7.4 kWp of rooftop solar and 20 kWh of storage in Brakpan
Small site · Brakpan, Gauteng · Completed
Impact
- Grid independence
- 80%
- Share of the site's energy supplied by solar since commissioning
- Uptime
- 100%
- No loss of supply since commissioning
The site in photos
A Brakpan property now runs on a 7.4 kWp rooftop solar array, a 10.5 kW WEG hybrid inverter and 20 kWh of battery storage. The system was designed to cut how much power is bought from the grid at Ekurhuleni tariff rates. It now supplies 80% of the site's energy and has run with 100% uptime since it went live.
Project facts
- Site
- Small site
- Location
- Brakpan, Gauteng
- Solar PV Capacity
- 7.4 kWp
- Battery Energy Storage Capacity
- 20 kWh
All project facts
Project
- Service
- C&I Solar & Storage
- Status
- Completed
Equipment
- Inverter
- WEG 10.5 kW hybrid inverter, 1 unit
- Battery
- WEG 10 kWh battery module (20 kWh total), 2 units
The challenge
Grid power at municipal rates, used when the sun is down
This site's demand runs against the solar curve. It is lightest in the middle of the day, when panels produce most, and heaviest in the early morning and evening, when they produce little or nothing.
The property buys its electricity from the City of Ekurhuleni, so every kWh drawn from the grid is billed at the municipal tariff. The goal was to reduce that exposure as far as the roof and budget allowed. Panels alone would not do it: they would cover the quiet middle of the day and leave the site on the grid for the mornings and evenings.
Our solution
Solar by day, battery by night
The 7.4 kWp array is split across two roof faces and feeds a single 10.5 kW WEG hybrid inverter. Two 10 kWh WEG battery modules give 20 kWh of storage.
During the day, solar runs the building and charges the battery. In the evening and overnight the battery takes over, and the grid only tops up what is left. If the grid drops, the inverter carries the building on battery and solar without a break.
The inverter is rated above the array. That headroom lets it carry the site's load during an outage and leaves room to add panels later.
The outcome
80% grid independence, 100% uptime
Since it went live, the system has supplied 80% of the site's energy. The grid now covers the remaining 20%.
Uptime has been 100%. The site has not lost power since commissioning.
Project facts
Project
- Site
- Small site
- Location
- Brakpan, Gauteng
- Service
- C&I Solar & Storage
- Status
- Completed
System
- Solar PV Capacity
- 7.4 kWp
- Battery Energy Storage Capacity
- 20 kWh
Equipment
- Inverter
- WEG 10.5 kW hybrid inverter, 1 unit
- Battery
- WEG 10 kWh battery module (20 kWh total), 2 units
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- Of the park's energy supplied by the system
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- Of peak-hour energy covered by the battery
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- Payback period
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