June 9, 20251 yr 11 hours ago, JanKotze said:Hi everyone,Will we be able to go off grid? And what would help to make it more comfortable?We don'tuse ac and we are in the process of cutting down all the trees for full sun throughout the year.Ps. We have planted about 40 other trees to make up for it over the past 10 years. 🙏☀️ PV System OverviewLocation: Krugersdorp, South AfricaPV Array: 24 × 565 W = 13.56 kWTilt: 5°Azimuth: -85° (east-facing)Inverter: 16 kW SunSynkBattery Bank: 3 × 10 kWh = 30 kWh usable, 90% DoD = 27 kWh usable capacity7kw Rated gensetIntegration: MQTT/SunSynk Logger (ESP32) with Home Assistant🏠 Household Overview🏡 Household 1: Married Couple (Away 6 AM – 6 PM)Daily Estimated Consumption: ~13.5 - 14.5 kWh/day* Geyser (150L, 3kW element):* Morning Run: 3:45 AM – 4:30 AM (45 min) = ~2.25 kWh (drawing from battery)* Midday Run: 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM (3 hrs) = ~6.3 kWh (ideally covered by solar production)* Subtotal: 8.55 kWh/day* Refrigeration:* 1 Medium Freezer: ~1.2 kWh/day* 2 Small Fridges: ~1.2 kWh/day* Subtotal: 2.4 kWh/day* Washing Machine (Shared 12kg Samsung Inverter):* 5 warm loads/week = ~0.43 kWh/day (average)* Dishwasher:* One 30°C cycle/day = ~1 kWh/day (estimated)* Television:* Old 55" HD TV: 1-3 hrs/day (estimate for shared TV use among all households, but attributing a portion here). Let's estimate for this household: ~0.2 - 0.5 kWh/day* Lighting:* LED Lighting: Low impact, likely used during early mornings and evenings. Estimate: ~0.1 - 0.2 kWh/day* Other Loads:* Wi-Fi Router: Constant, but low power. Estimate: ~0.15 - 0.2 kWh/day* Electric Kettle: Occasional, high surge but short duration. Daily average: ~0.1 - 0.2 kWh/day🏡 Household 2: Newly Married CoupleDaily Estimated Consumption: ~2 - 3 kWh/day* Refrigeration:* 1 Small Fridge: ~0.6 kWh/day* Washing Machine (Shared 12kg Samsung Inverter):* 5 warm loads/week = ~0.43 kWh/day (average)* Television & Soundbar:* 43" FHD TV + Soundbar: 5-10 PM. Estimate: ~0.3 - 0.6 kWh/day* Air Fryer:* Occasional use. Not factored into daily average, but note as a potential ~0.5 - 1 kWh/use load when active.* Lighting:* LED Lighting: Low impact. Estimate: ~0.1 - 0.2 kWh/day* Other Loads:* Wi-Fi Router: Constant, but low power. Estimate: ~0.15 - 0.2 kWh/day* Electric Kettle: Occasional, high surge but short duration. Daily average: ~0.1 - 0.2 kWh/day🏡 Household 3: 5 People (Including Baby; 2 People Home During Day)Daily Estimated Consumption: ~14 - 15 kWh/day* Geyser (Assumed 150L, 3kW element, similar to H1):* Morning Run: 3:45 AM – 4:30 AM (45 min) = ~2.25 kWh (drawing from battery)* Midday Run: 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM (3 hrs) = ~6.3 kWh (ideally covered by solar production)* Subtotal: 8.55 kWh/day* Refrigeration:* 1 Large Fridge/Freezer: ~1.5 kWh/day* Washing Machine (Own 8kg machine):* 8 warm loads/week = ~0.57 kWh/day (average)* Dishwasher:* One 30°C cycle/day = ~1 kWh/day (estimated)* Television:* 75" 4K LED TV: Runs from 9 AM – 10 PM. This is a significant load. Estimate: ~0.5 - 1.5 kWh/day (depending on actual TV power and usage time)* Lawn Mower:* 2 kW mowing ~2000 m². Bi-weekly mowing = ~0.5 kWh/day (winter average)* Lighting:* LED Lighting: Low impact, but more people home during the day might mean slightly higher usage. Estimate: ~0.2 - 0.3 kWh/day* Other Loads:* Wi-Fi Router: Constant, but low power. Estimate: ~0.15 - 0.2 kWh/day* Electric Kettle: Occasional, high surge but short duration. Daily average: ~0.1 - 0.2 kWh/day* "Other daytime loads" (fans, chargers, small appliances, etc. due to 2 people home): Estimate: ~0.5 - 1 kWh/daySummary of Total Estimated Daily Consumption Across All Households:* Household 1: ~13.5 - 14.5 kWh/day* Household 2: ~2 - 3 kWh/day* Household 3: ~14 - 15 kWh/day* Grand Total: ~29.5 - 32.5 kWh/dayAre all these loads already all on the Essential Load port? If so, the best thing to do to see if you can go off-grid in Winter is... just start! On paper you're fine in theory, but test the practice without 100% commitment.Just flip the mains switch off and try to survive for the next 1-2 months. Right now, with the sun being the least, and the temperatures being the lowest, is one of the perfect best times to test the theory. Maybe don't just test Winter, but your rainy season too. Then decide next year if you want to pull the plug.
June 9, 20251 yr 11 hours ago, JanKotze said:Hi everyone,Will we be able to go off grid? And what would help to make it more comfortable?We don'tuse ac and we are in the process of cutting down all the trees for full sun throughout the year.Ps. We have planted about 40 other trees to make up for it over the past 10 years. 🙏☀️ PV System OverviewLocation: Krugersdorp, South AfricaPV Array: 24 × 565 W = 13.56 kWTilt: 5°Azimuth: -85° (east-facing)Inverter: 16 kW SunSynkBattery Bank: 3 × 10 kWh = 30 kWh usable, 90% DoD = 27 kWh usable capacity7kw Rated gensetIntegration: MQTT/SunSynk Logger (ESP32) with Home Assistant🏠 Household Overview🏡 Household 1: Married Couple (Away 6 AM – 6 PM)Daily Estimated Consumption: ~13.5 - 14.5 kWh/day* Geyser (150L, 3kW element):* Morning Run: 3:45 AM – 4:30 AM (45 min) = ~2.25 kWh (drawing from battery)* Midday Run: 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM (3 hrs) = ~6.3 kWh (ideally covered by solar production)* Subtotal: 8.55 kWh/day* Refrigeration:* 1 Medium Freezer: ~1.2 kWh/day* 2 Small Fridges: ~1.2 kWh/day* Subtotal: 2.4 kWh/day* Washing Machine (Shared 12kg Samsung Inverter):* 5 warm loads/week = ~0.43 kWh/day (average)* Dishwasher:* One 30°C cycle/day = ~1 kWh/day (estimated)* Television:* Old 55" HD TV: 1-3 hrs/day (estimate for shared TV use among all households, but attributing a portion here). Let's estimate for this household: ~0.2 - 0.5 kWh/day* Lighting:* LED Lighting: Low impact, likely used during early mornings and evenings. Estimate: ~0.1 - 0.2 kWh/day* Other Loads:* Wi-Fi Router: Constant, but low power. Estimate: ~0.15 - 0.2 kWh/day* Electric Kettle: Occasional, high surge but short duration. Daily average: ~0.1 - 0.2 kWh/day🏡 Household 2: Newly Married CoupleDaily Estimated Consumption: ~2 - 3 kWh/day* Refrigeration:* 1 Small Fridge: ~0.6 kWh/day* Washing Machine (Shared 12kg Samsung Inverter):* 5 warm loads/week = ~0.43 kWh/day (average)* Television & Soundbar:* 43" FHD TV + Soundbar: 5-10 PM. Estimate: ~0.3 - 0.6 kWh/day* Air Fryer:* Occasional use. Not factored into daily average, but note as a potential ~0.5 - 1 kWh/use load when active.* Lighting:* LED Lighting: Low impact. Estimate: ~0.1 - 0.2 kWh/day* Other Loads:* Wi-Fi Router: Constant, but low power. Estimate: ~0.15 - 0.2 kWh/day* Electric Kettle: Occasional, high surge but short duration. Daily average: ~0.1 - 0.2 kWh/day🏡 Household 3: 5 People (Including Baby; 2 People Home During Day)Daily Estimated Consumption: ~14 - 15 kWh/day* Geyser (Assumed 150L, 3kW element, similar to H1):* Morning Run: 3:45 AM – 4:30 AM (45 min) = ~2.25 kWh (drawing from battery)* Midday Run: 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM (3 hrs) = ~6.3 kWh (ideally covered by solar production)* Subtotal: 8.55 kWh/day* Refrigeration:* 1 Large Fridge/Freezer: ~1.5 kWh/day* Washing Machine (Own 8kg machine):* 8 warm loads/week = ~0.57 kWh/day (average)* Dishwasher:* One 30°C cycle/day = ~1 kWh/day (estimated)* Television:* 75" 4K LED TV: Runs from 9 AM – 10 PM. This is a significant load. Estimate: ~0.5 - 1.5 kWh/day (depending on actual TV power and usage time)* Lawn Mower:* 2 kW mowing ~2000 m². Bi-weekly mowing = ~0.5 kWh/day (winter average)* Lighting:* LED Lighting: Low impact, but more people home during the day might mean slightly higher usage. Estimate: ~0.2 - 0.3 kWh/day* Other Loads:* Wi-Fi Router: Constant, but low power. Estimate: ~0.15 - 0.2 kWh/day* Electric Kettle: Occasional, high surge but short duration. Daily average: ~0.1 - 0.2 kWh/day* "Other daytime loads" (fans, chargers, small appliances, etc. due to 2 people home): Estimate: ~0.5 - 1 kWh/daySummary of Total Estimated Daily Consumption Across All Households:* Household 1: ~13.5 - 14.5 kWh/day* Household 2: ~2 - 3 kWh/day* Household 3: ~14 - 15 kWh/day* Grand Total: ~29.5 - 32.5 kWh/dayHi @JanKotze ,nice system!Going off-grid in your location is possible, but I have a few concerns:1) I've put your numbers in the PVGIS tool real quick and if the average daily consumption will be around 30kWh, then there will be 3 to 6 days each month, where the battery will be flat. That is a bit uncomfortable, I would say.2) Looking at the detailed break-out it's 3 households, 9 people total and you are assuming just 30kWh per day for all of these. Well, consumption really depends on the individual behavior, but 30kWh/day for such a huge estate seems a bit underestimated to me. It's helpful that I dont see AirCondition and/or electric car, but anyway - just image amount of hot water that you will need to produce for all these people. Long-story-short: if you don't have a real daily measurements taken from the past, it's very hard to guess consumption right. For example, just 500W appliance runing quietly somewhere means 12kWh of additional consumption.3) There's still quite a lot "PV energy not captured" each month, so even with your 14kWp of panels, there's still a space for the bigger battery. That will help to capture (and use) some of that spare energy.4) As you can see on the second chart, in the April to August, even the larger battery won't help you much as the average daily PV production falls rapidly during this time.My conclusion:It IS possible to go off-grid with the current configuration of the system, but you will have to start genset almost every week or two.A slightly bigger battery will eliminate need for running genset in the better half of the year, but not in the bad part of the year.Double-check your estimated consumption. For such a huge estate, with 3 households and 9 people, I would say that the daily consumption would be around 50-60kWh. If that's the case, then you would need double the amount of panels and a bit more batteries too.While for a single person (or a couple) it's quite easy to control yourself, conserve the energy etc., with 9 people it's not possible in reality. You cannot count on the premise that everybody will check the SOC of batteries and weather before starting tumble dryer or owen.Good luck! Edited June 9, 20251 yr by Youda
July 24, 20251 yr I think going off grid is a great idea provided your household members support the idea because sooner or later they will need to do something to help in some way and they need to be happy to help otherwise your life will become miserable! I don't think Rent to Buy is a good idea because you are really just asking someone else to borrow some money, add some risk contingency, add some profit and you hope they provide something that is any good. I think its better to get your own loan, do your own research and install something that actually does what you want. The best thing is that you are in control and not in the dark!
August 14, 2025Aug 14 Johnna and anyone else with same concerns.... I KNOW that I have the answer to your dillema and will gladly share with anyone interested. This is a totally new and novel approach to Solar Power that circumvents most of your concerns and adds exceptional capacity to your existing installation for a very small relative cost.Bruce
August 25, 2025Aug 25 Author On 2025/08/14 at 12:05 PM, Bruce Clark said:Johnna and anyone else with same concerns.... I KNOW that I have the answer to your dillema and will gladly share with anyone interested. This is a totally new and novel approach to Solar Power that circumvents most of your concerns and adds exceptional capacity to your existing installation for a very small relative cost.BruceHi Bruce, sounds interesting, post here so that everyone can benefit
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