FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The majority of homes in South Africa are installing between 4kWp – 10kWp, which are capable of producing 4,500 kWh – 15,000 kWh’s. (R9000 – R30,000 annual savings). There are many factors involved in calculating the perfect photovoltaic system size for the right applications and this is where we pride ourselves on achieving more real kWh production than average installers.

To determine the most powerful PV system size for your needs, contact SUNTHESIS today.

The primary difference between KVA (Kilovolt-ampere) and kW (Kilowatt) is the power factor. KVA is a unit of apparent power, mathematically including re-active power, while the kW is the unit of real power delivered to the appliance. We are usually billed by our utility in kWh’s, which is the measure of real power consumed. Look at kWh’s when purchasing a power asset.

The Inverter is the brain of your system. Selecting an inferior brain will significantly reduce the productive performance and thereby reduce your ROI. Saving R10,000 on an inferior inverter could cost you hundreds of thousands of Rands over the long run. SUNTHESIS selects the most appropriate technology from a variety of top manufacturers, depending on the specific application. We prefer using only the best in market inverter technologies i.e Victron, Fronius, Huawei, Solis, Sun Synk etc. These inverter companies offer at least a 5-year standard warranty, which can be extended to 25 years, at a small additional fee.

The peak kWh’s which your building requires at any one time in a day, is considered the peak load. If your system is undersized, the peak load can cause a trip in your power supply. We can be selective with which loads we want to capture to form our new desired peak load. Understanding where the power is used and when in the day is crucial to ensuring your solar asset is correctly paired to the purpose.

If the expensive equipment is not installed correctly, you could void the warranty on various components. The potential losses in your power system will increase substantially if incorrectly sized and the loads are not adequately captured, thereby reducing your daily savings and profitability. Solar power plants are sophisticated pieces of equipment and not suitable for the average DIY type project. To meet rebate programs you need to contract with a professional company, as well as to perform the interconnection with the utility. The cost and risk associated with a poor installation greatly outweigh the cost of hiring a professional who will certify the installation.

A correctly performing Solar Asset is an incredible investment opportunity. From a financial return perspective, solar energy will allow you to recoup the cash investment in roughly 3 – 5 years for Grid Ties, and approx. 6- 8 years for Hybrid systems, depending on size and efficiency of the system.

However, many customers feel that the peace of mind of switching to solar energy ‘pays for itself’ as soon as the system turns on for the first time.

A solar system can potentially provide a 10-fold saving in the first 25 years if installed correctly. Certain systems can work out to be immediately cash-flow positive (or neutral).

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Due to the fact that Solar systems have no moving parts, the solar systems needs very little maintenance besides keeping the panels clean to produce optimally. During the productive lifespan of a solar system (25 – 40 years) the following components may need to be replaced:

• Inverter / charge controller – between year 15 – 25 years of operation – Extended warranty available up to 25 years.
• Panels – Between 25 – 40 years of operation.
• SuperCap Batteries – longer than 45 years of operation.
• Lithium Batteries – every 10-12 years of operation.
• AGM Batteries – every 5 years of operation.

Feeding surplus energy back into grid is only approved in a few coastal provinces and does not include Gauteng yet. Improvements in Legislation will enhance the benefits of the feed-in Tariff.

The Feed-in Tariff is a governmental program encouraging the adoption of renewable energy sources and you would receive payments from your energy supplier for the electricity you generate and offload into the grid. However, to qualify for the feed-in tariff, you firstly need to pay Eskom a generation tariff of R500 per month. You are not able to easily recover this initial monthly payment for the relatively small amount of surplus electricity that you intend to offload into the grid.

Currently, company tax in South-Africa is 28%. With this incentive, you can deduct the value of your new solar power system as a depreciation expense from your companies’ profits. This means that your companies income tax liability will be decreased by the same value as the value of the installed solar system. The Income Tax Act, No 58 of 1962, Section 12B (Act) allows a taxpayer (ie a person subject to tax in terms of the Act) to claim a deduction on the costs incurred in respect of plant, machinery, implements and articles owned by it.

In respect of photovoltaic solar energy of more than one megawatt, a taxpayer is allowed to depreciate the cost of the asset producing the electricity, on a 50/30/20% basis over 3 years. In other words, one is allowed a 50% depreciation of the asset in the first year of use, 30% in the second year and the balance in the third year of use. Where the photovoltaic solar energy system produces less than one megawatt of power, then the taxpayer can choose between a 100% depreciation in the first year of use, or 3 years as above.

This is one of the most crucial questions to ask when installing your Solar PV system!

Your Return on Investment and performance of the asset will be inherently linked together. If you select inferior equipment to save R20,000, which performs 20% less than intended over the long term, your intended return will be diminished by 20% which can often compound to more than R200,000 lost of the productive lifespan.

Therefore, SUNTHESIS guarantees performance by selecting only the best-in-market technology to achieve the highest targets we set for ourselves and our client partners returns.

Solar Panels – 12-15 years Warranty – 25-30 years power output guarantee

Super Capacitor Battery – 10 years swop out Warranty – 45 years Projected Lifespan.

Inverters – 5 Years Std. Manufacturer warranty – can be extended up to 25 years.

Consumables – Strictly SABS/SANS Compliant with 12 Month Std. Workmanship Warranty.

O&M Services – 3- or 5- or 10-years Operation and Maintenance contracts available.

Any extension or increase in warranty cover can be negotiated between SUNTHESIS and the client, on a case by case basis.

The price of electricity will only rise in the years to come and the supply will become even more strained. That means you will never pay any less than you are paying right now, unless you choose an alternative or to supplement with some free energy.

The average home owner will pay their utility company over R2million every 20 years for power.

The average business owner will pay their utility company over R5million every 20 years for power.

Installing a secure and reliable solar PV asset provides you with the means to fix your electricity rate for more than 25 years. The maintenance-free panels come with a 25-year production output guarantee and the expected useful lifespan is well over 40 years if correctly mounted and maintained. A Solar PV system protects you from rising electricity prices for decades to come and becomes profitable between year 5-7. There is also a peace of mind that is unequalled, when switching to solar energy as your primary power source and turning the grid into your “backup”.

There are many benefits, emotionally and financially, for choosing to install a Hybrid Solar Energy Asset with batteries. The savings are compounded over time to eventually payback the asset and start generating profit for your decision. Those savings could be invested in other opportunities which could affect other parts of your life. So, considering solar as an investment, the sooner you start, the better.

If you want to benefit from future technologies, ensure your system is expertly designed by professionals to allow for future expansion and modifications to your system. If you wait for example 7 more years for some unproven technology down the road, you would have missed the opportunity to generate and pay off your solar power asset already. Due to economies of scale, the cost of this revolutionary technology has already dropped significantly.

The cost of ‘not starting’ far outweighs the perceived benefits of waiting, especially with Rent-to-Own finance packages available which making starting even easier.

The 2 types of panels are mono-crystalline and poly-crystalline and each have different characteristics which set them apart for achieving similar results. The mono’s are better at generating energy in low light levels and cloudy conditions, therefore ideal for coastal regions. Poly’s tend to perform better in harsh, hot and dry climates where high temperature could negatively affect the mono’s production capabilities. We have our favourite performers but select from a variety of tier 1 manufacturers depending on the application, such as LG / Canadian Solar / ZN Shine.

All reputable solar manufacturers support us in offering at least a 12-15 year warranty, with a minimum of 25-years output guarantee on their panels, and expected to produce for double that length. Annual inspections could pick up panel degradation and allow us to avoid this over the long term, thereby increasing your long-term production and profitability of your asset.

There are many considerations when selecting a battery technology for your desired application. If you select superior technology with a reliable depth of discharge (D.o.D), your return on investment (ROI) can be accurately measured and quantified. If selecting inferior technology, you will have perpetual degradation and an ever-shrinking ROI, thus never achieving the proposed “kWh saved” targets.

Typical Solar Deep cycle batteries like Lead Acid, Calcium or other AGM batteries only provide 1500 – 3000 recharges with significant degradation (70% or more). These batteries require replacing in 3 – 5 years.

Lithium Batteries are a significant improvement and now offer 5,000 – 6,000 recharges, but there will still be a 50% degradation over the cycle life, affecting overall performance and profitability. To improve the overall performance of your system, these batteries typically need replacing in 10 – 12 years once they are degraded.

Super Capacitor batteries are the paradigm change in storage technology with 1,000,000 recharges (200 times more than Lithium batteries). They also boast no degradation over their useful lifespan, so the 7.1kWh usable energy you purchase upfront, will still be available in years to come. The projected Lifespan of Super Cap technology is 45 years. This allows for maximum performance and profitability from your Energy Asset without frequent battery replacements, as with all other chemical batteries.

SUNTHESIS is proud to provide the right combination of equipment which allows you to achieve true off-grid independence. However, choosing grid-dependant inverters will never allow you to take the final step. Getting professional Solar Architects to custom design your power plant is the only reliable way to achieve off-grid power security with reliable energy daily.

Generally, to achieve off-grid independence, you need multiple days’ worth of battery capacity to be available for uncertainties or extended rainy days, but there are other ways to achieve the dream in carefully planned stages over time, or if it makes financial sense to do so. Call us now to start getting your design.