small. In fact I first bought a 2KW unit that packed up within a week and I could then only get this unit. Once I saw the figures I got the two 5. They also run at max from about 10 till about 15H00. In this period we generate about 70Kwhr. They are fully packed and we save more than R80K per year. The new T style inverters are actually incredible and extremely "cheap" if you do not want to do name dropping. They start for a 6KW at about R 13500. Once you have one of them the old one will go. Its worth while simply to chuck it as they are obsolete. . The software is so much better so is the load control's and ramping of voltage. The new style IGBT devices has changed the world and the designs are very cost effective and have a greater efficiency. Once my 7 K is up and running in full I will install a 10KW 3 phase T inverter. with a set of new panels. Its all sponsored by ESKOM.

Try then you apply for a 3 phase connection. The meter that gets installed by COCT is 3 phase in any case. And they are doing well to force people that way. Lets say the inverter disconnects then you install thicker cabling. a 100KW inverter does not have the means to lift the grids voltage you require about 100Mwatts to start lifting the grid voltage in a meaningful way. Thus if your inverter trips it was installed by a person that does not have the ability to use ohms law. In my case the supplier clearly stated to use 12mm cabling. Pushing back about 5KW the input voltage at the inverter is about 2 volts higher than the measured voltage. Soon I will have a proper installation with an inverter room and new cabling then I can share photo's etc. For now its a mess and not a nice system to show

No doubt I am not a fan of politicians but with this they did a great job and needs to be complimented. The do have more honesty and ... than your crowed. I am privileged to live in the most beautiful City of Cape Town. I do think with our politicians outsmarting the ANC it makes a big difference

The difference is DA & ANC .. The DA was prepared to go to the court and it will be a struggle to get it reverse and as Eskom is falling apart due to the theft by the ANC it is here to stay. The dismantling of Eskom due to the dishonesty of the ANC etc, created a need and if there are other suppliers then why can we not be. It will be interesting when the grid is removed from Eskom then the theory is I can sell to COJ and don't have to sell to COCT. That is the R295 grid connection fee the COCT asks for. The question is if one pays you councils account with electricity can they refuse to accept you method of payment. Even then in my case my savings is more than R8K per month That has to be tested in court. Unless there is not new laws then what will happen if you pay your account with X kw and they refuse to accept your payment. The current law I am sure if they refuse to accept your account payment in cents they refuse to accept your money. That will be very interesting

Always remember you can stop paying water and taxes and the solar will take care of it. In my case my water was more that R1k per month I replaced it with a small RO plant then my taxes are R2470 per month. With step tariff it also keeps your usage below the step. The net impact of it is worth it.. The COCT started by paying the same as what they "pay Eskom" So it was logical they did not loose on income as you will be solar in any case. Then somebody showed the council that with time of use tariff they are ridiculously expensive as at night the buy electricity @ R0.391 per Kwh. More like spinning reserve. Then the person showed the council that by not providing a better "rate for night" use it is better to sponsor China to get batteries and the council introduced the .25 intensive and except for the luxury of no load shedding its not worth to have batteries. If you do the same study for the COJ they might understand the diffs but we can not always expect politicians to understand the numbers except when it is self enrichment. I think the politicians in COCT is a bit better understanding the numbers and the impact on the economy. That is my believe.

Grid tied normally has "two modes" of inverters: One mode is connected to the suppliers grid and it only feeds back. Its also referred to as a T systemm The second mode is when there is no grid supply the inverter will supply the load and automatically disconnects from the grid until the power is back. In the second mode the system can be fed from a small generator and the inverter will then supply either battery power or solar power with that of the generator where higher loads are required. For normal loads the system will depending on the rating supply the load (house etc.) from either battery at night or during the day a combination of battery and solar where there is not enough solar power from the PV. The inverter is therefore comfortable to work with the grid, batteries, solar, generators connected to the grid or as a complete stand alone system.

There is no benefit in it as the cost at this moment is fixed @ R0.87 + R0.25. If the talks actually becomes implemented and there is time of use then one can look at that because one should then get more @ peak hour than normal hours. For now the batteries at night is a saving as my usage for my electricity is when its dark and @ about 11Kw average per day I would rather expand my panels and inverters. It better cost that way as batteries costs are high compared to panels and inverters. But when time of use is applied then I think it will be worth it.

Nope, Lets take 1 Jan The home use is not currently working as I have removed my 3 phase multi direction meter. Its a 3 phase 3 direction meter that is multi function device and .... Thus it measures home usage, import per phase power in per phase from inverters and exports per phase. Not the average device. So I do not have exact figures on that. My rough usage per day with solar is +/- 16KWH without solar I use more than 45KWHR So ignore that column please. I am just lazy to reconnect the "meter" and get the data into the records. (5k2W + 5k2W + 3k5W+2k5W) = >15Kw. The panels are so stacked that 3 inverters runs at 100% and max out early. Thus I have more than 5Kw for the 5 KW more than 3KW ... solar panels and I have some lying on my roof not even connected. They are for the "new" 7KW inverter. I dump solar when the sun is at max so that I loose less in the winter. Too many KW from the panels for the existing system. X panels are 330 & 405, some 420 and others 550W. I think in fact I don't know exactly the ratings of the panels. I can assure you they work. The inverters has dual separate in puts. That's a huge plus So as I stated its not about my system its about the way the COCT structure the grid tie so we can benefit from it. No matter how anybody argues its about the account from the COCT and the savings and that is accurate. My savings are more than R6K per month. In fact my total saving on solar will create a stir if I pen it. So the point is.: If you have a solar system that is not grid tied get rid of the dumb inverter and get a grid tie combination They are not expensive that is if you do not get tricked. The cost of the meter gets paid by the feedback into the grid The more panels etc you add the greater the return The more there are of these installations the greater the impact on load shedding where the dumb systems is actually not helping with the black outs we get. Sorry I did not realized I had to be this detailed to be sensible I am an extremely lazy writer/communicator. The most important fact is that council will refund you for your solar expenses and it will continue to grow. It will not only be an expense but an income as well. This is something people should be made aware of. I have seen a 6KW multi purpose inverters for +/-R13K. It does the following: Supply the house with electricity from solar panels only Can connect a generator Can connect Eskom and when no sun it switches to Eskom It is grid tied thus excess is feedback into the grid and one get refunded It works of batteries only. Both solar and Eskom can charge the batteries. Thus for a littler extra you can still have no load shedding, solar and Eskom connection plus money back. This is my point I am trying to make and it is backed with documentation from the COCT. IT IS WORTH IT. So forget about my system I am not interested to be technically accurate or impress people but rather show them with documentation from an COCT account it pays and nope matter the cost of the meter it is worth it. So in short enough is when you have an municipal account that pays you and not them. I have 100A 3phase supply to my house 😉 . The meter can make use of CT's so I can add a lot more and its now a sponsored product. IT IS WORTH IT.

Oh dear me. The post was not about my system but about the impact of grid tied and how the COCT put things together so we all can benefit. But lets talk about BMS. The BMS I use does the following: Active balancer. This means that each 12V sub system has its own controller board with a 5 or 10 amp current supply. When a cell has a serious issue it will disconnect the batteries and attend to the cell thus the cell will be charged using 5amps and then 16 steps down to .3amps till at the same voltage. The boards communicate with each other meaning that 4 cells get balanced and 4 cells gets attended too. When done the batt is switched back. During normal operations the cell that has a lower voltage will get charged and topped up to the same voltage of the other cells without switching of the system. It monitor the temp between 2 cells and if to high or low it will cut off the battery. It monitors the charging and discharging current plus rates of each cell It monitors the ambient C and if outside the manufacturers spec it will protect the battery. Batt gets disconnect on HighV and Low V Its all about the life of the battery. One step more the battery is assembled so that it is under pressure 24/7. This photo was taken during assembly not the final product. Not sure if you are aware of such system Thus at 80% of the operational specs this battery should last more than 20 years. It has a guarantee of 10 years provided data is supplied. Its not about my system and the looks of it. Its all about the impact of a proper grid tie system the savings and the way the City Of Cape Town provides the means to get our municipal account at paid by the sun!!! Not a look at me I am fancy but a look at the savings through grid tie

Its not about the accuracy of the system its about the savings. I have 44 panels on my roof. Yes on my roof not on a small holding on the roof of my house. the capability is more that 130KW per day.. This is not about my systems its about the savings the system generates with grid tie

The mayor in Cape Town actually announced that they will pay back cash. You can trust them on this. Thus far I truly think the COCT is doing their best so we all can benefit from it. There been some "changes in their reasoning" if I may and that is beneficial for all of us. They had a gr8 change of heart if you wish and it is working extremely well. I think like all new stuff they had some issues to sort but currently I can only complement them on their calculations and they way they attend to problems. They are doing absolutely great. I stand to correction but I believe all future inverters mus be a proper hybrid system and not as commonly known in SA. The COCT I believe is in the process or its already the case that inverters must be grid tied and supply the "house" from solar. It will be very wise for the COCT to force all solar installations by law to be grid tied and stand alone and not the once that's hybrid and not grid tied. I do not have a smart setup so if you will forgive me. I do not have expensive stuff. It is the minimal requirements to comply to the law. This is a photo of a 12V 3.6KW Lipo battery with 10 000 cycles. The total cost is about R6900 and it works extremely well. So if you would spare me the embarrassment.

This is what the daily feedback to the COCT looks like: The 550W is from Lee Roy Marlin in Oct they shipped it from Jhb The 420W is from olirosssolar and sorry the cost was actually R1350 per panel. https://olirosssolar.co.za/ What a super panel this is.

The only objective is to show people solar pays for itself and you add more panels then your account drops drastically: My account was way more than R7000 per month. I did not show all the data as the savings is actually way more This is a summary of my COCT account for Jan: R-1,711.37 R-491.77 Export R-2,203.14 Import R 918.36 Connection Fee R 219.21 Data R 4.92 Tax R 2,092.71 Rubish R 158.30 R 1,190.37

The Time Tariff Rval column is what the council pays "Eskom" Ttf N Val column is what the council gains from selling solar and not coal.

this is the actual data for Jan: Jan R Flux Home Use Import Kwhr Export Kwhr R Import R Export Nett R X.xx Time Tariff Rval Ttf N Val R Total Follow The Sun 1 0.0 -60.312 9.550 -69.862 R 25.63 R-78.25 R-52.62 R 5.29 R-72.95 R-52.62 60.312 2 0.0 -51.956 11.565 -63.521 R 31.03 R-71.14 R-40.11 R 6.08 R-65.06 R-92.73 51.956 3 0.0 -44.334 9.726 -54.060 R 26.10 R-60.55 R-34.45 R 5.62 R-54.93 R-127.18 44.334 4 0.0 -59.429 9.568 -68.997 R 25.67 R-77.28 R-51.60 R 5.54 R-71.74 R-178.78 59.429 5 0.0 -58.946 11.960 -70.906 R 32.09 R-79.41 R-47.32 R 7.15 R-72.26 R-226.11 58.946 6 0.0 -60.813 10.178 -70.991 R 27.31 R-79.51 R-52.20 R 5.38 R-74.13 R-278.31 60.813 7 0.0 -33.528 9.597 -43.125 R 25.75 R-48.30 R-22.55 R 5.07 R-43.23 R-300.85 33.528 8 0.0 -66.873 9.318 -76.191 R 25.00 R-85.33 R-60.33 R 4.93 R-80.41 R-361.18 66.873 9 0.0 -58.314 9.478 -67.792 R 25.43 R-75.93 R-50.49 R 5.93 R-69.99 R-411.68 58.314 10 0.0 -62.425 10.488 -72.913 R 28.14 R-81.66 R-53.52 R 5.81 R-75.86 R-465.20 62.425 11 0.0 -58.977 7.954 -66.931 R 21.34 R-74.96 R-53.62 R 4.92 R-70.04 R-518.82 58.977 12 0.0 -56.813 9.990 -66.803 R 26.81 R-74.82 R-48.01 R 5.59 R-69.23 R-566.83 56.813 13 0.0 -61.181 10.857 -72.038 R 29.13 R-80.68 R-51.55 R 6.79 R-73.89 R-618.38 61.181 14 0.0 -45.287 7.399 -52.686 R 19.85 R-59.01 R-39.15 R 4.27 R-54.73 R-657.54 45.287 15 0.0 -54.670 13.802 -68.472 R 37.03 R-76.69 R-39.65 R 8.23 R-68.46 R-697.19 54.670 16 0.0 -39.278 13.717 -52.995 R 36.81 R-59.35 R-22.55 R 9.07 R-50.29 R-719.74 39.278 17 0.0 -59.236 11.403 -70.639 R 30.60 R-79.12 R-48.52 R 6.77 R-72.35 R-768.26 59.236 18 0.0 -61.392 9.564 -70.956 R 25.66 R-79.47 R-53.81 R 6.10 R-73.37 R-822.06 61.392 19 0.0 -40.828 11.412 -52.240 R 30.62 R-58.51 R-27.89 R 7.01 R-51.50 R-849.95 40.828 20 0.0 -28.687 10.575 -39.262 R 28.38 R-43.97 R-15.60 R 5.72 R-38.25 R-865.55 28.687 21 0.0 -56.528 11.956 -68.484 R 32.08 R-76.70 R-44.62 R 7.15 R-69.55 R-910.17 56.528 22 0.0 -57.718 13.119 -70.837 R 35.20 R-79.34 R-44.14 R 7.42 R-71.91 R-954.30 57.718 23 0.0 -49.097 12.167 -61.264 R 32.65 R-68.62 R-35.97 R 7.29 R-61.33 R-990.27 49.097 24 0.0 -59.438 11.074 -70.512 R 29.71 R-78.97 R-49.26 R 6.70 R-72.28 R-1,039.53 59.438 25 0.0 -53.152 13.152 -66.304 R 35.29 R-74.26 R-38.97 R 8.18 R-66.08 R-1,078.50 53.152 26 0.0 -44.982 12.731 -57.713 R 34.16 R-64.64 R-30.48 R 8.09 R-56.55 R-1,108.98 44.982 27 0.0 -49.190 10.531 -59.721 R 28.26 R-66.89 R-38.63 R 6.24 R-60.65 R-1,147.61 49.190 28 0.0 -36.776 12.676 -49.452 R 34.01 R-55.39 R-21.37 R 7.37 R-48.01 R-1,168.98 36.776 29 0.0 -50.342 11.521 -61.863 R 30.91 R-69.29 R-38.37 R 7.61 R-61.68 R-1,207.35 50.342 30 0.0 -53.269 11.199 -64.468 R 30.05 R-72.20 R-42.15 R 6.84 R-65.36 R-1,249.51 53.269 31 0.0 -51.065 14.025 -65.090 R 37.63 R-72.90 R-35.27 R 10.14 R-62.76 R-1,242.62 51.065 0.000 -1,624.836 342.252 -1,967.088 R 918.36 R-2,203.14 R-1,284.77 R 204.30 R-1,998.83 0.000 -3,591.924 -1,967.088 -1,624.836 R 204.30 R-71.07 R-1,819.82 R 204.30 R 1,711.37

I can go and count each one if you wish as I honestly don't know the exact panel configurations. Many sold at a special and I bought and made use of the ignorance factor

I think it is fair to state that I did not believe sales reps. This winter it will be more I am adding another 7KW grid tie it was sold on FB as a second hand for R2000. There is no rush people must not be fooled that's the most important part of solar.

I am afraid to say the stuff are all cheap and nastiest. I have 1 Solis 3k3 bought new was +/- R7K5 I have 2 5KW grid tied inverters nobody wanted to buy this so it was dumped at a low fee. Cause every one is scared to feed back.😳 There was a special on the 420W panels for R1300 each and I bought 10 they are brilliant panels There was a special on the 550W for R2200 and I bought 5 Then I have some older 330W a mixture of panels The meter installation by the council was R11K in 2019 Currently I generate about 115KW per day and it peaks at about 13KWh. The only name brand are the 550W they are JAP panels they was on a special My total capital lay out was less than R75K this is ex the meter. But the meter was paid in 5 months and the total savings for these 5 months are more than R26K. The 26K savings. Meter R11000 10 420 @ 1300R R13000 So the COCT sponsored my meter installation plus 10 420W panels. "En wie moet ons bedank? Boland bank 😉" The actual cash back for 1Oct - now is: Oct R -1,406.81 Nov R -1,335.38 Dec R -2053.88 Jan R -2203.14 Feb R -1816.34 Total R -8815.54

The COCT grid tied is a super option: Since 1 Oct 2023: Oct 23 520.794 1,256.083 -735.289 R-9.37 Nov 23 452.996 1,192.301 -739.305 R-119.85 'Dec 23 381.076 1,833.817 -1,452.741 R-1,031.33 ‘Jan 24 342.252 1,967.088 -1,624.836 R-1,284.77 Feb 24 362.053 1,741.858 -1,379.805 R-979.38 A whopping cash back return of R 3424.71 Add my normal account was ore than R3K a total saving of more than 5 x R3500 = R17500 + R3424.71 = R20,924.71 Account for 13 Jan - 14 Feb 24: Generation Offset ( 1952.501 kWh X R 0.8700 ) 1698.68- Generation Offset Incentive ( 1952.501 kWh X R 0.2500 ) 488.13- R 2181 cash back for this period. Grid tied the best option there is!!! Feb SAP curves on COCT system:

The Mayor on TV stated. We have obtained permission to pay suppliers in cash directly. We will buy what ever you can sell to us". If there is a word or two wrong forgive me. The president has already stated no license required for generation below 50MW I believe more accurate is 5MW. The old way before this announcement the City work on +/- 1/3 of your supply. 3 phase 120A/P = 3 x 120 = 360A 360/3 = 120A. Rough calculation 120A x 240V = 28.8KW OR !!!!!!!!!!! 28.8 x 24 x 365 = 252 288 / 12 = 21 024 or 21 024 x R1.04 = R 21 864.96 x 1.15 = R 25 144.70. Thus with their old stuff it was possible to PUT BACK R 25 144.70 per month (get). This is rough calculations That now has been lifted and you can push back what ever you want. You can also ask for an upgrade to 120A 3 phase connection. That is What was announced

Home

Something I would like to say is over the past few years we have saved more than a R150 000 in cash.For me spending a few $ on a meter and a few on solar not everywhere where you get that for doing notting ey

Only asking and after the 18% this year & 12% next year? I recon the payback by 2024 "should be" R1.044 per Kw no subsidy and the low rate of the City should be R3.0264. That is if they apply 18 and then 12%. I mean a 30.2% increase going to be something for many. Not 100% accurate calcs but close enough. Currently the more you can export the more they will buy from you. I generate more 2MW per month and its quite something if you do the calcs. I can buy a small car with insurance from the amount I am saving that I do not have to pay the council. I can tell you your theory in the case of the COCT is for sure wrong. Saying this I have a few more than 12 panels and 3 inverters They never complained and I can assure you every .01C has been taken into account by the council. On this I must credit the COCT regardless of who said what they have been more than fair with whats been put back not only for me but for those we assisted to push back and that is quite a few kw.

You have good faith in the politicians not to increase and steel. If a 1000 homes put back 6Kw per day it is 6MW. Its rain drops that fills the dams and the oceans.