Finally some progress and at the same time just happy to get my solar battery back which I fetched this morning. Apparently they said they had emailed me and that was not true as the first email I received is this one which came late yesterday afternoon. From what it sounds like is the admin side of this business is letting them down as the battery had already been there for a month before they even looked at it and another month to let me know it was ready.
Finally the battery is back in it's slot and is working.
I voiced my displeasure, but never went too harshly on the guys as I am now quoting them on packaging material. Never turn a gift horse away when there is an opportunity to make some money as now I can make back what they cost me over the last 6 months. Turning a negative into a positive is something I enjoy doing and if I need them in the future at least I will know who to talk to.
The battery never worked from day one and should have been a quick fix with a replacement the same day 6 months ago. The technician I spoke with said all he did was turn it on and discharge the stored power and then recharge it with no problems. We will be installing this today as my solar installer and electrician is on site as he is also upgrading and servicing the electric fence. Good timing as this gets two jobs done with one call out fee and no extras to the bill.
Nearly fully operational and it turns we need more cable as the cable that was on the fence was perished and low quality. When we cut the cable there was virtually no copper wire inside. This will now be completed on Tuesday as Monday is a public holiday.
I have been seriously concerned as we are in the cold months of winter and guaranteed load shedding is imminent. Yesterday my daughter had no power due to cable theft and we cooked their dinner for them and they came over to have a shower. The 4th battery gives us the extra wiggle room if the power is out for 8 hours or longer as we can just about make it off the grid. It all depends on the time of sunrise and sunset whether we have to touch the grid or not.
Time to monitor and tweak the settings over the next few days and we will get a good idea of where we are. This is the first time the system has had 4 operational batteries and I would like to see the numbers change using less top up power from the grid and less discharging.
The next few days will tell us exactly where we are and whether I need more (6-8) panels and another battery. According to my calculations this will take us off the grid entirely even with overcast conditions and an early sunset. This kind of makes the investment so worthwhile considering this time last year I was spending R200 ($12) daily on petrol running the generator.
Not only does this add serious value to the property as we would be one of a few in the country entirely off the grid as the majority of homes who have solar are more back up power systems and have not gone the whole way. The investment will pay for itself within 5-6 years and possibly less depending on the future tariff electricity increases which are guaranteed to happen. I just read a report that electricity rises from the 1st July between 11.23% and 23% depending on where you live.