KATAWA PROJECTS / CAPE TOWN

Solar Home Energy-Use Profiling & Sizing Review Cape Town

Understand when your home uses electricity before specifying or expanding rooftop PV and storage. A load profile helps separate daytime generation needs, backup demands and expensive peak loads.

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Solar & Backup Power / Cape Town

Service assessment and practical solutions

Begin with bills, appliance ratings and timing

Two households with similar monthly electricity purchases can need very different systems. One may run a pool pump and home office through the day; another cooks electrically and heats water after sunset. We ask for billing history, tariff information and the major electrical loads, but the crucial missing dimension is when power is used. Short-period meter logging or suitably obtained inverter data may provide a better picture than a single monthly total. We do not promise that software can accurately infer all appliance behaviour from a bill.

Distinguish peak power from daily energy

Instantaneous demand is relevant to inverter rating, while energy over time shapes battery capacity and the value of solar generation. A large resistive heater can raise evening demand even if its total usage is modest. A continuously running pool pump can consume substantial daily energy without a dramatic peak. We explain these different numbers in practical terms, and help identify which loads could be shifted into daylight or excluded from essential backup. The analysis should also consider future equipment changes such as an EV charger.

Account for the roof, tariffs and approved system options

A theoretical array size is constrained by roof space, orientation, shading, structural suitability and local connection rules. Energy profiles guide design but cannot override the roof survey or the inverter approval process. We compare an appropriately sized system with a larger proposal in terms of likely self-consumption and battery use, without promising a fixed return on investment. Where the property lies in the City of Cape Town electricity supply area, the authorised SSEG process applies to relevant new PV or battery systems.

Deliver a usable brief for installation quotations

The result should identify the priority circuits, an estimated daily energy pattern, material assumptions and the additional information an installer needs before final design. If detailed logging was not performed, estimates must be labelled as estimates. We encourage keeping original meter readings and the equipment list for future comparison. The aim is a realistic conversation about what to install and what it can do—not a sales pitch that treats every house as needing the same inverter or storage capacity.

Recognise the situation

Common enquiries and what changes the job

Daytime generation is high but bills stay high

The household may consume most of its electricity outside solar hours; load timing matters.

Customer asks for a much larger battery

Required night-time loads and outage duration should be identified before upsizing.

New EV charger is planned

Future charging time, phase availability and tariff should be included in the profile.

Before booking

Information that helps define the work

Send 6–12 months of electricity bills if available, an appliance list and the times when major loads run. Personal account numbers may be removed.

Tell us if an inverter is already installed and whether data from its portal can be exported safely without sharing passwords.

Quotation scope

What affects the cost and work programme?

Reliable usage data availability
Day and evening load patterns
Desired backup circuits
Roof and installation constraints
Design and authorisation requirements

Where applicable in the City of Cape Town electricity supply area, new solar PV/battery systems and relevant system changes must follow the City authorisation process. Professional sign-off and suitable approved inverters are important requirements; never activate an unauthorised modified system.

Translate electricity consumption into system priorities

A bill shows energy consumed over time, but inverter sizing also depends on power demanded at once. A household with a heavy evening peak may need a different configuration from a home using most electricity during sunny hours. Separate daytime loads, essential backup circuits and high-consumption appliances, then ask an installer to set out inverter kW, panel kWp and usable battery kWh rather than one undifferentiated system size.

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Frequently asked questions

Solar Home Energy-Use Profiling & Sizing Review: customer questions

Can my electricity bill determine system size?

It is a useful starting point, but does not show peak loads or hourly consumption.

Does a bigger inverter always save more money?

No. Savings depend on generation, self-consumption, tariffs and equipment cost.

Is a load profile an installation approval?

No. Connection authorisation, technical design and sign-off are separate processes.