How Much Are Solar Panels in South Africa?
With the load shedding continuing across South Africa, it’s not surprising that a lot of people in the country are looking to move over to solar energy. If you are one of these people, there are certain items that you are going to need to make your system functional. At the top of the list are solar panels. They are the ones that convert the sun’s rays into electrical energy. But what is the cost of solar panels in South Africa? It’s a question that will be at the front of your mind while sizing your system.
What is the cost of solar panels in South Africa?
In the table below we answer the question “how much are solar panels in South Africa,” by comparing prices at various outlets. Note that these prices are subject to change without notice. As such, you will need to check out the current price at each of the featured stores.
| Store | Solar panel size | Voltage | Type | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Takealot | 330W | 30 | Mono | R 3,600 |
| Takealot | 100W | 18 | Poly | R 1,798 |
| Sunfire | 375W | 34.3 | Mono | R3,062 |
| Sustainable | 275W | 31.1 | Poly | R 2,906 |
| Inverter-Warehouse | 120W | 21.8 | Poly | R895 |
| Solar-Advice | 445W | 41 | Mono | R3,333 |
What are your requirements?
That’s a sample answer to the question “how much are solar panels in South Africa.” In the above table, we looked at a wide range of stores from where South Africans can buy their solar equipment. We have to say these shops continue to grow as demand for solar equipment grows due to incessant load shedding.
So, which solar panels should you buy? The answer to that depends on your particular requirements. What do you wish to use your system for? Do you wish to go entirely off grid? Or do you wish to use your system in a hybrid dispensation with Eskom?
There are many options when it comes to solar. The equipment that you will need depends on your household’s needs. If you use a lot of power every month, you are going to need more equipment. But what are the requirements for the average household?
Solar panel requirements for the average South African household
How much are solar panels? You can see in our table that we have different samples. We have already noted that systems will be different depending on your energy needs. However, we can use averages to come up with a rough idea of what you will need.
The average household in South Africa uses 1000 watts of electricity. Depending on your needs, you will probably require 6 times 350W solar panels. That’s would be enough to cover for ten hours of load shedding.
Note that we are generalizing here. You should use our solar energy calculator to get accurate figures. We do have a 24 volt system that we use. It has 4 * 370 watt solar panels and a 200ah lithium battery. The system has a 3Kva inverter.
It’s a hybrid inverter, meaning it’s tied to the grid. We have set it up so that solar is used during the day and the grid is used at night. Charging is using solar during the day. At night, charging is through Eskom electricity.
Our feeling is that this system could use an additional 2 solar panels to make if really optimal based on our needs. On cloudy days and in extended situations of load shedding, we have encountered situations where the battery wasn’t fully charged.
Polycrystalline or Monocrystalline panels?
You can see in the above table that solar panels come in two configurations, polycrystalline and monocrystalline. In general, monocrystalline tend to be more efficient.
However, this may be offset by the fact that they are a bit more expensive than polycrystalline panels. In any case, that’s a debate that we cover in our monocrystalline vs polycrystalline solar panels article.
Voltage
What size system are you going to have? Most households can function on 3kva solar systems. The one that we gave in the above example falls within this category.
A 3kva system will power a freezer, your TVs and lights. In fact, it will cover all your household requirements other than cooking. Your 3kva system will mostly be 24volts in size.
If you have bigger requirements, you may wish to go for a 5kva solar system. 5kva systems are mostly 48volt systems.
Summary
In this article we answered the question “how much are solar panels in South Africa?” It was noted that solar panels come in a wide range of configurations. The ones that you end up buying depend on your particular needs and on your budget.