Crime Is A Way Of Life In South Africa

A worrying new trend has appeared in South Africa over the last 6 months and that is properties being targeted that have solar installations. Theft is up 100% over the last 6 months as a lucrative black market has emerged hungry for stolen solar equipment. Solar installations are the third most stolen item from properties. Crime is a way of life in South Africa and one has to think differently to combat this and living in a gated community is one way of doing this. Not every household can afford this or wants that type of living because these communities have their own rules which are often restrictive.

Many households would like to install solar with the cost being the number one concern followed by the risk of theft being the number two. The costs of installation can be financed, but then the extra costs of insuring the installation and not knowing if the overall savings are going to happen due to penalties for those staying on the grid. If you install solar now you have to go off the grid as there is no middle ground due to increased tariffs for those who have solar which is a planned deterrent by the power utility companies to keep their customers.

There are certain regions in South Africa where households would like to install solar, but are reluctant to do so due to the threat of theft. Insurance companies are now issuing warnings asking those who have solar to use installation hardware like bolts that are tamper proof. Another suggestion is adding spikes to your roof top which is kind of absurd and you have bigger security problems if this is required.

I would suggest upgrading the security first making access to your property that much harder. The problem with solar is you cannot hide the installation and everyone can see what is on your roof.

The problem is the more panels you have on the roof it also notifies the criminals an idea of how many lithium batteries you have and these are costly items along with the inverter. having the inverter and batteries in a secure room is a must have and I need to add an extra security gate more of a preventative slowing down measure than a guarantee safety. The panels can be replaced, but not necessarily the rest depending if they are insured or not. We are very fortunate that we live in a secure private controlled zone and we have extra security measures over and above armed guards and reaction services.

Commercial properties are also being targeted more so than residential due to the size of the solar systems they have and are big money installations. Many of these businesses have security, but there are always going to be weak points with guards on minimal wages. Some of these larger systems are worth more than $100K and why they are easy targets.

The majority of properties in the middle class sector have security, but nothing serious and is definitely a weakness for those properties. Insurance companies are now suggesting properties in outlying areas with security concerns create a mini grid system with one system supplying multiple houses and having this system protected using extra resources.