Howzit guys so I'm in the process to go completely off grid soon now my question is earthing related. does the N/E Still need to be Bonded together if there is an Earth rod installed? and if so if it has to be bonded together still the earth rod? does it need to be connected to the common earth bus bar as well?

the idea is to not use Grid Ever again (Eskom Comes and disconnects the line going to my house ) just solar/generator have way too many problems with grid to either die for a few days or to just supply 80 - 110v >.>

Edited March 16, 20251 yr by Aokiji

1 hour ago, Aokiji said:

N/E Still need to be Bonded together if there is an Earth rod installed? and if so if it has to be bonded together still the earth rod? does it need to be connected to the common earth bus bar as well?

Yes, Neutral and Earth need to be bonded. This creates a path for fault current and allows earth leakage protection to operate.

If you want to earth your solar panels for lightning, it must be connected to an earth rod. I guess that using the earth rod for the house earth will have more advantages than disadvantages.

Hey there,

What I did was:
- Add earth rod for equipment grounding (solar panels / frame, and BENY BUD surge protection)
- Inverters have EN bond in them
- Connect load (inverter AC out) ground to eskom old earth rod

Disconnected from Eskom in August 2023. 0 regrets. About 7 months ago, I paid them to remove their transformer on the property, because it is in the way, but after 6 site visits from them where the ask the same questions, and tell me "Oh, this is an easy job. Sole line, short run, should take a few hours.", I am still sitting here emailing for updates every few weeks. Just the way it goes.

Also, every 2 months, guys still come to take the meter reading, then, are upset to see I am disconnected and do not have an account, and say they will inform the office so they do not need to come again... they come again.

Aside from the rant, hope that helps.

7 hours ago, ShaunH said:

Disconnected from Eskom in August 2023. 0 regrets

What is your backup energy source: generator, gas, lots of batteries?

3 hours ago, frivan said:

What is your backup energy source: generator, gas, lots of batteries?

Initially, we went off-grid with 15kWh storage, 5.4kW solar, and a 7.2kW Axpert. This was difficult during the Summer months (still is, even with upgrades), because our Summers often have periods of 5+ days overcast.

We slowly upgraded, and now have 35kWh storage, 6.6kW solar, 2x 7.2kW Axpert, and a 5kW generator.

We run a chicken farm, which means many heat lamps. So, even now, we cannot last a full 2 days, if the lamps are on and there has been little sun. Which is why we bought the generator. One day, we will definitely move to gas for more things, but, unfortunately, now we have 1x 200L 3kW geyser, and 1x 50L 1.5kW geyser.

1 hour ago, ShaunH said:

Initially, we went off-grid with 15kWh storage, 5.4kW solar, and a 7.2kW Axpert. This was difficult during the Summer months (still is, even with upgrades), because our Summers often have periods of 5+ days overcast.

We slowly upgraded, and now have 35kWh storage, 6.6kW solar, 2x 7.2kW Axpert, and a 5kW generator.

We run a chicken farm, which means many heat lamps. So, even now, we cannot last a full 2 days, if the lamps are on and there has been little sun. Which is why we bought the generator. One day, we will definitely move to gas for more things, but, unfortunately, now we have 1x 200L 3kW geyser, and 1x 50L 1.5kW geyser.

Just out of interest. How many heat lamps are you having and what Watts is consumed by each lamp?

I know nothing about heating as used in chicken farming 😀

21 minutes ago, Scorp007 said:

How many heat lamps are you having and what Watts is consumed by each lamp?

3x 500W heat lamps. Although, their power draw seems between 400-450W. Less often, we also use a 200W heat pad for some chicks.

4 hours ago, ShaunH said:

3x 500W heat lamps. Although, their power draw seems between 400-450W. Less often, we also use a 200W heat pad for some chicks.

Thanks for the info. I was wondering if chicks have the brains to stay close to the heat lamp? 😀