From R2m to get off the grid to ingenious solutions costing almost nothing, South Africans are on a mission to combat the devastating impacts of load-shedding.
After enduring several outages a day for the past three weeks, with no end in sight, alternative energy solutions are top of mind for many.
This month, electricity tariff hikes approved by the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) saw the cost of electricity go up an average of 9.6%. Based on an average price of about R2.50/kW and working on Eskom’s estimate of 900kW a month for the average South African household, this equates to a hefty monthly bill of about R2,250.
Solar power — photovoltaic panels converting sunlight to energy — is increasing in popularity as prices drop and the technology improves, and it’s more environmentally friendly than diesel generators.
For those desperate to dodge load-shedding, the options are vast, including the following:
Getting off the grid: R2m
Clinton Pepper is the owner and MD of MCR Energy, which specialises in solar power solutions and tailors its options to the household concerned.
“Some guys will just base it on your electricity bill, but we don’t work like that. We come in, attach a meter to your DV board and see what your consumption is at different times of day,” he said.
“This is to give us an idea when your biggest need is, if you are pulling electricity when the sun is out or if you need power from batteries at night.”
Going completely off the grid is an expensive exercise because it means banking enough power to continue for several days without sunshine in case of gloomy weather or persistent rain.
“It’s not necessary, especially if you keep Eskom as a back-up for those times when you have four days of rain,” Pepper said.
The cost of going completely off-grid and onto solar power would be about R1.5m for a four-bedroom family home.
“The most basic system would be a 5kW inverter with two 5kW batteries and a 5kW peak,” he said, which is the average, and accounts for about 80% of the systems he supplies.
“Of course you get much bigger systems — we recently fitted one with three 15kW inverters and 24 5kW batteries for a guy who is trying to get off the grid,” Pepper said. This client was now 95% independent and, about R2m later, was able to power “a heated pool, jacuzzis and all of that kind of thing without Eskom”.
Rent to own: About R2,000 a month
Vincent Maphosa is the founder and CEO of Wetility, which offers rooftop hybrid solar systems of up to 1MW a month for single dwellings, residential complexes and small and medium enterprises.
“We received support from MultiChoice Accelerator and Dotcom, and we have partnered with two of the five leading banks that offer financing deals on our products. We also offer our own lease-to-own deals where customers pay zero upfront and pay for their system over a lease period that can be anything from 12 months to 10 years,” he said, adding that an average 10-year deal would mean payments of about R2,000 a month.
“For a cash customer, you are looking at an outlay of about R170,000, including maintenance for five years, monitoring, remote management, compliance and registration with the council,” Maphosa said.
The sign-up process involved registering on the Wetility website and submitting an average electricity bill and residential address to generate a calculation for a hybrid solar solution.
“From initial contact to fully installed, up and running, you are looking at no more than 14 days,” said Maphosa.
The deal includes solar panels, an inverter and batteries.
“It doesn’t take you completely off the grid, but you will experience between 50% and 75% saving on your electricity bill because of the power you receive from the sun,” said Maphosa. In time, the system would pay for itself.
The generator option: from R5,000, plus fuel
Generator prices range anywhere from R3,000 to R200,000, and they are powered by petrol or diesel. The cheaper options can power the basics in a home, including television, lights and Wi-Fi, while the more expensive options can power most of your home.
But as petrol and diesel prices continue to rise, generators can be expensive to keep running.
For Neil Golding, who runs his shop, DC Coffee Company, in Fourways on generator power during load-shedding, three weeks of daily outages is taking its toll. Two years ago he purchased a 6.5kVa generator for R13,000. But with business having expanded and load-shedding intensified, he bought another 8kVa generator, also for about R13,000.
“With the current load-shedding having us go down for several hours a day, and our coffee machines pulling a lot of amps, particularly on busy days, we are spending about R700 on petrol every two or three days. So out of nowhere we have just incurred this unnecessary expense of about R400 a day for about 14kVa supply,” he said, adding that this comes on top of the average daily outlay of about R140 a day for electricity.
The UPS household inverter: from R6,000
Often cheaper than a larger generator, a less powerful solution is a UPS inverter — a plug-and-play system able to comfortably supply most small appliances for several hours with uninterrupted electricity.
One leading of the popular supplier is Jonathan Leepo, who offers the Loadshed Box system, which he installs and maintains. Depending on the size, these range from R6,200 to R10,500, offering between 1,000W and 2,500W in power. These are capable of powering most household appliances — from computers, routers and lights to TVs and gaming consoles, for hours on end.
The DIY solution: less than R2,000
An even cheaper option is to build your own inverter using a car battery as the main power supply. Posting in a Facebook group for users seeking or offering budget ideas and solutions, Ailene van Niekerk claimed her homemade system was as effective as a commercial inverter and could be built for less than R2,000.
She listed the items required as a new car battery, a 400W-500W inverter, an international converter plug and a 4-amp, 12V charger to charge the battery when it’s flat.
“Take the car battery and connect the inverter cables to it. Red goes onto the positive terminal and black goes on the negative terminal. Plug the international plug converter into the inverter. Then use an extension if you need or plug the appliance or what you need powered into the plug point. Put the inverter on at its switch and the appliances will come on,” she wrote.
Options for those with little to spare
The Wonderbag, a heat-retaining slow cooker, costs little to nothing to run. Wonderbag's insulating properties allow food that has been brought to the boil to finish cooking while in the bag, reducing the use of additional energy. It comes in different sizes and colours and is available from R239 from various suppliers.
During night-time outages, rechargeable LED light bulbs are a good option and retail at about R50 each. Installation is like a normal globe, only it contains a battery that charges when the power is on and stays on when there's load-shedding. Battery life is about five hours, with the first two hours being at full light, slowly dimming to extend light duration in extended outages.
And a kitchen flask, available for less than R100 at some retailers, can be filled with boiling water before an outage. This will offer enough water for four hot drinks over several hours.
Other suggestions punted by budget-conscious consumers include using a cellphone as a hotspot during outages, powering small devices with power banks and placing pre-frozen bottles of water into the fridge to keep it cold for as long as possible.
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