Are you curious about the benefits of solar power or considering making use of solar energy to complement your energy needs? Many people are flocking to solar in South Africa to ensure their power requirements during load shedding, but are there any other benefits besides escaping our failing power utility? Let’s take a look at the benefits of solar and why this alternative energy source is being used.
Reduced energy bill
While the initial costs of solar can be steep, especially if you include batteries for energy storage, the savings start almost immediately afterwards. During the day, any energy that you use will first be taken from the energy you generate from solar. This results in a lower monthly bill for electricity, because you are tapping into your solar system.
Your excess energy can also be fed into the power grid, earning you a rebate. This feed-in tariff is still under development by Eskom, but there has been a big push to incentivise rooftop solar systems via a rebate. (You can read more about the rebate here.) This will result in an even lower monthly electricity bill, which will help your solar system to pay itself off.
Works everywhere
Other alternative energy sources have several requirements that mean they can’t be used everywhere. Solar doesn’t suffer from that problem, because as long as there is sunshine, you have access to solar energy! All you need is space for your solar panels to get some sunshine, meaning it can work just about anywhere. This is great for remote areas with limited access to other sources of electricity, or places with no electricity at all.
On top of this fact, South Africa is a very sunny country. We get an average of 2,500 hours of sunlight every year. The average solar-radiation range is between 4.5 and 6.5kWh/m². By comparison, Europe only gets 1,000 hours of sunshine per year with a lower solar-radiation range. We are in the perfect country to take advantage of solar energy!
Clean and responsible
Another of the benefits of solar power is that it’s simple to install – and unlike most generators, it is a silent energy source. This is very important as most rooftop solar systems are in urban areas. Nobody wants to hear the whole neighbourhood sounding like a choir of petrol generators. Solar energy has the lowest negative impact on the environment of the energy sources we have in use. It doesn’t produce greenhouse gases, or pollute the water. Solar panels also use very little water for their maintenance, an important aspect in our arid environment! It also is a renewable source of energy compared to burning fossil fuels.
Reliable power
With so many sunny days in South Africa, we have an abundance of solar energy. Even cloudy days still generate energy, and you can make use of your batteries to handle any dips in performance. South Africa has been plagued by load shedding, something that you can avoid if you have a solar power backup solution installed.
Nobody wants to spend time in the dark, wishing they were watching their favourite show, or missing the end of an exciting sport match. With a solar power solution and batteries, you can keep watching your show the whole way through load shedding! Reclaim the time that load shedding wants to steal from you.
Visit our specials page to see our various solar packages and enjoy reliable, responsible energy.
