Solar energy is simply the light and heat energy that come from the sun. People can harness the sun’s energy in a few different ways like Photovoltaic cells, which convert sunlight into electricity or solar thermal technology, where heat from the sun is used to make hot water or steam.

Solar PV systems generate electricity from sunlight. The solar panels are made up of many photovoltaic (PV) cells which collect the light from the sun and convert this into DC current. This is fed through an inverter and converted to 240V AC to power your home or business premises. The amount of electricity you can produce depends on the number of panels and their efficiency, the size of the inverter, the orientation of your roof and the amount of sunlight in your location.

If you are looking to reduce your energy use and power charges with solar power, then there are a few things worth considering. Solar panels are built to work in all climates, but in some cases, rooftops may not be suitable for solar systems due to age or tree cover. If there are trees near your home or business premises that create excessive shade on your roof, rooftop panels may not be the most ideal option. The size, shape, and slope of your roof are also important factors to consider.

For residential solar power systems, let’s take a 6.6 kw system on a normal single-story house, this should take around 4 to 5 hours to finish, more complicated jobs can take 6 to 7 hours. For commercial installation, it all depends on the size and complexity of the installation.

The amount of money you can save with solar depends upon how much electricity you consume, the size of your solar power system, and how much power it is able to generate given the direction your roof faces and how much sunlight hits it. Your savings also depend on the electricity rates set by Eskom or your local municipality and how much you will be compensated you for the excess solar power you send back to the grid.