The Holm family decided that they were paying too much for electricity, of which the supply was inconsistent, so they purchased an off-grid Solar PV solution from AWPower during December 2016. Here is their success story…
Freedom at last! – by Tiki Holm
The reasoning for getting rid of ESKOM and becoming independent as far as energy needs are concerned, was that 70% of our monthly ESKOM bill of approximately R2,000 was for line fees etc. and only 30% for actual energy consumption. With the inevitably spiralling price increases by ESKOM, as well as the spate of outages, it required no rocket science to realise that renewable energy would be the solution.
I thus requested AWPower to design and supply a standalone off-grid solar system for our home on a small farm near Plettenberg Bay.
I did the installation myself with the help of an electrician for the final connection. I was impressed by the professionalism and excellent back-up service and advice I received from AWPower. Especially their design engineer Warren Versfeld, who displayed endless patience with me and my ‘stupid’ questions. Thanks Warren!
After about 2 months from installation I can report that everything is running smoothly with no problems or even adaptation in life style! I still haven’t got a generator as yet and have indeed not needed one up till now. The PV system generates more than we need but I must add that we have not had any real rainy or totally overcast days. I am amazed to see how much is still generated in cloudy conditions.
System specs: 15 x 250 Wp panels (3.75kW), 48V lead acid Trojan battery system. MLT Oasis 6 kVA inverter & eTracer MPPT. Cost approximately R130,000 Incl. VAT
