Rooftop solar and 20 kWh of storage for a family home in Brakpan
Residential home · Brakpan, Gauteng · Completed
Impact
- Grid independence
- 80%
- Share of the home's energy supplied by solar since commissioning
- Uptime
- 100%
- No loss of supply since commissioning
The site in photos
A family home in Brakpan 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 of the home's power is bought from the grid at Ekurhuleni tariff rates. It now supplies 80% of the home's energy and has run with 100% uptime since it went live.
Project facts
- Site
- Residential home
- 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
System
- Hybrid Inverter Capacity
- 10.5 kW
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
A home'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 house 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 house 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 house 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 house on battery and solar without a break.
The inverter is rated above the array. That headroom lets it carry the household'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 home's energy. The grid now covers the remaining 20%.
Uptime has been 100%. The house has not lost power since commissioning.
Project facts
Project
- Site
- Residential home
- Location
- Brakpan, Gauteng
- Service
- C&I Solar & Storage
- Status
- Completed
System
- Solar PV Capacity
- 7.4 kWp
- Battery Energy Storage Capacity
- 20 kWh
- Hybrid Inverter Capacity
- 10.5 kW
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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