What you are actually paying for
A home power system has three main parts: an inverter, which turns stored or solar power into the electricity your plugs use; batteries, which store it; and, optionally, solar panels, which charge the batteries and power the house during the day. A backup-only system with an inverter and a battery keeps essentials running during outages. Adding panels lets the system replace some of the electricity you buy, which is where savings come from.
The price depends on what you want to keep running and for how long. Lights, Wi-Fi, a TV and a laptop need a much smaller system than a geyser, a stove or a pool pump. Ask the installer to size the system to a list of appliances you write down yourself, and get at least two written quotes for the same specification, including installation, the Certificate of Compliance and any municipal registration.
Ways to pay, from cheapest to dearest
Paying cash costs only the price. If you own your home, a further advance or a draw on an access facility of your home loan is usually the cheapest credit, because the law caps home loans at the repo rate plus 12% a year — 19.25% a year at today's repo rate — and banks often charge less. The money is then repaid over the remaining term of the home loan, so ask the bank how much it adds in total, and consider paying it back faster.
An unsecured personal loan does not depend on owning a home and pays the money to you, so you can use any installer. It costs more: the legal maximum is the repo rate plus 21% a year, 28.25% today, plus an initiation fee of at most R1 050 and a monthly service fee of at most R60. The rate each lender offers you depends on your income and credit record.
Rent-to-own and subscription plans spread the cost over a fixed monthly fee, often with maintenance included. Some are rentals, where the supplier owns the system; others are instalment agreements, which are credit under the National Credit Act. Ask which one you are signing, what happens if you sell the house, and add up the fees over the whole term before comparing it with a loan.
Will it pay for itself?
Solar panels save money mainly on electricity you use while the sun shines. A household that is empty during the day saves less than one that works from home, unless the batteries are large enough to carry the evening. Tariffs, the size of the system and how you use power all change the result, which is why installers' payback estimates vary widely.
Use savings as a bonus, not as the plan for paying the loan. The instalment should be affordable from your income even in a month when the savings are small. A rebate is not part of the sum either: the tax incentive for rooftop panels applied to systems installed between March 2023 and February 2024 and has ended.
Choosing the term
Panels last for decades, but batteries wear out sooner and inverters may need repair. Keep the loan term shorter than the expected life of the battery, so you are not paying for an old battery when you need to buy a new one. A shorter term also lowers the total interest, even though the instalment is higher.
How RandScout helps
We ask four short questions and match them against the rules each provider sets. For larger amounts, loan-matching services can pass one application to several lenders that offer longer terms. Comparing here does not leave an enquiry on your credit record; the provider checks your record only when you apply with it.