Checking the monthly solar data for the month of September today the figures are almost identical to last month. Frustratingly the discharge or the thrown away electricity is very close to what is being drawn from the grid. This part is not going to change any time soon as I would need to invest in more batteries to store the thrown away energy.
The plan was to have all these extras like more panels and batteries completed this year, but the immediate needs changed. Having to fly and sort out a bank account before it was shut down was the last curved ball and those flight costs alone with hotels and expenses would have paid for an extra 2 batteries.
This will happen and I just do not know in which month as I know I am flying to the UK in the next 3 weeks. We know my mother is only going to deteriorate with the condition she has so this is a must do trip and all it means is another month will pass without any more upgrades.
This is not a disaster as the grid usage is only 386kw/h plus whatever the stove uses and I am cooking on the grill outside most evenings now. The first 350kwh is charged at R2.36kwh and the balance of 36kwh is at R2.71 kwh. The cost is R923.56 ($54) which is nothing really so I do not see the rush as the rest of the savings the system is generating is good enough for now.
Last month if I never had solar and just used the grid it would have cost me in the region of R3500. That equates to around R42K per year so roughly 65 months to cover my investment. I expect to invest another R50K ($3K) or close to that as a ball park figure excluding installation labor costs so maybe R60K in total. This will take me off the grid for a good 8-9 months of the year and may need to spend another R30K-R40K to be completely self reliant and grid free. Depending on the outcome of the court case with OUTA fighting on behalf of solar users will depend how urgent that becomes. OUTA were fighting the registration license fees saying the home systems were too small and did not qualify for this special license.
There has been talk of increased charges per kwh and every increase we have from now on only makes the investment pay off that much quicker. My initial thoughts on a time line to break even were somewhere between 6 and 7 years and could end up around 4 years which would be very good.
I am curious to see what the 1st year figures will be which will be in 3 months time. You tend to forget you have solar as there are no problems and it just works behind the scenes without any issues. We have not had load shedding for quite a few months yet we have had a few days here and there when the power disappeared for a few hours. I only know this due to a warning message via the solar app stating we have moved off the grid. This is a pretty decent toy to have and I would recommend solar to anyone wherever you might live.
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Sorry to hear about your mum. Family matters have to take priority.
Your time to break even seems good to me. I think mine will be 10 years or so, but changes to pricing may shift that. I would be interested to see how your generation varies over the year. In mid-winter we get very little here compared with the summer, but the battery still saves us money.
I really hope the energy company can see sense about domestic solar. They ought to welcome having extra power available that doesn't cost them anything to install.
!BEER
Yes family comes first.
I will do a one year report in December and see how things have gone thus far. Energy companies are anti solar here as it hits their revenue. In SA a small percentage pay for all the others that do not pay so with every house and business leaving the grid that will have to change.
For a long time, I had ignored solar energy for my home, despite having an excellent understanding of the technology. My first touch point was back in 2001, when solar panels were expensive like hell, with bad efficiency and almost no commercially affordable solutions for battery control, or inverters. Perhaps it's now time for me to also step in, at the DIY level...
Sorry to hear about your mom! Hope you'll have a good time, and you could add some more unforgettable moments to your memory!
!LUV & !PIMP
Panels are very cheap now so you could start off slowly and build your own system. Life is harsh and I know my time is limited that I have left with my mother so hopefully a few more trips left.
Yep, it's crazy how much electricity can be "saved" by having enough batteries and / or proper load management. For me, the panels were installed in a less-than-ideal setup, so we're wasting energy in the evenings and have too little juice in the mornings. Need more panels oriented towards the east...
Yes just build another bank of panels and it can be done slowly.