This last week I finally received the solar geyser quote which came in at the price I expected of around R40K or $2.5K. The price does not include labor and will discuss that with my solar installer this week as it cannot be too much more and maybe another R5K or $300 .This is a 300L solar system which is roughly 100L more than our current grid tied water heating system. I say grid tied even though our system is now on solar, but it needs to be on it's own power source. I am already neck deep in what this solar installation has cost already and believe another R100k or $6K is required to leave the grid. The total cost will then be around R400K or $25K which is slightly more than I had expected. Still kind of crazy to think this would only be 5 years worth of power bills and I would still receive the investment back when the property is sold.
I am expecting it to look similar to this in the picture above.
A geyser is the most power hungry appliance you have in your home and accounts for 30-40% of your total power consumption. Removing to a solar water heating system it will free up the power it is consuming from my stored batteries making the power stored last longer.
The aim of this exercise is all about getting off the grid and if it saves me 5kwh overnight changing the water heating system then it is well worth the costs. Currently I would estimate we would need an extra 10kwh of battery storage to make the off the grid happen. The hope is this would save 5kwh and then add 2 more batteries so the train of thought is we would have around an extra 15Kwh more than we have now. This would be enough to last through the long winter nights which will be the tough challenge.
When we agreed to put the solar installation the deal with the family was that their lifestyle changes do not change and we carry on as normal with regard to power consumption. I agreed to this because I wanted the solar so the system is growing to serve that end purpose.
The balance of the addons being 8 more panels of 500kwh each plus one or two more storage batteries should see the hose go off the grid entirely never to touch the grid again. This is the dream and we will be so close once the solar geyser is installed and cannot wait to not have the power utility bill each month. When we do eventually relocate back to Europe I will make sure we remain off the grid installing a similar system.
The electricity bills from our supplier have not really decreased as they are manipulating the bills having created extra new costs to try and keep their revenues stable. The administration fees of which there are two of them are a joke and this is nothing short of theft. We are being penalised for using renewable energy which is the opposite of what should be happening.
The government clearly does not care or this would not be the case and any funding for green initiatives they have ben handed out is more about their pockets and not about reducing carbon emissions. This is Africa and Africa is corrupt so this is what should be expected.
Someone said they cannot steal from the sun as that energy is free and they are trying to make money from this mainly out of desperation. Rather sad and pathetic that this is the attitude and tells you there is a lack of education in the leadership roles.