The solar figures for the month of December are up on every statistic by as much as 20%. Longer summer days with earlier sunrises and later sunsets is the reason plus the Christmas holidays means the family is home more than usual.
The import from the grid cannot be reduced until I purchase another couple of storage batteries which is on the cards for some time in the New Year. It leaves a sour taste knowing the system is throwing away an average of 12 kwh of power daily whilst importing and average of 16 kwh. The difference of having another 2 batteries would reduce the import to around 4 kwh of energy daily which is worth around R9.20 or $0.60c so the monthly power bill would be minimal and less than $20. Instead this month I will be paying $70 and is money being thrown away. The two batteries would cost in the region of $2K so the pay back would be less than 30 months if I add another 8 more panels guaranteeing the winter months would still generate the same amount of power.
If we look at the full year for 2025 there is a difference from the imported and discharged (thrown away) of around 900 kwh which is actually closer than I thought as we were down one battery for the first 5 months of the year. Having an electricity bill averaging R1K monthly $70 and not R4K monthly is a win on it's own. This year has all been about learning what is possible and with a few more tweaks adding the extra batteries and panels we should be able to go off the grid even during the winter months.
Load shedding has not been around that much this year even though it may be happening under other pretenses like upgrades. We have had many of those which we never felt the impact like everyone else has and have had power 24/7 365 days this year. This was the intention when we went for the bigger solar plant and not just a back up system that most houses opted for. Most houses have the 5kw inverters where we have the 16 kw which has allowed us to be more independent thus far. A 5kw is like having a generator and would never power the house we have or if it did it would be for limited hours.
Next year the electricity prices are expected to increase by a further 11-14% and knowing them maybe a more realistic increase will be around 16-18%. This will shorten the investment pay back time which I still think will be anywhere between 4 and 6 years. The shorter time period once we are off the grid entirely with an additional smallish investment. This has to happen as when we sell the property we will be one of the rare properties offering an off the grid system which is where you get your investment back plus more. Having no power utility bills would be a major plus for anyone purchasing the property especially when the prices are constantly rising. This would be a saving of $300 or $400 monthly within the next 24 months so it is a huge selling point we have now.