Eduan

EVERYTHING that generates heat should be on gas.

I'm seriously looking at a Rinnai gas-heated tumble drier. Although I have no problem with solar energy at the moment. https://rinnai-gas-geysers.co.za/with-the-ability-to-dry-a-load-of-towels-in-under-an-hour-the-dry-soft-6-might-be-considered-a-luxury-by-some-but-its-a-necessity-for-large-families/

True dat!

It's even more of a problem than with vegan cross-fit yacht owners.

I don't know of any RE books but I suggest you find people who have installed systems. It's not too difficult: have a look for houses with PV panels on the roof and go knock on their door. Most people who have installed systems are happy to talk about them..

48 Volts. Anything else is a waste of time.

Buy a small direct inverter and a couple of panels (sufficient to get the inverter operating). Feed directly into your household grid, and start learning. The best learning is accomplished whilst doing.

You can reasonably get going for under R20K.

Another site to read also about lithium batteries (sorry, I am crazy about lithium batteries 😂) 
 
http://nordkyndesign.com/category/marine-engineering/electrical/lithium-battery-systems/
 
Many people also ask about wind turbines to supplement their solar, this is an informative article to read... 
 
https://scoraigwind.co.uk/category/vertical-axis-wind-turbines-vawts/

 

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find this very useful at times
https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Wiring-Unlimited-EN.pdf 

If you ever plan to use lithium batteries in your solar system, this site gives a very long but informative idea on how to safely charge, discharge and balance LiFePo4 batteries. 
 
https://marinehowto.com/lifepo4-batteries-on-boats/

I would suggest reading this forum. Everything is here. 
Not sure about which books if you want to read offline though