I installed what I thought to be "the right thing" - a solar geyser beginning of Feb 2013. I might be a bit negative right now due to the experienced I had with the installation company- here is the background:
This was a nightmare experience as I chose SunTank solar who claims to be the biggest Solar Geyser company in South Africa. They charged 80% deposit upfront and when they came to install on 8 Feb 2013, they tripped everything in the house when they switched on the circuit breaker. When asked if the person connecting the geyser was an electrician they said no. They fiddled for a while and got it working. When I called their office I was told that they do not need electricians to connect the geyser. I wasn't at home during the installation and when I got home I wanted to inspect my solar geyser and saw no panels on the roof. I called them the following morning asking if they completed the installation and they said yes. When I asked why there weren't any solar panels, I got we will get back to you. I waited a day and called back and was told that they do not have stock of the solar panels and it would be fitted "later". After demanding for a completion date I was told that it will be done on 7 March.
The weekend of 23 Feb there weren't any hot water and after inspection I found that the geyser was wired on a 10 Amp lights circuit breaker.
I waited on the 7th but no installers and had to call around 13:00. Again a promise of they will get back to me without any success. I had to call on the 8th and then they told me that it will happen on the 15th. On the 15th it was finally installed and I thought I am out of the woods. I switched the power off Sunday morning as I believe that on sunny days you will not need any electricity to heat the water. How wrong was I when I tried to shower Monday morning (we are 2 persons on a 200 liter geyser) - the water was the same as the cold water. I left the elctricity off and tested the water when I got back at 6 PM and the water was luke warm - the uncomfortable side of shower temperature. I tried it again on Tuesday with a whole day of sunshine and temperatures above 30 degrees - same result.
After this I question the value of a solar geyser as you will need electricity to keep the water warm most of the time and in winter time it will be just electricity. Should one rather invest in a heat pump as solar seems to be a waste.
This was a nightmare experience as I chose SunTank solar who claims to be the biggest Solar Geyser company in South Africa. They charged 80% deposit upfront and when they came to install on 8 Feb 2013, they tripped everything in the house when they switched on the circuit breaker. When asked if the person connecting the geyser was an electrician they said no. They fiddled for a while and got it working. When I called their office I was told that they do not need electricians to connect the geyser. I wasn't at home during the installation and when I got home I wanted to inspect my solar geyser and saw no panels on the roof. I called them the following morning asking if they completed the installation and they said yes. When I asked why there weren't any solar panels, I got we will get back to you. I waited a day and called back and was told that they do not have stock of the solar panels and it would be fitted "later". After demanding for a completion date I was told that it will be done on 7 March.
The weekend of 23 Feb there weren't any hot water and after inspection I found that the geyser was wired on a 10 Amp lights circuit breaker.
I waited on the 7th but no installers and had to call around 13:00. Again a promise of they will get back to me without any success. I had to call on the 8th and then they told me that it will happen on the 15th. On the 15th it was finally installed and I thought I am out of the woods. I switched the power off Sunday morning as I believe that on sunny days you will not need any electricity to heat the water. How wrong was I when I tried to shower Monday morning (we are 2 persons on a 200 liter geyser) - the water was the same as the cold water. I left the elctricity off and tested the water when I got back at 6 PM and the water was luke warm - the uncomfortable side of shower temperature. I tried it again on Tuesday with a whole day of sunshine and temperatures above 30 degrees - same result.
After this I question the value of a solar geyser as you will need electricity to keep the water warm most of the time and in winter time it will be just electricity. Should one rather invest in a heat pump as solar seems to be a waste.
