energy architecture

Our elite team of technicians, who have been handpicked for their exceptional skills, attention to detail and ability to guarantee customer satisfaction, are able to install your tailormade solutions anywhere in South Africa.

Embedded Generation

Embedded generation (“EG”) refers to the onsite generation and supply of electricity primarily for internal own use. An embedded generation facilities is allowed to connect the facilities load to the power grid (distribution system) for additional and/or backup electricity supply.

South Africa’s Electricity Regulation Act (ERA) after consulting with the National Energy Regulator has agreed to exempt embedded power generation projects with a capacity of up to 100MW from the need to obtain a generation licence, coming into force with effect from 13th August 2021.

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Grid tied system

A Grid tied system synchronises with the local electrical infrastructure to supply electricity to the premises or grid that it is connected to. A typical grid tied system in South Africa is connected on the consumer side of the municipal/utility grid to offset electricity consumption from the municipality/utility, i.e. reduce consumption from the grid. Under NERSA regulations all PV systems which synchronise with the South African grid must comply with NRS-097 regulations.
This compliance covers, but is not limited to, the following:

Inverter output electricity must be the same as the Eskom/municipal voltage & frequency but within 10% of the defined Grid Code parameters.
In the event of a power failure or intentional power outage, the inverter must disconnect from the grid for safety reasons. During this time the PV system will not generate any electricity.

Load shifting or Peak shaving

Load shifting or Peak shaving is a process whereby, with the assistance of batteries, the PV system can “shift” a portion of the consumer load to a different time of day from the perspective of the utility grid. For clients with expensive Peak tariffs, this can help to reduce the overall cost of electricity consumed by shifting part of the usage away from Peak tariffs to lower Standard or Off-peak tariffs.

Grid-tied PV with generator integration

Grid-tied PV with generator integration allows the PV system to operate in parallel with an installed generator. This can be done with generators installed as an emergency power solution or generators as a sole or supplementary source of power. This is financially beneficial when the generator’s fuel consumption is dependent on the amount of electricity it supplies. By synchronising the PV system with the generator supply, the amount of electricity required from the generator is reduced in direct relation to the amount of solar electricity supplied.

The average diesel generator has a diesel to electricity conversion efficiency of 35% which is approximately 4kWh per litre of diesel. At R19,32/ℓ of diesel (03.11.2021) the average cost of electricity from a diesel generator is R4,76/kWh.

Depending on the type of generator, PV-Diesel integration is not always beneficial and sometimes limited but nevertheless worth exploring given the frequency of load shedding and unplanned power outages.

Hybrid energy systems

Hybrid energy systems combine multiple sources of energy to supply the client with the most cost-effective source of electricity depending on their real-time requirements and available sources. Our award winning SolaX inverters are capable of real-time consumption monitoring and energy management which allows the client to choose between a selection of operational modes. Our hybrid systems are scalable and feature:

Generator integration
Emergency Power supply (with or without generator backup)
Export control
Individual energy consumer management (e.g. geyser, fridge)
Intelligent and programmable battery charge/discharge
Access controlled electric vehicle charging, selectively integrated with premises energy management or on-demand.