WannabeSolarSparky Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 After many happy months paying less than R50 per month for eskom units this last few weeks have been sad. I have bought almost R600 in units this month due to the bad no-sun weather here in Cape Town. Is it time to upgrade my battery bank with a few more batteries? Currently have 200AH with about 9600WH usable capacity. Not nearly enough to remain off-grid with the current weather we are experiencing. If I add another 200AH of batteries I might make it back to the R50 per month mark, but I would then also need to add at least another 1000 watts of panels. Or do I just stick it out and ride the winter weather for a few more weeks. What are your experiences with your battery banks and this crazy winter we are having in the cape? Antonio de Sa and zsde 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaliaB Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 (edited) 28 minutes ago, WannabeSolarSparky said: What are your experiences with your battery banks and this crazy winter we are having in the cape? Yep back to Eskom we need the second renewable " wind turbines" that could withstand gale force winds. It will be a costly exercise no return on investment as maintenance will take its toll. Initial mast construction are going to cost$$$ Edited June 21, 2023 by TaliaB WannabeSolarSparky 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenFields Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 29 minutes ago, WannabeSolarSparky said: After many happy months paying less than R50 per month for eskom units this last few weeks have been sad. I have bought almost R600 in units this month due to the bad no-sun weather here in Cape Town. Is it time to upgrade my battery bank with a few more batteries? Currently have 200AH with about 9600WH usable capacity. Not nearly enough to remain off-grid with the current weather we are experiencing. If I add another 200AH of batteries I might make it back to the R50 per month mark, but I would then also need to add at least another 1000 watts of panels. Or do I just stick it out and ride the winter weather for a few more weeks. What are your experiences with your battery banks and this crazy winter we are having in the cape? Hang in there. Today is the solstice, the turn of the tide. By the time you've got the quote and paid the deposit and set the installation date, you'll be having second thoughts. Piper, Scorp007, WannabeSolarSparky and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannabeSolarSparky Posted June 21, 2023 Author Share Posted June 21, 2023 11 minutes ago, GreenFields said: By the time you've got the quote and paid the deposit and set the installation date, you'll be having second thoughts. DIY everything so thats no issue at all It's the dam cash, will prob take 2 or 3 winters to save that up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZaydS Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 Same problem. I could add panels facing NW as my 10.6kwh battery doesn't get charged. So, just using the battery for load shedding. Some days have to charge with grid. But then in summer, I'll be exporting at R1.20 to CoCT. Conundrum..... Antonio de Sa 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannabeSolarSparky Posted June 21, 2023 Author Share Posted June 21, 2023 59 minutes ago, TaliaB said: Yep back to Eskom we need the second renewable " wind turbines" that could withstand gale force winds. It will be a costly exercise no return on investment as maintenance will take its toll. Initial mast construction are going to cost$$$ In the dense residential suburbs like here in Parklands, wind turbines are not a good idea, they make too much noise (and vibrations if pole is mounted connected to any wall ) so the neighbors will quickly start complaining. Over the years I have seen quite a few pop up in homes and then few months later they are gone. Not sure reason, could be by-laws or the neighbors. If I was on a small-holding then for sure I would put up a turbine or 2. zsde 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumba Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 No sun no pv power; there is nothing one can do about that. The only disadvantage of living in Cape Time during winter WannabeSolarSparky 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimCam Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 If you have money and space for more panels and batteries, add them, you'll never be sorry for the extra capacity, especially as Eskom continues to deteriorate. Being in CT you can possibly export back to the grid for a few pennies as @ZaydS says. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HendrikBigChief Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 7 hours ago, WannabeSolarSparky said: After many happy months paying less than R50 per month for eskom units this last few weeks have been sad. I have bought almost R600 in units this month due to the bad no-sun weather here in Cape Town. Is it time to upgrade my battery bank with a few more batteries? Currently have 200AH with about 9600WH usable capacity. Not nearly enough to remain off-grid with the current weather we are experiencing. If I add another 200AH of batteries I might make it back to the R50 per month mark, but I would then also need to add at least another 1000 watts of panels. Or do I just stick it out and ride the winter weather for a few more weeks. What are your experiences with your battery banks and this crazy winter we are having in the cape? The money you are paying now will be recouped in summer when you sell back to CoCT? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannabeSolarSparky Posted June 21, 2023 Author Share Posted June 21, 2023 8 minutes ago, HendrikBigChief said: The money you are paying now will be recouped in summer when you sell back to CoCT? I wish that was possible. Unfortunately the high fixed monthly costs to feedback and get paid by the CoCT does not make it worth it for the average solar system. Even if I were to add a few more solar panels it still will not be worth sending/selling back to the grid. In summer I will rather just use more aircons and shower more often during the day to use up the excess solar. Or maybe get started doing some baking cakes and selling that way more profitable and enjoyable than selling to the CoCT. Marc FH, Unity and zsde 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorp007 Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 (edited) 6 hours ago, WannabeSolarSparky said: DIY everything so thats no issue at all It's the dam cash, will prob take 2 or 3 winters to save that up Out of a ROI point I will not do it. This might be a once in a few years event. Having excess in the normal years for ME would be a nice to have. I cannot imagine how bad it is out there so it is your call. Partly in a semi same boat when we have 4hrs LS and grid tie output drops but I am not allergic to buying more from the grid at a cost of a few hundred and within 2 months it drops to a much lower amount. No matter how expensive power gets in future it will not give me the ROI that I would like. I would like to see the calculation how you recoup R66 000 in a few months selling power to CoCT. Edited June 21, 2023 by Scorp007 zsde, ZaydS, WannabeSolarSparky and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannabeSolarSparky Posted June 21, 2023 Author Share Posted June 21, 2023 At least the weather forecast shows some sunny days ahead Maybe all those red lines will start disappearing again zsde 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eugenevz Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 8 hours ago, WannabeSolarSparky said: After many happy months paying less than R50 per month for eskom units this last few weeks have been sad. I have bought almost R600 in units this month due to the bad no-sun weather here in Cape Town. Is it time to upgrade my battery bank with a few more batteries? Currently have 200AH with about 9600WH usable capacity. Not nearly enough to remain off-grid with the current weather we are experiencing. If I add another 200AH of batteries I might make it back to the R50 per month mark, but I would then also need to add at least another 1000 watts of panels. Or do I just stick it out and ride the winter weather for a few more weeks. What are your experiences with your battery banks and this crazy winter we are having in the cape? Yea, saving R550 a month for 3 to 4 months a year is going to take a long time to justify the 60k that the extra batteries alone will cost you. I guess it will all depend on the annual electricity price increases Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HendrikBigChief Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 12 hours ago, WannabeSolarSparky said: I wish that was possible. Unfortunately the high fixed monthly costs to feedback and get paid by the CoCT does not make it worth it for the average solar system. Even if I were to add a few more solar panels it still will not be worth sending/selling back to the grid. In summer I will rather just use more aircons and shower more often during the day to use up the excess solar. Or maybe get started doing some baking cakes and selling that way more profitable and enjoyable than selling to the CoCT. I read somewhere the CoCT reduced the fee to R6 to feed in, https://mybroadband.co.za/news/energy/495295-massive-cost-cut-for-home-solar-power-producers-in-cape-town-from-r350-to-r5-per-month.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannabeSolarSparky Posted June 22, 2023 Author Share Posted June 22, 2023 42 minutes ago, HendrikBigChief said: I read somewhere the CoCT reduced the fee to R6 to feed in, https://mybroadband.co.za/news/energy/495295-massive-cost-cut-for-home-solar-power-producers-in-cape-town-from-r350-to-r5-per-month.html That is ONLY the meter reading fee ( AMI Fee ) that is being reduced. There are other fixed monthly fees as well. I have a previous post somewhere with those costs, If I remember correctly it is over R500pm They use fancy clever words to bamboozle clients to entice more people to apply to feed-in. "This is a massive, 94% reduction from the current R96.20 “AMI Access Charge” fee (see clarifying note at the end of the article)." Also look at all the articles they are pushing out in the media to make it sound like it's a good ( profitable ) thing to feed-in to their grid. It's just a way for them to get cheap power from solar clients to then on-sell at good profits to everyone else. I am not against feeding in to the grid, but with the average size of solar installs and the crazy fixed costs, it simply is not worth the effort going the feed-in route for most residential sites, especially if these sites are 1st using power and then left with a tiny bit of excess to sell back. As I have previously said, in my opinion it is better to find more creative ways to self consume the excess power you produce. If you have massive spare roof-space and some extra cash then go for it, sell back and do your bit to save the politicians Marc FH, Kalahari Cruiser and Scorp007 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iiznh Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 (edited) Raw silicon prices are dropping in China, which means that solar panel producers will have increased profits and pass down some of the savings leading to cheaper panels. Every importer was sold out a few months ago so they ordered more than the usual but they got the old price. Plus plenty people joined the greed bandwagon and ordered some pallets via own import channels that they store in their garage hoping to sell it for a good profit I think that stock is moving very slowly now that loadshedding is hovering at stage 3 and soon the cheaper panels will arrive (give it 3 months). We might just have a bit of a fire sale soon of people panicking and selling panels at cost or below to get rid of the stock Btw this is the same greed, fomo, bust cycle that you see in the crypto market. It happens in any free market. If we see this fire sale happening I would suggest you get some more panels. Batteries should simply get you through loadshedding. There is no shame in buying units when your battery does not cover the night time use My electricity bill is normally R20 - R50 p/m but this month I'm looking at about R380 due to shadows (from the poor angle of the sun), there is no fixing it without taking out 70 year old trees. If you want to spend money rather spend it on making your house more energy efficient so that on poor days you will use less. This could be something like a heatpump to heat your water (or your house). Depending on where you are spending your units Edited June 22, 2023 by iiznh GreenFields, WannabeSolarSparky and ZaydS 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZaydS Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 Not so simple, if I may say so. A sunny day in CT today, my battery was in the 40’s%. With my geyser running on and off and pool pump on at peak sun, doing washing and then dishwasher, there’s not much to charge the battery. Extra panels can help. Definitely not adding a battery as 10kw should suffice for load shedding. Question is, is the IRR acceptable? As I am already feeding into the grid in summer and the bi-directional meter is a sunk cost, it may make sense. I need to do the math Especially, as there is a tax rebate of 25% for the panels. Hopefully, SARS doesn’t decide to tax us on the revenue in future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZaydS Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 CT sunshine hour per month Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripley1313 Posted June 27, 2023 Share Posted June 27, 2023 Hi everyone, So I have an idea - this results from an apartment block that we are busy taking off the grid. This includes 2 x elevators and 3 x heatpumps. Being in Cape Town myself, Winter is a killer on solar. Have you at any chance considered wind generation. I have been researching the 7Kw wind turbine from Tesup, but the after sale and technical support has received as bad reviews as you can imagine! Thing is - being in Cape Town, we have wind for about 350 weeks out of 352. I am currently researching wind combined with magnet drives. Maybe something you would want to consider and look into as well? Just a thought. Same property I have a 3Kw hybrid with 2 x 120Ah deepcycle gel batteries that are purely for the parking basement lights. Installed a Canadian solar panel 540W, just to constantly trickle charge the batteries and use spare energy before utility. The past week, the "trickle"charge did not do much good, even though the panel is on the highest part of the apartment block's roof, with absolute no shadows or interference. An alternative that I used on another project was to install a Smart charging system over and above the Hybrid. This shortened the charge cycle and actually saved on utility costs. Just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorp007 Posted June 27, 2023 Share Posted June 27, 2023 On 2023/06/21 at 7:55 PM, WannabeSolarSparky said: At least the weather forecast shows some sunny days ahead Maybe all those red lines will start disappearing again Dump it into BTC if you are doing well? Then get yourself that new Solis and review it in use Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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