News

Practical notes on solar, batteries and wind power, and getting through load-shedding.

  1. On-grid, hybrid or off-grid: choosing a solar setup

    Three ways to wire solar into a building, and the one question that decides between them: what should happen when the grid goes down?
  2. How to size a battery for load-shedding

    Four steps from a list of appliances to a battery size, with a worked example you can repeat for your own home.
  3. Looking after your solar panels: cleaning and checks

    Solar needs little attention, but not none. Dust, bird droppings and loose connections all cost output. Here is what to check, and what to leave to us.
  4. Registering your solar system with the municipality

    The paperwork side of going solar: municipal approval, the certificate of compliance, and why skipping them can cost you later.
  5. Small wind turbines: when they make sense

    Wind can fill the hours solar misses, but only on the right site. The physics that decides it, and how to check before you buy.
  6. Load shedding is slowly killing your appliances

    Unplugging, surge protection, a UPS or a backup supply: what each one does to keep repair bills down.
  7. Stage 5 load-shedding and worse after winter

    What stages 5 to 8 mean in hours, and why the 2022 outlook pointed to more cuts in summer.