Your solar questions, answered

North-facing roofs with little shade and enough space are ideal, but east/west roofs and trickier layouts usually work too. The installer confirms suitability during the free site assessment before anything is finalised.

Yes, just at reduced output. Panels generate less on overcast days and nothing at night, which is exactly why a battery matters — it stores daytime energy so you can use it after dark or when it’s grey.

Panels typically produce for 25–35 years. The inverter and battery are shorter-lived components that may be replaced once over that span, which is normal and planned for.

You can, but for most homes it isn’t worth it. A grid-tied system with a battery gives you backup and savings at a far lower cost than sizing a system to never touch the grid. Full off-grid makes sense mainly where there’s no reliable grid at all.

Panels convert sunlight into DC electricity; the inverter turns that into the AC power your home uses. A battery stores the surplus for later, and the grid tops up any shortfall.

A system with a battery will — it switches over in a fraction of a second, so your essentials stay on. A solar-only system without a battery does not provide backup during an outage. If riding out load-shedding is your goal, you want a battery.

It depends on size, but a typical home battery comfortably runs lights, Wi-Fi, TV, a fridge and charging for several hours. Bigger packages store more, for longer backup or heavier loads.

For most homes, yes. A battery is silent, automatic, needs no fuel, and switches over instantly. A generator has running costs, noise and a delay — though it can run indefinitely if you keep feeding it fuel.

A typical home system is roughly R45,000–R80,000 to buy outright, depending on size. On rent-to-own you avoid the lump sum and pay a monthly amount — often close to what you already pay Eskom — with the system becoming yours at the end.

Three main routes: buy outright (lowest lifetime cost), rent-to-own over 3 or 7 years (no big deposit, you own it at the end), or a month-to-month subscription (lowest entry, cancel after a minimum term). We help you compare which fits your cash flow.

Unless you go fully off-grid, yes — but a well-sized system can shrink it dramatically. You’ll typically still pay a connection/availability charge to your municipality for grid access and backup.

Businesses can claim the Section 12B allowance — a 100% deduction of qualifying renewable-energy assets in the first year. Home tax incentives have been more limited and change year to year, so check the current rules for your situation.

Generally yes. A paid-off, well-installed solar system is an attractive feature that can support resale value and speed up a sale, especially given rising electricity prices and load-shedding fatigue.

After you accept a quote, there’s a free site assessment and a final design, then installation — usually one to two days for a home system — followed by commissioning and the compliance paperwork.

For a grid-tied system, yes — most municipalities require you to register your small-scale embedded generation (SSEG). Timelines vary by area. The installer handles the technical side and paperwork.

If your roof needs work soon, it’s best to do it before installing panels — removing and refitting panels later adds cost. The site assessment flags any roof concerns up front.

Insist on an itemised quote you can compare, confirm the inverter is NRS-approved, check the battery’s usable capacity (depth of discharge) and cycle life, and understand the finance terms — escalation, buy-out and who owns the system.