My solar PV system handles everything except the hot water cylinder. Solar system reported a total cost usage of R1,090 for Dee 2019 of which R797 was produced by sunshine. The remaining R293 was supplied by the grid (after batteries stop at about 2am at 65% capacity). We still buy around R600pm for total grid use so R600-R293 says my hot water cylinder is using around R307 per month (hot water cylinder is set to 37C max and only comes on when we need to use it).
Obviously Winter is going to provide a bit less sunshine, so I’ll do another such exercise around mid-Winter.
The advantages though of the system in South Africa are not only cost saving but also continuous power throughout load shedding periods – even at Stage 6 we never once ran out of power from the solar PV system (the 65% threshold for use allows a large safety margin for any load shedding during hours of darkness or low sun). The system also acts as a giant UPS for my computers and Internet equipment protecting them from any surges on the grid. And of course that is less environmental impact, and leaves a bit more juice available for our struggling power utility to give to others.
#environment #victronenergy #solarPV
