Solar Installation in Cape Town

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Thinking about installing solar at your home or business in Cape Town? At Constantia Electrical, we make the process simple, safe and compliance-focused — from the initial assessment through to installation and final commissioning. Whether you are looking for solar panels, battery backup, or a complete hybrid solar system, our team can help you select and install a solution suited to your property's electricity requirements.

We assess your electricity consumption, electricity bill and usage patterns, roof space, roof orientation and condition, potential shading, existing electrical installation, main distribution board, available supply and backup-power requirements.

Depending on your requirements, your system may include solar PV panels, a solar inverter, battery storage, appropriate AC/DC protection and a monitoring system. The objective is to balance performance, reliability and value.

Before the application stage, we determine whether your property is supplied by the City of Cape Town or directly by Eskom. The correct electricity distributor determines the applicable solar registration and approval process.

If the property is supplied by the City of Cape Town, the applicable Small-Scale Embedded Generation (SSEG) process must be followed. Required technical information and supporting documentation are submitted through the City's Energy Services process.

If the property is supplied directly by Eskom, the solar system must follow Eskom's SSEG registration and technical requirements. Eskom states that grid-tied SSEG systems must be registered with the electricity distributor, even where the system does not export electricity. Systems below 100 kVA are generally registered with the network service provider; systems above 100 kVA require the applicable NERSA registration/approval before connection. Fully off-grid systems that are genuinely independent of Eskom's supply are treated differently and require proof/declaration of independence where applicable.

For an Eskom-supplied installation, the required documentation can include a valid Certificate of Compliance (CoC), an NRS 097-2-1 inverter type-test certificate and the applicable Embedded Generation Installation (EGI) test/commissioning report. Eskom's current process should be checked at the time of application because requirements and fee incentives can change.

Where the system is grid-tied, the applicable distributor approval or registration must be completed before the system is synchronised with the electricity network. Eskom confirms that grid-tied systems must be approved/registered even when they are configured not to export power.

Once the required approval stage has been reached, the electrical team installs the panels, mounting structures, inverter, batteries where applicable, protection equipment, isolators and associated wiring, followed by configuration and monitoring setup.

The completed installation is inspected and tested. Appropriate electrical protection, connections, isolation, earthing, cable installation and system operation are checked. The required Certificate of Compliance is issued by an appropriately qualified person.

The applicable commissioning documentation and professional or competent-person sign-off requirements are completed for the electricity distributor and system type.

Once the applicable approval and commissioning requirements are complete, the system can be placed into operation. Monitoring can then provide information on solar generation, consumption, battery status, grid usage and system performance.