The three parts
A home solar system has three main parts: the panels, the inverter and the battery. The panels make electricity, the inverter changes it into a form your home can use, and the battery stores some of it for later. When they are designed together, they work as one system.
The panels
Solar panels are made of cells that produce direct current (DC) electricity when daylight hits them. They do not need direct sun to work; they still generate on overcast days, just less. The panels are wired together into strings and mounted on your roof. Their job is simple: make as much electricity as the roof and the weather allow.
The inverter
Your home runs on alternating current (AC). The inverter changes the DC from the panels into AC and manages the flow of power between the panels, the battery, the grid and your appliances. It is the brain of the system. A grid-tied inverter works only while the grid is up. A hybrid inverter also manages a battery, so it can keep your essentials running when the grid goes down.
The battery
The battery stores electricity so you can use it when the panels are not producing, or when the grid fails. Most modern home batteries are lithium (LiFePO4), which last for thousands of cycles and need almost no maintenance. Capacity is measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh), and the inverter's power rating matters just as much: a battery has to be able to deliver enough power at once to start a fridge or a pump.
What happens on a normal day
In the morning the panels start generating. That power runs your home first, and any surplus charges the battery. In the evening, when the panels stop, the battery takes over and then the grid, if needed. If your system is grid-tied without a battery, surplus power simply offsets your bill and the system rests at night.
What happens during load-shedding
When the grid fails, a hybrid inverter switches your essential circuits onto battery power in a fraction of a second. Lights may flicker briefly, but you do not have to reset clocks or restart Wi-Fi. When the grid returns, the system switches back and recharges the battery, from solar if the sun is up. This is why we design the battery around the circuits you actually want to keep on: lights, Wi-Fi, the fridge and a few plug points, rather than the whole house. See load-shedding solutions for how we size it.
Sizing the system
A solar system should be sized to your usage, not to the roof. We start with your monthly bill and the circuits you want on during an outage, then size the array and battery to match. Oversizing costs more than it returns; undersizing leaves you short. This is why a written quote built around your home matters more than a headline price. See how much solar costs in South Africa.
Where to go next
Read about solar PV installation, battery backup and energy storage, and inverter installation, or send us your bill and we will size a system for your home.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a battery to have solar?
No. A grid-tied system works without a battery, but it shuts down during an outage. If you want power during load-shedding, you need a battery and a hybrid inverter.
How fast does the system switch over during load-shedding?
A hybrid inverter switches to battery in a fraction of a second, so lights may flicker briefly but you do not have to restart anything.
Can solar run my geyser?
A geyser draws a lot of power at once, so running it from a battery is expensive. A solar geyser or a heat pump is usually the better way to cut the water-heating load.