FAQs

If you have a battery storage system, you will use your stored energy. If you are grid-tied without batteries, you will automatically draw power from the municipal grid.

No. With a grid-tied system, you will still have an account with your provider. You will simply buy much less electricity from them.

Our solar panels typically come with a 25-year performance warranty. Inverters and batteries have warranties ranging from 5 to 10 years. All our workmanship is fully guaranteed.

Solar energy is a clean, renewable and abundant source of power that can help you avoid load-shedding, save money on your electricity bills, increase the value of your property, and reduce your dependence on the national grid. Switching to solar energy also reduces greenhouse gases and air pollution.

A system consisting of a hybrid Inverter, solar panels and a lithium-ion battery. This system gives the best of both worlds. It operates with either solar power or grid power. The solar energy can be directed to provide power to the home, including the charging of batteries, during sun hours. The batteries allow backup power during times of grid power outages.

A system consisting of a grid-tied inverter and solar panels only. The primary benefit of this system is to reduce your electricity bill. Batteries cannot be connected to this system, as the inverter for this application is incapable of transporting energy to a battery. Please note that Smart-Tech Energy Solutions does not currently offer grid-tied solutions, as all our systems include batteries.

A system consisting of a hybrid inverter, solar panels and multiple lithium-ion batteries without any connection to the public utility grid. It uses an inverter to convert energy received from the solar panels into electricity and then stores the electricity in batteries until it is required.

While the solutions that Smart-Tech Energy Solutions offers require that your home remain connected to the grid, it is possible to power your home almost exclusively with solar and battery power, depending on the size of your system and the type of installation.

There is no national legislation that deals with delinking from the national grid. Instead, local ordinances and zoning regulations indirectly accommodate and facilitate the off-grid transition.

The best way to choose the right solution is to review your household energy needs and compare the specifications of the various solutions we offer. Smart-Tech Energy Solutions will conduct a needs analysis before installation to advise you on the best option for your needs and budget from our range of hybrid or battery-only options.

Battery storage enables energy from solar panels and the grid to be stored and then released when required during power outages and during the evenings when there is no power being generated from the solar panels.

By using less electricity from the grid, you will be able to reduce your monthly electricity bill. In addition, by managing your cost per unit, you can mitigate the impact of expected electricity price increases and eventually generate a profit from your system. The incentive scheme that offered tax rebates for home solar purchases expired on 29 February 2024 and no provision for extending the scheme was tabled in the 2024 National Budget.

A hybrid solar energy system includes a battery that stores electricity from your solar panels and uses this to power your system in times when the panels are not providing enough electricity directly, such as at night or during cloudy weather. This ensures that your home will always have an alternative source of energy available and reduces your dependence on the grid. A battery-only system functions as a backup in the same way, except that the battery stores electricity drawn from the grid and makes it available when the grid is not producing power, like during load-shedding. This is why a battery-only solution will provide backup power but won’t reduce your electricity bill.

A solar energy system can last for 25 to 30 years, depending on the quality of the components and the maintenance of the system. The solar panels are usually the most durable part of the system, as they have no moving parts and are designed to withstand harsh weather conditions. The inverters, batteries and other accessories may need to be replaced over time, depending on their usage and lifespan.

To log a fault, please email info at smart-tech dot online or call us on 062 646 7589 from 08:00 to 18:00, Monday to Friday.

Yes, you can add additional components such as batteries and solar panels to your existing Smart-Tech Energy Solutions system, as long as those components and the system are compatible. These added components must be bought directly from Smart-Tech Energy Solutions – the added components cannot be paid off in instalments.

You can choose to keep your system in place, which could add value to your property, or you can pay to have your system removed by a qualified technician and installed at your new address, if possible. If you are paying for your system with a payment plan, you have to continue paying your monthly instalments according to your agreement, regardless of where your system is installed.

Several factors influence how a solar energy system functions, including the position of your home, the slope and material of your roof and your home’s current electrical installation. A site visit is necessary to prepare our installers to complete their work efficiently and get your system up and running as soon as possible.

A certificate of compliance (CoC) is legal proof that a qualified electrician has inspected your home, and that your electrical installation was found on the date of inspection to be compliant with all the legal requirements as laid out in the Electrical Installations Occupational Health and Safety Act of South Africa.

A CoC remains valid for the lifetime of an installation but excludes maintenance items and any alterations that have been made to the electrical installation. The owner must obtain a supplementary CoC where any addition or alteration (installation of inverter) has affected the original electrical CoC. The supplementary CoC is attached to the original CoC where the original certificate number is stated to authenticate the supplementary CoC.

We recommend that an inverter twice the total wattage of the devices you will be running on the inverter. This allows a safety margin to prevent the risk of overloading. Our consultants will assist with measuring your usage and advise you on your essential load requirement. This is the total wattage required to be managed by the inverter.