Tariffs
Should I export solar or self-consume it in South Africa?
Self-consume first. On 2026/27 municipal examples, retail import often lands around 320–470 c/kWh while feed-in credits are commonly nearer 108–185 c (Cape Town Home User: ~469 c upper import vs ~153 c feed-in). An exported kWh is typically worth a fraction of a self-used kWh, and fixed charges still apply. Shift flexible loads into sun hours; export only the surplus you cannot usefully store or use.
Updated 27 October 2026 · Illustrative ranges — not a formal quote or legal advice.
The price gap is the whole argument
If importing costs ~400 c and exporting pays ~150 c, every kWh you move from export into a geyser, pool pump, EV or battery for evening use is worth the difference — about 250 c in that sketch. Scale that across a month and self-use dominates payback. NERSA’s net-billing framing and metro schedules reinforce credit-style exports, not 1:1 legacy net metering dreams — net billing vs net metering · metro tariffs.
Practical self-use levers
- Timers on geysers and pool pumps in the best PV window.
- Heat-pump schedules aligned to sun or off-peak.
- EV charging at home midday when the car is present.
- Battery charge targets that soak surplus before export.
- PV diverters into existing elements once the pack is full.
Related loads: geyser strategy · pool pump on solar · EV from solar.
When export still matters
Large roofs on small daytime loads will export unless you add batteries, tenants, or flexible demand. Credits are not worthless — they are just thin. Register properly (SSEG), use approved inverters, and treat export as bonus cashflow after self-use is maximised — SSEG.
Battery as a self-use tool (not only backup)
A pack that shifts 8 kWh of midday surplus into the evening avoids buying 8 kWh at retail. At ~400 c that is ~R32/day of energy relief — before counting Stage insurance. Oversizing export while evenings still buy grid power is backwards — do I need a battery?.
Owner checklist (print this)
- Write your import c/kWh and export c/kWh side by side.
- List loads you can move into 09:00–15:00.
- Check portal: midday export while geyser is cold = settings work.
- Only then debate more panels for export.
Portal red flags that mean “exporting too early”
Midday export spikes while the geyser sits on a night timer, the pool runs at 21:00, and the EV charges at 18:00 are classic mis-scheduling. Fix those before buying more modules “for export income.” Likewise, a battery held at 100% all day with forced export enabled may be leaving evening self-use on the table. Spend one Saturday with the app open and a kettle test — bill still high.
Estate zero-export rules
Some HOAs or distributors require non-export or limited export settings. That is a compliance constraint, not proof that export credits are generous elsewhere. Design self-use even harder on those sites; do not fight the approval by silently enabling export.
Metro credit table (2026/27, approx. incl. VAT)
Illustrative residential export credits used across Solar News 24 (confirm live PDFs): Cape Town Home User SSEG ~152.93 c/kWh; City Power Johannesburg ~143.29 c; eThekwini ~184.60 c; Tshwane ~108.25 c (NERSA RfD — verify with the City). Retail import on expensive blocks commonly sits in the 320–470 c band depending on metro and structure. The gap is the design brief: self-consume, then store, then export. Deep dive: municipal feed-in · net billing · metro tariffs.
Hour-by-hour self-use playbook
- 06:00–09:00 — PV rising; delay dishwasher/laundry if the roof is still cold; let the pack finish overnight recovery only if SoC policy allows.
- 09:00–15:00 — prime window: geyser boost or heat pump, pool filtration, EV if the car is home, laundry, dishwasher. Watch coincidence so the hybrid does not trip.
- 15:00–18:00 — protect battery target SoC for evening; avoid dumping the pack into a late pool run.
- Evening — battery covers lights, ICT and cooking essentials so you buy fewer expensive kWh; export should already be near zero.
- Stage slot — only essentials board loads; pool/geyser/stove policy as designed — load shedding.
Related load pages: geyser · pool · dishwasher & laundry · EV from solar.
Battery as a rand machine, not only a Stage bunker
Shifting 10 kWh of midday surplus into the evening at a 250 c import–export gap is about R25/day (~R750/month) of structural value before counting outage insurance. A pack that sits at 100% from 11:00 while the house exports and then buys grid at 19:00 is mis-set. Charge targets, force-charge windows and “export when full” toggles belong in the commissioning checklist — do I need a battery? · DoD.
Cape Town Residential TOU opt-in — another reason self-use wins
The City’s 2026/27 Residential Time-of-Use tariff (AMI, opt-in) publishes high-demand peak energy near 898 c/kWh incl. VAT class figures in the annexure, with much cheaper standard/off-peak bands, plus separate administration and capacity charges. Batteries that discharge through peak and recharge from PV (or off-peak) are doing tariff work, not just Stage theatre. Export still does not erase those fixed TOU charges. Walkthrough: Cape Town Residential TOU.
Worked month — self-use vs export-heavy
Design A (self-use first): 6 kWp hybrid, timers aligned, 8 kWh shifted via battery, 40 kWh export. Avoided import 380 kWh × 400 c ≈ R1 520; export 40 × 153 c ≈ R61; fixed ~R424 remains.
Design B (export theatre): same roof, night-heavy loads, 200 kWh export, only 220 kWh avoided import. Avoided ≈ R880; export ≈ R306; evenings still buy peak/expensive kWh. Design A wins on cashflow even before Stages. Rebuild any quote that looks like B — payback · costs & savings.
Compliance still gates the credit
Unregistered export is how systems get red-tagged. Approved inverter, correct metering, SSEG acknowledgement and (where required) zero-export settings for estates are part of the money path, not paperwork theatre. Credits do not flow because the app shows a green arrow — SSEG · NRS-approved inverters · fixed charges.
Owner checklist — export vs self-use
- Write import c/kWh and export c/kWh on one sticky note.
- List every flexible load that can move into 09:00–15:00.
- Portal audit: midday export while geyser/pool/EV idle = fix settings first.
- Battery SoC target set for evening self-use, not vanity 100%.
- SSEG / estate export rules confirmed in writing.
Prepaid token myths vs self-use reality
Panels do not reverse prepaid tokens. Self-use slows how fast you buy units; export credits only appear on registered paths with the right meter. If your portal shows fat midday export while the dishwasher and geyser sit idle until 20:00, you are donating margin to thin credits. Fix schedules the same week you commission — prepaid + solar · bill still high.
Rank the uses of a surplus kWh
- Displace a resistive geyser or inefficient load you already pay peak rates for.
- Fill usable battery for evening Stage / peak TOU.
- Charge an EV that would otherwise take public DC.
- Export for metro cents — often the lowest value after fixed charges — heat-pump · EV · usable kWh.
Zero-export is a setting, not a moral failure
If your metro credits are weak or the meter is not ready, a tight export limit protects compliance while you self-use — zero-export · export limits · SSEG timelines.
TOU twists on self-use
Cape Town Residential TOU and Eskom Homeflex change when grid-charging the battery is rational. Blind always-charge-from-grid-before-Stage can erase the win — Cape Town TOU · grid charge · battery-without-solar TOU.
Geyser timer as the first experiment
Before arguing about export cents, run a two-week geyser timer trial and read the monitoring — geyser timers.
EV daytime charging ranks high
If the car sits at home on weekdays, solar-to-EV often beats export cents and public DC for those kWh — wallbox vs portable.
Quick questions
Is zero export a goal?
Not always. Some export after batteries and flexible loads are saturated is normal. Zero-export settings can be required by certain distributors or estates — follow the approval, not a slogan.
Does Homeflex change the advice?
TOU shapes when imports hurt; self-use in expensive windows still leads. Confirm Gen-offset / credit rules on the live Eskom path — see Homeflex answer.