Long-form SA solar & EV guides

Pair guides with tools

Battery runtime tool · size a system · costs & savings · FAQ. Use tools for intuition, then lock numbers against your bill and a licensed design.

Pick a guide path

Guides are longer explainers for homeowners who want the full SA context before requesting quotes. Pair each guide with the short answer pages linked at the bottom of that guide.

• First system → How solar works · Costs · Choose installer
• Backup → Load shedding · Batteries · UPS vs hybrid
• Compliance → SSEG · CoC · Tariffs
• EV → EV charging · Solar + EV

Ownership checklist after commissioning

• Portal login, alerting, and a weekly kWh glance — monitoring numbers.
• Cleaning only when yield drops for a reason — panel cleaning.
• Insurance schedule updated with serials — insurance.
• Sale / bond pack: CoC, SSEG letter, warranties — selling · warranty transfer.

Decision paths added overnight

1. Bill-first path — read your Eskom or metro bill correctly → size for self-use → only then talk export credits.
2. Backup-first path — essentials board → SoC reserves for Stage → geyser/aircon honesty → diesel vs battery maths.
3. Expand-later path — inverter headroom and string voltage → adding panels safely → lease vs buy if cash is tight.

Pillars: home solar · batteries · EV charging. Quotes: get quotes.

EV charging path on this desk

Start with the EV charging pillar, then open home charger cost, EV from solar, public networks, and wiring / CoC. Public DC prices (SAEV Richmond ~R3.49/kWh among GridCars / Chargify / Eskom mall peers) are for trips — routine commuting should aim at home self-use.

Estates and sectional title need extra consent pages — estate / HOA · sectional title · apartments.

1. Confirm supply phase and NMD headroom.
2. Decide wallbox kW and load management.
3. Only then size extra PV/battery if commuting kWh justifies it.

Compliance path before any deposit

Order of operations for a first-time buyer: understand CoC and NRS 097 → learn your metro SSEG steps → only then compare hardware brands. Skipping compliance to “save time” is how sales and insurance stall.

• What is a CoC?
• What is NRS 097?
• Municipal SSEG steps
• Expanding later still needs amendments.

Pillar reading: home solar · FAQ · about this desk.

Three starter briefs before you phone installers

Guides here are the long maps. Use them to write a one-page brief so every quote returns on the same assumptions.

1. Home solar brief — 12 months of kWh (or prepaid tokens), tariff code, roof photos (N/S/E/W), Stage priority list, and whether prepaid must migrate. Pair with home solar guide and how to read a quote.
2. Battery brief — essentials watts × hours, preferred chemistry family, indoor/outdoor placement, and SoC reserve for Stage. Pair with batteries hub and usable kWh.
3. EV brief — daily km, wallbox kW target, single- vs three-phase, estate/body-corporate rules, and whether daytime solar should cover miles. Pair with EV charging guide and home charger cost.

Then compare two matched partners on that same brief — choose an installer · red flags · get quotes.

Where guides stop and answers start

Guides explain the landscape. Answers pin a single decision (meter type, export limit, geyser on backup, Cape Town cents). If a guide paragraph raises a yes/no, open the matching answer instead of guessing from a brochure.

Compliance spine across all guides

Whatever guide you open, keep the compliance spine visible: NRS-listed equipment, CoC, SSEG file, meter reality, insurance declaration. Skipping any one of those turns a neat ROI table into a sale-day problem — NRS 097 · CoC · SSEG · insurance.

Supply-authority fork before any guide maths

Open Eskom Direct vs municipal before you trust a payback example inside a long guide. Homeflex gen-offset and metro net-billing are different bill shapes. Then return to home solar or EV charging with the correct annexure in hand.

Battery placement and ventilation sit beside the lithium guide: cabinet ventilation · 10 kWh cost · lithium batteries guide.