Choose the right system, then the right brand
Grid tied, hybrid or off grid, FoxESS or Sigenergy: chosen to fit your property, not sold as a one-size-fits-all box.
Start an assessmentAre you sure which system your property actually needs?
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The right system starts with the right type, then the right brand, both matched to your property, not guessed at.
We help South African homes and businesses choose the right system type, then the right brand
Choosing a solar system is hard when nobody has shown you the parts. You may not be sure whether you need grid tied, hybrid or off grid, or how to choose between FoxESS and Sigenergy, or whether a farm or remote site can go off grid at all.
Every solar system is built from the same five building blocks: panels that make the power, an inverter that turns it into power your property can use, a battery that stores it, an energy manager that decides when to use it, and, on some sites, EV charging. How those five blocks are put together, and whether a battery and a grid connection are part of the picture at all, is what makes a system grid tied, hybrid or off grid.
The sections below walk through the system types first, then the building blocks, then the two brands.
ZenSolar fits FoxESS and Sigenergy only, so we know both ranges deeply. Our own typical sizes run from 6 to 16 kW for homes and 30 to 300 kW and up for businesses, and every system is matched to your property after a free energy assessment, with a 10-year swap-out warranty on the inverter and battery. And we can do the same for you.
Grid tied, hybrid or off grid: a short chooser
| Type | What it does | Battery | Needs the grid | Registration | Who it suits | Read next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grid tied | Uses your panels' power the moment it is made, and sends any extra to the grid | No battery | Yes, always. It stops feeding the grid when the grid supply is not there, a safety rule that protects people working on the power lines | Registered as a Small-Scale Embedded Generation system with Eskom or your municipality; CoC and SSEG application handled for you | A business that mostly uses power in daylight hours, or a property wanting solar now with no need to store power yet | Solar Power Inverters |
| Hybrid | Everything a grid tied system does, plus it manages a battery, so you choose when to use stored power and when to draw from the grid | Yes | Yes, and you choose when it uses your own solar and battery and when it draws on the grid | Same SSEG registration as grid tied; CoC and SSEG application handled for you | Most homes with evening use, and businesses wanting control over their priciest hours and demand charges | Solar Power Inverters and Solar Power Backup |
| Off grid | Runs entirely on its own solar and stored power, with no connection to the grid at all | Yes, sized to carry the whole load | No, it is the property's only supply | A system with no point of connection to the grid does not need to register with the national energy regulator, NERSA | Farms and remote sites with no grid line nearby, or where connecting to the grid would cost more than going off grid | Energy Assessment |
A hybrid system can start without a battery and have one added later, without swapping the inverter out. See how battery sizing works on Solar Power Backup, and the full sizing method on Solar Power Inverters.
Which one fits whom
If you want to use your solar the moment it is made, and send the rest to the grid without paying for a battery yet: grid tied fits. If you want to store your own solar, or cheap off-peak power, and use it at your priciest or busiest hours: hybrid fits. If there is no grid line anywhere near your property, or running one there would cost more than going off grid: off grid fits, and it stays a real option for farms and remote sites, not a fallback.
Our own typical sizes: homes 6 to 16 kW, businesses 30 to 300 kW and up, with bigger sites quoted individually after a free energy assessment. See the full sizing method, by property type, on Solar Power Inverters. For a big business that cannot fit enough solar on its own roof, Wheeling explains how to buy solar power from a plant somewhere else.
The building blocks of every system
| Part | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Panels | ZenSolar fits tier 1 panels only: Canadian Solar, JA Solar, LONGi, Jinko, Trina and Aiko. |
| Inverter | It turns your panels' DC power into the AC power your property runs on and manages the battery and grid connection, which is why a hybrid system can give you control over your own supply. |
| Battery | It stores solar power, or cheap off-peak grid power, and gives it back when you choose, so you use stored power at your priciest hours instead of paying peak rates. |
| App | FoxCloud (FoxESS) and mySigen (Sigenergy) show what your system is doing, and you get a pop-up notification in the app if something needs a look. |
| EV charging | A car can charge from your own solar and battery, and charging is planned into the system, not bolted on afterwards. |
Still not sure which type or which brand fits your property?
Get your property assessedFoxESS and Sigenergy, at a glance
| FoxESS | Sigenergy | |
|---|---|---|
| Design | Separate inverter and battery units, mixed and matched to the site | One stacked unit: inverter, battery and energy management together |
| Suits | Homes and businesses, single and three phase | Homes and businesses, single and three phase. SigenStor Neo is the compact version built for homes starting out with solar and storage |
| Where to see the full comparison | FoxESS | Sigenergy and SigenStor Neo |
Neither brand is simply better, and both suit homes and businesses. See the full side by side comparison, with real spec numbers, on Solar Power Inverters.
Why we fit only two brands
ZenSolar fits FoxESS and Sigenergy only, so our installers know both ranges deeply instead of stretching across many. On both brands, the battery and the inverter come from the same maker, designed to work together from the start.
How we get you to the right system
1
Book your free energy assessment
We look at your property, your grid connection, and your biggest loads, so we know whether grid tied, hybrid or off grid actually fits.
2
We match the type, then the brand
FoxESS or Sigenergy, sized to your panels and your real load, not a generic spec sheet.
3
Installed and handed over
Your system is on, the CoC and SSEG application is handled for you, and you watch it work in the app, which sends you pop-up notifications if something needs a look. Installed by our team and preferred, vetted installers approved by the brands, with a 10-year swap-out warranty.
How is this different from picking a system yourself?
With us
- Matched to your property's real usage and grid connection after a free energy assessment
- FoxESS and Sigenergy only, known deeply, with a 10-year swap-out warranty
- We install and maintain your system
- CoC and SSEG application handled for you
With them
- Guess the type and the brand yourself
- A battery you may not need, or a grid connection you cannot use
- Self-install and hope it is compliant
- No help with the paperwork
Frequently asked questions
A grid tied system uses your solar the moment it is made and sends the rest to the grid, with no battery. A hybrid system adds a battery, so you choose when to use stored power and when to draw from the grid. An off grid system has no connection to the grid at all and runs entirely on its own solar and storage.
There is no single best type for every home, it depends on your usage and your grid connection. A home that uses most of its power in the evening usually gets more from a hybrid system, since it can store daytime solar and use it later. A free energy assessment checks your own usage before recommending a type.
It depends on when your business uses power. A business that runs mostly during daylight hours can do well on a grid tied system. A business with evening use, or one wanting to lower its demand charges, usually fits a hybrid system better. See Solar Power Inverters for the fuller sizing picture.
Yes, for farms and remote sites with no grid line nearby, or where running one there would cost more than going off grid. It is a genuine option for those properties, not a fallback. It is not usually the right choice for a property that already has a working grid connection.
A grid tied system has no battery, so it has no stored power to draw on when you want it. A hybrid system costs more than grid tied alone, because of the battery. An off grid system needs a battery sized to carry the whole load, plus careful sizing for cloudy stretches, so it usually costs the most of the three. The right trade-off depends on your property and your grid connection.
A system with no point of connection to the grid at all does not need to register with the national energy regulator, NERSA. Any system that does connect to the grid, even a hybrid system used mainly for its own control over supply, follows the normal Small-Scale Embedded Generation registration steps instead.
In most cases yes. A hybrid inverter can run without a battery from day one, working like a grid tied system, and a battery can often be added later without replacing the inverter. Whether this works for your exact setup is confirmed during the free energy assessment. See Solar Power Inverters for how this works in more depth.
Our own typical sizes are homes 6 to 16 kW, businesses 30 to 300 kW and up, with bigger sites quoted individually. The exact size for your property is worked out from your real usage in a free energy assessment, not from a general rule. See Solar Power Inverters for the sizing method, and Calculators and the finance calculator for the finance side.
SigenStor Neo is Sigenergy's own compact version, built as a first choice for homes starting out with solar and battery storage. It brings the controller, battery and energy manager into one stack. See SigenStor Neo for the full detail.
Start with a free energy assessment. We review your usage, your grid connection and your biggest loads, then recommend a system type and a brand matched to your property, with a report you can keep.
Not ready for a full assessment? Contact us and we will answer your questions first, or see everything ZenSolar offers on Services.