{"id":5361,"date":"2022-09-25T10:00:33","date_gmt":"2022-09-25T10:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.awaikenthemes.com\/solor\/?p=5361"},"modified":"2024-04-29T13:22:00","modified_gmt":"2024-04-29T13:22:00","slug":"beware-cheap-solar-systems-in-south-africa-they-will-cost-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/explorelogicsit.net\/kwenergy\/beware-cheap-solar-systems-in-south-africa-they-will-cost-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Beware \u2018cheap\u2019 solar systems in South Africa \u2013 they will cost you"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<h4><span style=\"color: #777a7e;\"><em>Source: BusinessTech<\/em><\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h2 class=\"entry-title feature-title fw-bold\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #777a7e;\">Beware \u2018cheap\u2019 solar systems in South Africa \u2013 they will cost you<\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #777a7e;\">As another wave of crippling stage six blackouts grips the country, South Africans are increasingly rushing to solar solutions to plug the energy gap. However, homeowners need to be cautious, as installing a poor-quality system could increase your long-term costs by as much as 50%, warn solar experts.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #777a7e;\">\u201cSolar systems should be seen as a long-term investment, which is why you need to perform proper due diligence and research before selecting a service provider,\u201d noted Alumo Energy managing director Rein Snoeck Henkemans.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #777a7e;\">\u201cAs the saying goes, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Simply choosing the cheapest option may mean lower upfront costs, but cost you thousands of rands extra in replacing components, as well as maintenance and repairs over time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #777a7e;\">To demonstrate the point, Snoeck Henkemans crunched the numbers to show how the expense of continuously repairing inferior solar systems can add quickly add up. Using three examples, he reveals the significant long-term savings value generated by premium solar brands with longer warranty periods in comparison to the shorter warranties on cheap components.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #777a7e;\">In the first example, Cheap Chad opts for an inexpensive system that costs below R70,000 to install, but offers a warranty period of just one year on the inverter and battery.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #777a7e;\">The worst-case scenario then happens, with breakdowns forcing Chad to replace his system just after each warranty period expires. After 25 years of continuous repairs, this means that Chad would have spent an overwhelming total of nearly R450,000 on his solar system.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #777a7e;\">In the second example, Halfway Harry opts for a middle-of-the-road system that costs about R100,000 to purchase and install , with system warranties of two years on the inverter and three years on the battery.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #777a7e;\">Like Chad, the worst-case scenario then occurs, forcing Harry to replace his system components just after each warranty period expires. After 25 years, this means that Harry would have spent a total of nearly R320,000 on his system \u2013 over R100,000 less than Cheap Chad.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #777a7e;\">The third example, Alumo Jo, picks a top-of-the-range system from a reputable provider that offers warranties of five years on the inverter and 10 years on the battery, paying R140 000 for the installed solution. Like Chad and Harry, her system components then break down just after each warranty period expires.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #777a7e;\">After 25 years, however, her longer warranty periods mean that she would have saved the most money on her solar system, spending a total of just R300,000 \u2013 a nearly 50% cost-saving in comparison to Cheap Chad.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #777a7e;\"><b><span lang=\"EN-ZA\">The long-term impact of system warranties on solar costs<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #777a7e;\"><a style=\"color: #777a7e;\" href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/solarcost-e1663585499604.png\" data-lightbox=\"post-image\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-626516\" src=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/solarcost-e1663585499604.png\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/solarcost-e1663585499604.png 1200w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/solarcost-e1663585499604-300x134.png 300w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/solarcost-e1663585499604-1024x457.png 1024w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/solarcost-e1663585499604-768x342.png 768w\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"535\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #777a7e;\">Notably, these comparisons are made on the basis of warranty periods, as the true average lifetime of systems after their warranty periods is not yet known. This is because the technology is not yet old enough to verify the average life expectancy of components with normal South African usage.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #777a7e;\">\u201cHowever, this simple comparison of the impact of warranties proves the importance of opting for high-quality systems for reducing your overall expenses,\u201d said Snoeck Henkemans.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #777a7e;\">\u201cBut it\u2019s also important to consider factors such as whether your service provider will ensure that your system is installed correctly and in keeping with all the relevant regulatory requirements, and whether they offer proper post-installation support should anything go wrong.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #777a7e;\">\u201cWe\u2019ve seen numerous cases of homeowners who have been unable to claim their money back after having a poor system installed by fly-by-night operators who have subsequently disappeared or gone broke, forcing them to contract yet another provider to help fix the problem,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #777a7e;\">\u201cBy contrast, quality systems installed by reputable providers offer the benefit of significantly longer lifespans, proper customer service and after-sales support, ultimately saving you time, money and headaches.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Source: BusinessTech Beware \u2018cheap\u2019 solar systems in South Africa \u2013 they will cost you As another wave of crippling stage six blackouts grips the country, South Africans are increasingly rushing to solar solutions to plug the energy gap. However, homeowners need to be cautious, as installing a poor-quality system could increase your long-term costs by [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11523,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/explorelogicsit.net\/kwenergy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/explorelogicsit.net\/kwenergy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/explorelogicsit.net\/kwenergy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/explorelogicsit.net\/kwenergy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/explorelogicsit.net\/kwenergy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5361"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/explorelogicsit.net\/kwenergy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5361\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11819,"href":"https:\/\/explorelogicsit.net\/kwenergy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5361\/revisions\/11819"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/explorelogicsit.net\/kwenergy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/explorelogicsit.net\/kwenergy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/explorelogicsit.net\/kwenergy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/explorelogicsit.net\/kwenergy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}