January 2022 was the last time that I bought power from the city side. They where their Aug at our house to come check if the new prepaid meter was faulty.
What is the use of having things on non-essentials when you canāt get power to it half the day?
If you want to go off-grid, you really want something reliableā¦
Which is why I have my doomsday changeover. I find that with some discipline, a 5kVA MPII is more than enough for our needs.
One thing I deduced yonks ago with going āoff-gridā is ā¦ Note: We tend to forget this teeny detail when the weather is nice and sunny, long hours in Cpt ā¦ that one will also need a generator.
Eskom is my āgeneratorā.
So I wonder ā¦ why the heck would one go ābackwardsā with an Axpert when one has ESS to run things already, grid-tied or off-grid, shaving all one can off the āgeneratorā (Eskom) bill the rest of the time, automatically?
We are pretty damn near āoff-gridā in summer with a 5kVA 5.2kW 14kWh. I simply cannot justify more panels, or a bigger inverter ā¦ read ā¦ would get no ROI on more upgrades, more attention to loads could make us go off-grid, and that is with 5 adults in the house, 3 working from home.
Geez, I got so gatvol with LS, and all the spare power āwastedā, manually Iām now running:
- air fryer, induction plate or MW
- rest of the slots the dryer/dishwasher when needed
NEEDās vs WANTās vs HOBBY ā¦ with bugger Eskom ā¦ @Gman Level.
Gman, I still see tiles ā¦ that afdak needs cooling bro ā¦ put those spare 250/100ās to work man! 
That guy in Ibis street is my next HERO!!! En ek dog my 10kw array is groot!!! Counted more then 59 panels on this guy roof!!!
True true!!! I got extra space open. Can fit 7 more panels on the North roof, 9 on the east and 9 on the west and a new afdak that is 6.4m x 9.6m so there is space baby. Spoke to the wife yesterday and she said: āWel daar is spasie, dan moet ons seker n pallet order en tax terug claimāā¦ 
The itch is there, I just need to scratch it.
And you need two inverters. I seen with my setup that it works. I had to take my 10kw MLT in for service, and my DB was design that I can move the loads over, so I move the 10kw side over to my 8kw inverter and run it it like this till my 10kw came back from MLT, sorted.
I always like when people say they going off grid with there R80k setup with 6 panels and one battery and 5kw inverter. 
No one is saying get rid of your existing stuff. But if you have to start new you could do worse than get 2 5kW Axperts for the price of 1 5kW Hybrid and just take everything onto āessentialsā. Even then have a backup if one goes. My small oneās been running smoothly for 6 years now so happy with the bang for buck.
And yes, you can switch things to essentials with a changeover but then you have to watch your usage. And you wonāt be doing this every day with normal loadshedding. If you have a 4h slot in the middle of the day thatās a lot of money wasted if youāre using PV to warm your geysers. Iād rather just have enough KWs to not worry.
I call it Power on Tap. And that is why I went big with my setup, so that I donāt have to stress to use the the grid side.
You do make a compelling argument for going off-grid cheaper than with grid-tied systems.
2nd hand MLTās would be my go-to and they can still be repaired as we saw at the end of last year.
Thing is, I donāt think that LS is here for decades to come like Zim. Tough few years ahead yes. But eventually, grid-tying would probably be the new norm in SA ā¦ my crystal ball is a wee bit cloudy though.
Then again, whatever fits the budget, go off-grid inverter now, HODL (Hold On For Dear Life) till stuff improves, then make a call, grid-tied or not ā¦ then again, keeping the off-grid inverters, add a Solis.
My post ā¦ just donāt undo a working ESS system ā¦ that would be silly.
O donner ja ā¦
There is a simple reason you donāt install the Axpert. It is not designed to last ten years. You will buy at least two of them in the same time you buy one Victron.
(And the total price isnāt 200%ā¦ when you buy the second one, inflation will see to it that it costs more).
But I do agree on the sentiment that with all this load shedding, it does make you wonder how important the whole āblendingā part still is.
Plonkster didnāt you buy an Axpert (the Kodak 7.2)?
I saw on one of the threads that you had bought one so I followed suit - working great so far.
You must be thinking of my alter-ego. He does things at night when the thinking brain is asleepā¦
Iām kidding. No, I bought my first blue inverter in 2013, and have never used anything else. I tested some cheapies for friends here and there, and I had a Microcare MPPT for a short while too. But that is it.
Youāre right!! Sorry Plonkster. I am confused. I was thinking of Fluffy 
(Embarassed!)
YES!!! I spotted this house on my way home, and I was likeā¦ ooooooooooooooooo!!! I like what I see!! I want to go that level now!!!
@mmaritz do google street view. HIs got more panels on the roof now. Here is a 2022 update from GIS but waiting for the 2023 update.
Sat view from google maps
Ok. But often thereās a lot of power lost down the line. So you throw the kitchen sink at it but that model hasnāt worked since the Japanese showed the US how to make motor cars.
So I reckon efficiency is going to play a part here as we find āgood enoughā solutions.
Iāve punted my hobby horse of using DC instead of AC but we donāt have a choice with what is available unfortunately. But wait, we shall see as the options become availableā¦
If that doesnāt work, then you throw the dishwasher at itā¦
And that is why they build Godzillaā¦