How a First Energy solar installation works – from first call to Cash for Power

First Energy Solar Solutions

Most people who phone us have already had two or three quotes that don’t compare with each other. This is how we do it, so you know exactly what you are getting and when.

Step 1 – Free solar savings report (same day)

Send us your monthly electricity spend, your suburb and a photo of your bill or a screenshot of your prepaid purchases. Within 24 hours you get a report showing the system size that fits your usage, the expected monthly saving at the City’s current tariffs, the feed-in credit and the payback period. No site visit yet, no obligation.

Step 2 – Engineer’s site visit and design

One of our engineers visits your property. We check the roof (orientation, shading, structure and tile or sheet type), the DB board, the earth, the cable routes and where the inverter and battery will live. For businesses we also look at your load profile, three-phase balance and any machinery with high start-up currents. The design is done on your real usage, not a rule of thumb.

Step 3 – Itemised quote with our Best Price Guarantee

You receive an itemised quote – every panel, inverter, battery, breaker and metre of cable named and priced – so you can compare it line by line. If you find a lower like-for-like quote we beat it by R3,000; if we can’t, we pay you R3,000 after installation. Best Price Guarantee.

Step 4 – Choose how to pay

Cash, bank finance (we are an approved installer for Standard Bank Business Solar and Nedbank Residential Solar) or our own rent-to-own plans over 3, 4 or 5 years. Businesses get the documentation needed for the Section 12B tax deduction. Finance options.

Step 5 – SSEG registration – we do it for you

As soon as you accept the quote we prepare the drawings and equipment schedules and submit the SSEG application on the City of Cape Town’s e-Services platform (or to Eskom for Eskom Direct addresses). We follow it up until written authorisation is issued. How SSEG works.

Step 6 – Installation and commissioning

Our own installation team fits the system, labels the DB, sets up the inverter app on your phone and shows you how to read it. A typical home installation takes one to two days. The electrical Certificate of Compliance is issued on completion. Installations are verified with MAC Engineers and BravoScan’s 3D laser-scan inspection so that what was designed is what was built.

Warranties: 25-year performance warranty on the panels, 10 years on the inverter, 6,000 cycles on the battery and 3 years on our workmanship.

Step 7 – Aftercare, monitoring and Cash for Power

We register your AMI meter and, if you want it, your Cash for Power expression of interest. Then we stay involved: remote monitoring of your inverter, free thermal scanning of the array, panel cleaning and maintenance plans. Ten years from now you will still have a number to phone.

Typical timeline

Contact us if you have any questions.

SARS FAQ on the 2023–2025 enhanced incentive (now expired) – Learn more.