Load shedding
How should I use the load shedding schedule with my solar battery in South Africa?
Treat the published Stage schedule as a charging and reserve calendar: top up from PV (or carefully from off-peak grid) before your slot, hold a SoC floor through the outage, then release the pack for bill self-use once the grid is stable again. Blind “always 100% SoC” wastes cycle life; blind “always empty by sunset” fails the first evening Stage 4.
Updated 27 October 2026 · Illustrative ranges — not a formal quote, credit decision or legal advice.
Answer first: Put three numbers on the fridge: (1) hours until your next slot, (2) essentials kWh needed for that slot, (3) SoC% that delivers those kWh. Align hybrid schedules and notifications to those numbers — not to social-media Stage panic alone.
A simple daily loop
- Morning — check EskomSePush / metro notices; if an evening slot exists, bias PV into the battery earlier.
- Afternoon — protect the Stage reserve; optional grid-charge only on cheap blocks if PV will miss — grid-charge hub · Cape Town TOU.
- During Stage — essentials only; defer geyser, laundry, oven, EV — essentials.
- After restore — decide whether to refill from grid off-peak or wait for tomorrow’s sun.
SoC strategy meets the schedule
Pair this page with SoC settings. A 30% reserve that is empty because you ignored a 20:00 slot is not a strategy. App schedules that pre-charge two hours before published slots beat manual heroics.
Winter and Stage 6
Shorter solar days plus longer evening slots mean larger usable kWh or stricter load lists — winter production · Stage 6 · cloudy days.
Monitoring cues
Watch forecast vs actual charge rate mid-afternoon. If you will miss the reserve, shed non-essentials early or enable a limited grid top-up — monitoring numbers · solar during shedding.
Document pack to keep with this answer
Store serials, SoC/export screenshots, SSEG references and the metro meter appointment beside your CoC. Future installers and buyers argue less when the folder is complete — read a quote · selling with solar · warranty transfer.
Example evening Stage plan (illustrative)
Suppose Stage 4 hits 20:00–22:30, essentials average 0.8 kW, and you want 30% SoC left at restore. Need ≈0.8×2.5 = 2 kWh plus reserve. If usable pack above reserve is only 1.5 kWh at 18:00, you must either shed load, grid-charge on an acceptable block, or accept darkness at 21:30. Write that arithmetic once; reuse it whenever the app notifies a slot — usable kWh · SoC settings · Stage 4.
TOU metros vs flat prepaid
On Cape Town-style TOU or Homeflex, a pre-Stage grid top-up on a cheap shoulder can be rational; on a punitive peak block it is not. Prepaid tokens hide some of that shape — migration may change the rule — Cape Town TOU · Homeflex · TOU / prepaid · prepaid migration.
Multi-day Stage weeks
When slots stack across evenings, recovery solar the next morning matters more than one heroic 100% SoC. Keep non-essentials deferred, cook early, and protect the reserve even if the app shows “grid available” for two hours at lunch — winter production · cloudy days · fridge / freezer.
Household playbook
- Fridge closed; kettle once; no oven; EV unplugged unless critical.
- Router on backup; fibre ONT on backup if you WFH.
- Geyser off-backup or heat-pump only — geyser on backup.
- After restore: note SoC nadir; adjust tomorrow’s pre-charge.
Related: solar during shedding · diesel vs battery · load shedding hub.
Field notes for load shedding schedule battery strategy sa
Bring this page to the commissioning visit. Ask the partner to demonstrate the behaviour described here, photograph the settings, and store them with the CoC and SSEG reference. When a future technician inherits your plant, that folder beats a WhatsApp voice note — choose installer · read a quote · selling with solar.
Also keep metro tariff PDFs and OEM warranty sheets dated. News headlines and brochure stickers age; annexures decide disputes. Cross-check fixed charges after SSEG so savings models stay honest — fixed charges · 2026/27 tariffs · metro tariffs hub.
Automation options that homeowners actually use
Most residential hybrids will not ingest EskomSePush directly. Practical patterns include: fixed clock schedules aligned to common slot patterns, partner cloud rules, Home Assistant / similar bridges where the OEM allows, or simple human process (lunchtime check + one schedule tweak). Pick the least fragile option your installer will support in writing.
- Clock schedule: pre-charge window 15:00–18:00 when evening slots are likely.
- Push-notification habit: when Stage is cancelled, release reserve for bill self-use.
- Load contactor: drop geyser automatically when SoC crosses the Stage floor.
- EV rule: pause wallbox whenever SoC < reserve or Stage is active — EV load management.
Document the rules on the handover sheet so a house-sitter does not defeat them. Related: SoC settings · essentials · monitoring.
When diesel still joins the plan
Multi-day Stage 6 in winter with medical loads can justify a small genset behind a proper interlock even with a healthy hybrid. Price fuel hours honestly against adding usable kWh — diesel vs battery · interlock · Stage 6.
Estates with shared generators or microgrids need a household plan that does not fight estate changeover timing — ask the HOA for the sequence before you automate — estate / HOA · ATS / changeover.
Weekly review ritual (15 minutes)
Every Sunday evening: skim the next week’s likely Stage pattern, note two evenings that look worst, and confirm the hybrid pre-charge windows still match. Glance at monitoring for days where PV under-delivered and decide whether a shoulder-grid top-up is justified. Update the household chore list (laundry mornings, oven before 18:00) so people — not only algorithms — carry the plan — laundry self-use · cloudy days · winter.
If your metro publishes planned maintenance outages separate from Stage, treat those like Stage slots for reserve maths. Medical users should keep a written escalation (neighbour genset, clinic travel) even when the hybrid is healthy — redundancy beats optimism — solar during shedding · fridge · load shedding hub.
Guest and house-sitter card
Leave a fridge magnet or printed card: “If Stage is on — no oven, no geyser boost, no EV; keep fridge closed; router stays on.” Most failed Stage nights are human overrides, not empty batteries — essentials · geyser · EV from solar.
Also compare: Stage 4 sizing · Stage 6 sizing · Cape Town TOU · grid-charge hub · diesel vs battery.
Write the Stage arithmetic once, then reuse it
Open your hybrid app and a spreadsheet. Column A: essentials in watts (fridge, lights, router, ONT, medical). Column B: hours of the longest Stage slot you refuse to fail. Column C: inverter inefficiency (~5–10%). Column D: SoC reserve you will not spend. Usable kWh needed ≈ (A/1000)×B×(1+loss) + reserve. If the pack’s usable kWh above reserve is smaller than that number at 18:00, you are planning hope, not backup — usable kWh · SoC settings · Stage 4 · Stage 6.
Pre-charge windows that do not wreck the bill
On Cape Town Residential TOU or Eskom Homeflex, a shoulder or off-peak top-up before an evening Stage can be rational; a peak-block top-up that only buys two kettle boils is not. Prepaid meters hide the shape until you migrate — Cape Town TOU · Homeflex · prepaid migration · fixed charges.
Cloudy recovery days
After a Stage week with poor winter irradiance, protect the reserve even if the grid is briefly up at lunch. Defer laundry, pool and EV until the array proves headroom — winter production · cloudy days · laundry self-use.
Heat-pump and geyser timing vs Stage apps
Do not finish a heat-pump reheat at 17:30 if Stage starts at 18:00 on a lean pack. Shift thermals earlier on solar — add heat pump · geyser · overload.
Size for the outage pattern you actually get
Stage schedules change; your essential load does not. Fix the kW you keep on, pick the hours of cover you refuse to lose, and buy usable kWh to match. Chasing every Stage number on social media produces panic purchases and idle capacity.
Recharge between slots with PV or off-peak grid. A big battery that never refills before the next window is a paperweight with a warranty.
Quick questions
Should I charge from the grid before every slot?
Only when PV cannot hit the reserve and the tariff block is acceptable. Blind peak-grid charging can erase bill savings.
Do schedules change too often to automate?
They move — keep push notifications on and review the evening plan at lunchtime.
Can the inverter read EskomSePush?
Most cannot natively; people use time schedules, partner apps or home automation. Ask your installer what they support.
What if Stage is cancelled?
Release surplus SoC for evening self-use or hold a smaller overnight floor — do not cook the pack to 100% for no reason.
Sources & related
- Solar News 24 — SoC for load shedding
- Solar News 24 — Stage 4 battery
- Solar News 24 — grid charge hub