SolarGuide, Hermanus

SolarGuide is an independent solar comparison and referral service for South African households and businesses. We help people understand and compare solar, battery backup, equipment, finance and installation options, then connect them to an approved provider for a free, no-obligation quote.

Most people approaching solar for the first time face the same problem: quotes are difficult to compare, the terminology is unfamiliar, and it is hard to tell which claims are realistic. Our purpose is to solve the buying decision before asking for anyone’s details. We explain how systems are sized, what drives the cost, how the finance structures genuinely differ, and which questions separate a competent installer from a poor one.

For business users, we cover the questions that decide whether a commercial installation makes sense: sizing a system against an actual consumption profile, how the Section 12B allowance treats renewable-energy assets, how rent-to-own, subscription and outright purchase compare over the life of a system, and what SSEG registration and Certificate of Compliance requirements involve in different municipalities.

We publish dedicated guidance for offices, farms and agricultural operations, guesthouses and B&Bs, body corporates and sectional-title schemes, churches and non-profits, and borehole and pool-pump applications.

Our free tools include a solar calculator that estimates a starting system size and package from a monthly electricity bill, and a battery backup runtime calculator that estimates how long a given battery will support selected appliance loads during an outage. Both are free to use and free to embed or cite with attribution.

We maintain two reference resources for the South African energy market. The first is a record of approved NERSA electricity tariff increases, showing the decision behind each one and what rising tariffs do to a solar payback period.

The second is a set of sourced South African solar and electricity statistics covering installed PV capacity, rooftop and embedded generation, the renewables share of national generation, municipal feed-in tariff adoption and load-shedding. Every figure is dated and linked to its primary source, and both pages are free to quote and reuse with attribution.

Alongside these resources, we publish a library of more than 100 practical guides on system sizing, costs, equipment comparison, warranties, financing, regulations and installer selection. They are written for South African conditions, tariffs and regulations rather than adapted from overseas material.

SolarGuide is independent and does not manufacture, install, finance or warrant equipment. Systems are supplied, installed, financed and warranted by our approved provider partners.

We may earn a referral fee when a customer proceeds with a provider. This never adds to the customer’s cost. Provider pricing, warranties, compliance approvals and any tax treatment remain subject to the selected provider’s terms and final quotation.

We operate nationally across South Africa.

• Western Cape
• Gauteng
• Kwa-Zulu Natal