Grid Tie

With the introduction of the new Eskom tariff hikes the cost of
electricity becomes a real part of the expenses of any home. Energy
saving has become a major concern as well as the quest for
alternate sources of energy.

The progress that has been made with solar panel technology in
the last few years has dropped manufacturing costs and increased
efficiencies making it an increasingly viable option to use.

The following pages will describe the proposed solution for home
power. The technology, costs and savings involved will also be
discussed.

Components: 1. solar panel, 2. SUNNY BOY solar
inverter, 3. production meter, 4. consumers, 5. SUNNY BEAM, 6. grid
connection

Solution Description

The solution will include 1.040 kW of peak solar power fed
through grid tie inverters straight to the load of the home. The
grid tie inverters use the direct current generated from the solar
panels, inverts it to 1 KVA for use internally. The new inverters
have no moving parts and use no batteries whilst operating at 96.7%
efficiency.

The principle is quite simple, the inverters feed electricity
directly into the load and the excess is covered by Eskom. This
hybrid system ensures that solar power is always used first with
the rest covered by Eskom correlating with a direct saving on the
electricity bill.

A wireless connection with the inverter allows up to date
inspection of savings on energy and CO2 emissions.

Technology

The solar panels used are 200 watt grade S1 panels from Tenesol.
All the panels are manufactured locally in Cape Town.