Don’t be fooled by this calm, this pause in ESKOM’s inability to provide reliable power - the storm is coming! And when it comes most South Africans will be caught off guard. The question is, will you be ready?
But what can you do, you may ask? You’re a complete lay-person when it comes to “batteries”, “inverters”, “UPS”, “solar”, etc. A couple of google-searches and you’re halfway down the wine bottle and more confused than before. STOP doing that! You need help.
Your best bet is ask the experts. And believe or not, there are some neat online tools out there that can help you get to the point, get a price, understand the offers, and get the solution that best suits your needs, and your budget, whether for a battery backup solution, or one that involves solar panels as well.
Option 1 | Use a Calculator
An online calculator can give you a very easy and quick way to get an estimate of costs. A smart calculator/estimator will also ask you smart questions about the size of your house, your electricity bill, and the kind of battery-, or solar solution you’re after. We find this calculator by SolarCheck to be very easy to use. The best is to simply give them your monthly electricity bill (or bills - they allow you to enter up to three) and let them give you an estimated range of costs. They also hook you up with approved solar or battery installers that are local to your area. And as of this writing, they only offer a free-of-charge site visit for an accurate assessment.
Option 2 | Use an Online Assessment Tool
These tools are even easier than the above-mentioned calculator. Simply answer a few simple, but probing questions and you will have given the tool the necessary ammunition for any service provider to give you with immediate cost estimate for solar and battery installations.
Option 3 | Get referrals from Social Media
Asking friends on social media platforms is a great way to find out who has successfully implemented a load-shedding mitigation solution. People generally don’t endorse a solar company unless they have received satisfactory service from them. And once you have the name of the company it’s fairly easy do some basic background checks by using Google’s company rating and for due diligence, making sure that there are now egregious Hello Peter listings. Facebook community groups are also a great place find out what kind of solar/battery system worked for whom, and what the price range is.
But, if you feel you have already done your homework and you have a pretty clear understanding of what you want, then all you need to is to get the best price, and link that up with a reliable installer.
To get prices countrywide, please contact sales@lightgrid.co.za
To arrange a free-of-charge site visit, please contact info@lightgrid.co.za
To have a friendly chat about options, or a shoulder to cry on, visit us.