Off the grid solar - Installers and financing advice needed

[Valrion]

Hi Guys

Looking for some advice regarding as the title says going off the grid. Thing is it is for a guest house with 15 rooms. Does anyone have any experience regarding this type of system? Is financing a option on this type of project?

 

[Caliph]

There are 3 types of residential solar PV configurations;

1. Grid tied
2. Off-grid
3. Hybrid

Of the 3 types, the off grid system is the most costly because of the amount of batteries that will have to be purchased. With an off grid system, you are not using mains/ municipal power at all. This means that that the pv system installed has be able to sustain the entire electrical loading of the guest house purely on solar power.

In your case, you will have to do a load analysis ie. how much of electrical energy will the guest house require? This is done by looking at the potential loads like plug circuits, lighting circuits, appliances etc. to get the total power in kW. This value is then used to size the panels, charge controller, inverters, cables and batteries.

Depending on the usage of the guest house, your ROI will most probably be a long time. I don't think you will be able to finance a project like this.

 

[CaTcH21]

Anything is possible if you got the money or finance available.

Everything Caliph said is correct except his last comment on the ROI. He can’t possibly know this unless he knows how much your guesthouse generates (turnover/gp/net profit ) and your guesthouse power consumption.

Visit powerforum.co.za , there’s a few experts there as well a reputable supplier/installer.