Project Overview
A lodge in the North West needed a serious answer to load shedding and rising electricity costs — while keeping the comfort of guests completely uninterrupted. We designed and installed a 50kW Sigenergy inverter paired with 36kWh of SigenStor batteries and an initial 32× 650W Aiko solar panels (20.8kWp) to power the lodge.
The system runs on full AI control, intelligently managing the tariff structure to reduce costs while making sure there’s always backup for the lodge to run off-grid when needed.
Phase One — The Core Installation
The first phase delivered a robust foundation: a 50kW Sigenergy hybrid inverter, 36kWh of SigenStor battery storage, and 20.8kWp of Aiko solar panels. The AI controller continuously optimises between solar, battery, and grid — buying power when it’s cheap and running off stored solar energy when it counts.
Our team worked hard to get the installation completed in time for the Easter weekend, and the lodge was running on solar and battery backup before the holiday rush.
Phase Two — Expanding to 42kWp
To further reduce reliance on Eskom, we added an additional 21kWp of Aiko panels to the existing system. This brings the installed solar capacity to 42kWp on the 50kW system — dramatically increasing daytime generation and cutting grid dependency even further.
Key Components
- 50kW Sigenergy hybrid inverter
- 36kWh SigenStor battery storage
- 42kWp Aiko 650W solar panels (32× initial + additional 21kWp)
- Full AI energy management and tariff optimisation
- Automatic off-grid backup during outages
- Remote monitoring and management
The Result
The lodge now runs on a 42kWp solar system with 36kWh of storage on a 50kW inverter — significantly reducing its reliance on Eskom while cutting electricity costs through intelligent AI-driven tariff management. Guests enjoy uninterrupted power through load shedding, and the system can run off-grid whenever needed.
With one more row of panels and a few additional SigenStor batteries, the lodge would be able to run entirely off-grid — a natural next phase as the system continues to grow.
A big thank you to Herholdt’s Group for getting the panels to site as soon as stock was available.
