Don’t have your Nedbank ID yet?
Nedbank ID single sign-on gives you full digital access to Nedbank’s banking and lifestyle products and services on the Money app or Online Banking.
Log in
Log in to Online Banking or another one of our secured services.
Bank how and when you choose to, with the low fees or extra benefits you want.
Shop online or instore and earn rewards for it, with up to 55 days interest-free credit.
Buy foreign banknotes, transfer funds or shop globally with a travel card.
Great interest rates, with great flexibility and access to your money when you need it.
Personalised interest rates for affordable loans from R2,000 to R300,000.
Loan up to 100% of the property value or up to 105% if you are a first-time home buyer.
Choose a plan for yourself, family or build your own cover to suit your needs.
Get cover for your car, building, house contents, valuables and more.
Cover your bond, credit card, overdraft, loan and car repayments.
Choose a plan for yourself, family or build your own cover to suit your needs.
Take the right steps to achieve your financial goals with expert financial planning.
Plan for everything you own and owe, so your estate is in order when you’re gone.
Accounts
-
Everyday banking Safety, convenience and rewards
-
Youth banking For under 16s, or under 25s
-
Accounts -
Digital wallet Your phone is your bank account
-
Private Wealth The globally integrated account
-
Goal saving Easy access to interest earned
Credit cards
Digital banking
Switch to Nedbank
Fraud awareness
Forex
Rewards
Accounts
-
On demand Money available at any time
-
In 24 hours Cash in your hand the next day
-
In 32 days Funds ready within a month
-
End of term Investments left until maturity
Investment services
Share trading
Personal loans
Home loans
Student loans
Overdrafts
Vehicle finance
Solar finance
Life cover
Funeral cover
Short term insurance
Credit Life
Travel insurance
Is your business covered?
Secure Investments
Financial planning
Estate, wills & trust services
Nedbank Private Wealth
Speak to a financial adviser
Blog
Talk to us
Find us
- Login & Register
- Online Banking
- Online Share Trading
- NetBank Business
- NedFleet
- Nedbank Greenbacks
- Nedgroup Investments
- Nedbank ID
- Bank
- Accounts
- Credit cards
- Digital banking
- Switch to Nedbank
- Fraud awareness
- Forex
- Rewards
- Explore Bank
- Accounts
- Everyday banking
- Youth banking
- Accounts
- Digital wallet
- Private Wealth
- Goal saving
- See all accounts
- Get help choosing
- Family Banking
- Refugees and asylum seekers
- FAQ
- How-to guides
- Everyday banking
- MiGoals Premium
- MiGoals Plus
- MiGoals
- Discontinued accounts
- Youth banking
- Nedbank4Me
- Digital wallet
- MobiMoney
- Private Wealth
- Private Wealth Bundle
- Goal saving
- MyPocket
- American Express
- Amex Gold
- Amex Platinum
- Digital banking
- Switch to Nedbank
- Fraud awareness
- Forex
- Send and receive
- Rewards
- Save & Invest
- Accounts
- Investment services
- Share trading
- Explore Save & Invest
- On demand
- Club
- Money Market
- Stokvel
- In 24 hours
- JustInvest
- PlatinumInvest
- Tax-free Savings
- MoneyTrader
- EasyAccess Fixed Deposit
- PrimeSelect
- In 32 days
- Electronic 32Day Notice
- 32Day Notice
- End of term
- Tax-free Fixed Deposit
- Electronic Fixed Deposit
- Electronic Optimum Plus
- Platinum Fixed Deposit
- Fixed Deposit
- OptimumPlus
- Investment services
- Share trading
- Borrow
- Personal loans
- Home loans
- Student loans
- Overdrafts
- Vehicle finance
- Solar finance
- Explore Borrow
- Personal loans
- Consolidation loan
- Secondhand car loan
- Home improvement loan
- Exclusive short-term loan offers
- Explore loans
- FAQ
- How to guides
- Consolidation loan
- Secondhand car loan
- Home improvement loan
- Exclusive short-term loan offers
- Home loans
- Building loan
- Switching home loan
- Repossessed properties
- Start your home buying journey
- Solar-energy Finance
- Earn R29,600 p/m or less? See offer
- HomeVision extra funds
- Home-buying Toolkit
- Managing your home loan
- Explore home loans
- FAQ
- How to guides
- Track application
- Building loan
- Switching home loan
- Repossessed properties
- Start your home buying journey
- Solar-energy Finance
- Earn R29,600 p/m or less? See offer
- HomeVision extra funds
- Home-buying Toolkit
- Managing your home loan
- Student loans
- Explore student loans
- Overdrafts
- Vehicle finance
- Solar finance
- Insure
- Life cover
- Funeral cover
- Short term insurance
- Credit Life
- Travel insurance
- Is your business covered?
- Secure Investments
- Explore Insure
- Life cover
- Get a call back
- Explore MyCover life
- Funeral cover
- Individual R10,000
- Individual R30,000
- Family Cover
- Build your own cover
- Get a call back
- Explore MyCover Funeral
- Individual R10,000
- Individual R30,000
- Family Cover
- Build your own cover
- Short term insurance
- Vehicle insurance
- Building insurance
- House contents insurance
- Valuables insurance
- Get a call back
- Explore MyCover short term insurance
- Vehicle insurance
- Building insurance
- House contents insurance
- Valuables insurance
- Credit Life
- Home loan credit life
- MFC Vehicle Finance Assurance
- Overdraft Assurance
- Balance Protection Plan
- Personal loan Assurance
- Get a call back
- Explore credit life
- Home loan credit life
- MFC Vehicle Finance Assurance
- Overdraft Assurance
- Balance Protection Plan
- Personal loan Assurance
- Travel insurance
- Is your business covered?
- Secure Investments
- Guaranteed Growth Plan
- Guaranteed Income Plan
- Get a call back
- Explore MyCover Funeral
- Guaranteed Growth Plan
- Guaranteed Income Plan
- Plan
- Financial planning
- Estate, wills & trust services
- Nedbank Private Wealth
- Speak to a financial adviser
- Explore Plan
- Financial planning
- Investment planning
- Insurance planning
- Give
- Retirement planning
- Investment planning
- Insurance planning
- Give
- Retirement planning
- Estate, wills & trust services
- Will drafting
- Ensure your estate is managed by an executor | Nedbank
- Trust services
- Financial accounting
- Tax services
- Leave the admin of your estate to us, and not to your loved ones | Nedbank
- Will drafting
- Ensure your estate is managed by an executor | Nedbank
- Trust services
- Financial accounting
- Tax services
- Leave the admin of your estate to us, and not to your loved ones | Nedbank
- Nedbank Private Wealth
- Speak to a financial adviser
- Learn
- Blog
- Explore Learn
- Blog
- Contact us
- Talk to us
- Find us
- Explore Contact us
- Talk to us
- Find us
Don’t forget these 4 hidden costs of going solar
Don’t forget these 4 hidden costs of going solar
Staff writer
Posted 18/04/2022 Updated 13/11/2023 5 mins
Here’s what to include when drawing up your budget for a solar-power system.
A home solar-power system is the ideal way to cut your monthly electricity bill and free yourself from ongoing blackouts on the national electricity grid. But moving away from the grid comes at a cost. A completely off-grid solar system can cost a few hundred thousand rands because you need to account for spells of bad weather by always having sufficient reserve battery capacity.
If a cheaper grid-tied system can provide for all your needs, on the other hand, going solar will cost significantly less. Fortunately, whether you choose to disconnect from the grid completely or go with a grid-tied system, it’s a conversion you can scale up in stages so that it’s more affordable.
You can lower the initial cost if you start by installing a simple grid-tied system of solar panels that excludes batteries – the most expensive components of a solar-power system. This solution will replace grid electricity during the day when you have enough sun to power your home, but at night you’ll have to revert to power from the grid. If batteries are required to provide electricity during load-shedding and other grid blackouts, they can be added at a later stage.
In most cases residential solar installations use grid power, batteries and solar panels. These are referred to as hybrid solar systems and are a convenient and cost-effective solution that saves money on electricity bills and offers uninterrupted power supply during load-shedding.
You can consume less electricity if you install appliances that are either more energy-efficient or don’t rely on electricity to operate. Making these changes will benefit you in the long run, but you need to include all these upfront costs in your budget and financing when making the shift to solar. One of the immediate benefits of switching appliances to more energy-efficient or non-electric alternatives is that you need less electricity to run them. This means you may end up needing a smaller (and therefore less expensive) solar system.
Your savings on the system could help offset some of the often forgotten costs of a solar conversion.
4 often-overlooked costs of going solar
1. Solar-ready home appliances
Large, energy-hungry appliances make the biggest demands on household electricity usage, with modern conveniences like a hot meal and a hot bath topping this list. One solution is to replace an electric stove with a gas stove or more energy-efficient electric cookers. You can rely on the sun to heat your water with a solar geyser or install a gas geyser for instant hot water around the clock.
If you’re using bottled gas, you’ll need at least 2 bottles, so you can keep a full spare
Your geyser accounts for an estimated 30% of your electricity usage, so installing a solar or gas geyser is an effective way to cut your monthly demand. The cost of solar geysers differs according to brand, size and the technology used, but you can expect to pay between R5,000 and R20,000. Gas-burning instant water heaters are available in the R2,500 to R10,000 range.
When it comes to cooking, a 1,600W air-fryer requires less than half the power of a 3,400W electric oven and it cooks food in less time, so it can be ideal for a solar conversion. Although an induction cooker needs more power than traditional hotplates, it draws power for a much shorter time. It might use about 1,800W, compared to the 1,200W of a stovetop hotplate, but you don’t have to wait for the plate or the pot to heat up – the food begins cooking the moment you switch on the induction hob. If you go this route, discuss the power requirements with an expert when planning the size of your installation, so that you include enough solar panels to power these appliances.
You may spend more upfront to access energy efficiency, though. A traditional stovetop hob costs between R2,000 and R6,000, but an equivalent 4-plate induction hob can cost anything from R5,500 to R20,000 or more. On the other hand, an electric oven will usually cost more than R4,000, but you can get an air fryer that does the same job priced in the R2,000 to R4,000 range.
Gas stoves can also get pricey, ranging from under R5,000 for a small free-standing stove to more than R20,000 for larger, high-end units. The price will depend on the brand and size, and whether you want a gas oven as well as the gas hob. Some cookers have gas plates only, with electricity used to power the oven. Combining a gas hob with an air fryer to serve as an oven may be a smarter choice during a solar conversion.
And don’t forget the cost of the gas. If you’re using bottled gas, you’ll need at least 2 bottles, so you can keep a full spare and switch to it immediately if the first bottle runs out while you’re using it to cook or heat water.
2. Installation and compliance certificates
Regulations require a solar or gas geyser to be installed by a certified installer. The costs will depend on a variety of factors, so be sure to get an accurate costing before your installer starts the work. Basic installation by a certified plumber, who must issue a certificate of compliance for the installation, could cost around R5,000.
Don’t forget the cost of protecting your new solar installation against accidental loss or damage
A gas stove must also be installed by a professional gas installer to ensure that you can use it safely. This shouldn’t be a complicated process, but it does have to comply with very specific safety regulations. Your installer must therefore also provide you with a compliance certificate as proof that the installation was done correctly.
3. Replacement and maintenance costs
Like all equipment used constantly, your home solar system will need maintenance. Electrical and electronic components can break down for known and unknown reasons, so you need to keep an eye on how your system is performing and have it professionally serviced when required. Some companies offer an optional service plan with installation, which is similar to a car service plan. It covers monitoring and reporting system performance, repair and warranty management, cleaning of the solar panels, and system inspections.
Apart from individual components that can fail, your batteries will certainly degrade over time – they are not designed to continue working at full capacity forever. Depending on your chosen system, a good-quality lithium-ion battery will normally come with a 10-year warranty. Your battery might continue working well for much longer, but at some stage the constant charging and discharging will reduce its effectiveness so that it doesn’t store as much power as you need.
Depending on what batteries you use and how many your system requires, replacing them could set you back R25,000 to R50,000 or even more. It may become cheaper in future, as battery technology improves, but it’s a cost you need to factor into your solar budget every 10 to 15 years.
4. Insurance on the system
Don’t forget the cost of protecting your new solar installation against accidental loss or damage. A surge-protection device should be installed with your system, but this won’t cover all the potential ways in which the system can be damaged. These include fire, severe weather, or parts of the system being stolen.
Your monthly insurance premium will depend on many factors that are unique to your home and your relationship with your insurer. But it makes sense to absorb this extra monthly cost, because it means you won’t be left facing a huge bill for repair or replacement if your system gets damaged.
We offer very competitive home solar financing options in partnership with several service providers that can help you get partially or fully off the grid, through asset financing or your home loan.
Disclaimer
Please note that all costs and financing options quoted in this blog were correct at the time of publication, but are subject to change without notice. Although we update the blogs regularly to keep the information up to date, clients are advised to check current costs and finance options with service providers before making any commitment to solar installation.