Hi Guys

Need some advice, helping my mom with going solar.

She lives in a complex, doesnt realy use much power at all. But wants to convert.

 

Dalily usages runs at around 5 to 7kwh. 

Gas stove

1050w microwave 

1200w glass cooker

And a kettle. But uses the gas oven to heat water most of the time.

Geyser will be kept on eskom.

Aswell as a pottery oven she maybe uses once a month.

 

What type and size would she need to look at. 

I have read up abit and spoke to a friend about it and just confused on what to do for her. 

Is there someone out there with the same type of house setup and can give some insight?

Or some experts that can over advice please.

 

Dont just want to go to solar guy. Get Install and it doenst work.

 

Thanks

Rudi

27 minutes ago, Rudi46 said:

Hi Guys

Need some advice, helping my mom with going solar.

She lives in a complex, doesnt realy use much power at all. But wants to convert.

 

Dalily usages runs at around 5 to 7kwh. 

Gas stove

1050w microwave 

1200w glass cooker

And a kettle. But uses the gas oven to heat water most of the time.

Geyser will be kept on eskom.

Aswell as a pottery oven she maybe uses once a month.

 

What type and size would she need to look at. 

I have read up abit and spoke to a friend about it and just confused on what to do for her. 

Is there someone out there with the same type of house setup and can give some insight?

Or some experts that can over advice please.

 

Dont just want to go to solar guy. Get Install and it doenst work.

 

Thanks

Rudi

Can she fit panels and what space and directions available. This can be a serious problem more so in complexes. 

1. The daily usage is a good measure to determine the reserve battery capacity. How many hours do you wish to be independently powered.
2. The peak usage will determine the Inverter you should target. i.e. glass cooker plus microwave are 3kW, then a 3kW will suffice but is risky as other forgotten items like chargers and lights may cause the Inverter to trip. a 5kW would be my recommendation.
3. As @Scorp007already mentioned, the ability to place solar panels will determine if some if not most of the energy requirements can be self generated.
4. With a 5kW Inverter, a timer and some usage management, a 5kW will happily heat the geyser too. It's all a matter of sequentially using the available nergy.

Hi Guys

Thanks for the Quick Replies.

@Scorp007 she will be able to place panels on the roof. There are 2 north facing Roof spaces. One is 5mx11m and the other is 3mx6. and then one south facing 5mx6m.

@zsde 

1. She has a +- Budget of 60k. And wishes to go as far as possible independently. I know the Budget is small. But can do a small project. or Parts to a bigger one with investment in the system in the future Aswell to complete it for total independency. 

2. She stays by herself and nearly never uses more than one device at a time. Except maybe when the grandkids come to visit. So the 5kw seems the way.

3. That would be amazing. It's a 2-bedroom 2-bathroom setup and will make sure all the lights will be changed to LED. Train her to understand how the system will work and keep her from overloading it. 

4. She Currently has the geyser only working for around 3-4 hours a day and its already switched of for the rest of the day.

 

Please see Attached Google Picture of the Unit.

Thanks again for the swift replies and input given sofar.

 

Small 5KW inverter,2.5kWh battery R25k

4x380w Solar panels R15k

10-15k sundries,install

Rough thumbsuck,it'll be tight

@PsyWulfis correct, it will be tight, but it's doable.

Shop around and see what package deals are available. But be careful and check with Forum members too about legit and dubious companies.
There are some good deals to be had if you do your homework and perhaps take the time to go to the physical location of the company. Bonus would be to then do the transaction at the location where you physically take your purchase with you. 

 

Try to get something that blends PV and AC power to heat the geyser. Either the Axpert/Kodak King or maybe Luxpower SNA5000W. Point is, you don't need much PV panels, 1.5kW should cover your needs most of the time to generate the total kWh needed, but that won't meet the instantaneous power for the loads much of the time. A Greenrich 3.5kWh for R24K or similar could do for storage.

Watch out for shading. The East-side of the 3x6 roof looks like it could be at risk of shading losses in the morning, and the West side of the 5x11 roof in the afternoon.

On 2022/12/09 at 5:43 PM, PsyWulf said:

Small 5KW inverter,2.5kWh battery R25k

4x380w Solar panels R15k

10-15k sundries,install

Rough thumbsuck,it'll be tight

Hi

 

Thanks for the advice, most of the install will be done by myself. So can maybe shave some cents of there to add to battery or pannels.

 

Regards

On 2022/12/09 at 6:26 PM, zsde said:

@PsyWulfis correct, it will be tight, but it's doable.

Shop around and see what package deals are available. But be careful and check with Forum members too about legit and dubious companies.
There are some good deals to be had if you do your homework and perhaps take the time to go to the physical location of the company. Bonus would be to then do the transaction at the location where you physically take your purchase with you. 

 

Thanks. Will have a look and ask about companies before I buy. What's your guys take on Second hand. See a 5kw inverter on the forum for sale.

 

On 2022/12/09 at 8:46 PM, GreenFields said:

Try to get something that blends PV and AC power to heat the geyser. Either the Axpert/Kodak King or maybe Luxpower SNA5000W. Point is, you don't need much PV panels, 1.5kW should cover your needs most of the time to generate the total kWh needed, but that won't meet the instantaneous power for the loads much of the time. A Greenrich 3.5kWh for R24K or similar could do for storage.

Watch out for shading. The East-side of the 3x6 roof looks like it could be at risk of shading losses in the morning, and the West side of the 5x11 roof in the afternoon.

Thanks for the recommendations to look at. Will google abit more and search. one of these days we all will need this with how things are going.

 

On 2022/12/13 at 2:31 AM, Rudi46 said:

Thanks. Will have a look and ask about companies before I buy. What's your guys take on Second hand. See a 5kw inverter on the forum for sale.

 

I have some used bits in my kit

As long as it's the right price and you're not expecting warranty support then it's fair game