Paperwork is the least exciting part of a solar project and the easiest to skip. It is also the part that comes back to bite: when you sell the house, claim on insurance, or the municipality audits connections. Here is what applies and why.
Why the municipality wants to know
If your system is connected to the grid in any way, whether a grid-tied or a hybrid setup, it can affect the network your neighbours share. Municipalities that supply electricity, including the City of Ekurhuleni for Kempton Park, require these small-scale embedded generation systems to be applied for and approved. They check that the inverter meets the national grid-connection standard (NRS 097-2-1) and that it will disconnect safely when the grid goes down.
Requirements and forms change, and they differ between municipalities, so check the current process with yours before installation, not after. If you buy electricity from Eskom directly rather than through the municipality, the process goes through Eskom.
The certificate of compliance
Any change to your home's electrical installation must be done or signed off by a registered electrician, who issues a certificate of compliance (CoC). A solar installation is such a change. Keep the CoC with your house papers: you need it to sell the property, and your insurer may ask for it after a claim.
That applies to off-grid systems too. They may not need municipal approval, because they never connect to the grid, but their wiring still has to be safe and certified.
Tell your insurer
Panels, inverters and batteries add value to a property and change its risk. Let your insurer know about the installation so the equipment is covered, and ask whether they need the CoC on file.
Before installation, check that
- the inverter is accepted by your municipality for grid connection
- the application has been submitted and you know what is still outstanding
- a registered electrician will issue the CoC when the work is done
- you know who keeps copies of the paperwork
When we design a grid-connected system, we talk through these steps with you so the paperwork matches the installation.
Planning a grid-connected system?
Ask us what your installation will need before work starts.
Talk to us about your project
