How Much Do Off-Grid Solar Systems in Zimbabwe Cost In 2023?

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Perhaps you are dreaming of obtaining your home’s electricity without having to rely on that provided by your town or city. 

If so, you are hoping to go “off the grid.”. And if that’s your dream, you’ve likely been reading up on alternative sources of energy, like a solar energy system.

But How Much Do Off-grid Solar Systems in Zimbabwe Cost?

Being armed with this information is a key starting point in figuring out how to go off-grid, what you’ll need in order to pull it off and how much you might have to pay. Keep reading to learn what you need to know about the cost of an off-grid solar system.

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What Is an Off-Grid Solar System?

Off-grid solar systems can generate your home or business’ electrical needs without relying on the electrical grid. To go completely off-grid, you will need a system that is large enough to support your home’s energy consumption needs, along with a battery to store the energy and a solar charge controller that can help smooth out energy production and usage so that the battery doesn’t become overwhelmed quickly. If you live in a cold or particularly cloudy environment, there’s a chance you might even need a back-up plan as well, like using wind power to harness additional energy.

How Much Do Off-Grid Solar Systems in Zimbabwe Cost In 2023?

An off-grid solar system works to pull energy from the sun’s rays. This is done through the use of solar panels, which most often are mounted to the roof of a home, cabin or RV.

The energy the panels collect is then routed to a battery that stores the energy until you need it, when an inverter converts it into electricity. All this allows you to run your home without having to rely on your town or city’s electrical grid. If you are intent on solely relying on your own sources of energy, you may want to consider a back-up system of some sort as well.

Cost by Type

When considering the cost of an off-grid solar system, it’s important to know that there are a few different types of systems you can consider. Each has unique features and functionality, and this can inform the price you’ll pay. Below, we’ll take a look at some of the more common off-grid solar systems.

1. DC Solar System: A DC solar system is the simplest type of solar system. It’s best suited to the most basic energy needs, such as for a one-bedroom cabin or RV. Since the DC solar system doesn’t rely on a battery or an inverter, you’ll only have electricity on sunny days; there’s no stored energy with this type of system. The off-the-grid solar system cost of a DC system averages about $6,000 to $10,000, and consists of nothing more than a few solar panels that provide power to just a few appliances.
2. Mixed DC and AC System: Similar to a simple DC solar system, but with a battery backup to store electricity for cloudy days, a mixed DC and AC system costs between $10,000 and $50,000. The price depends on the size of your system. A mixed DC and AC system is suitable for a small-scale off-grid solar system, and typically involves solar panels along with an inverter (to convert energy from DC to AC) and a backup battery to store energy.
3. AC System With Wind: You can think of this type of off-grid solar system as one that functions on solar energy with wind energy as a backup. If you live in an area with lots of wind, but inconsistent sunshine, this type of system might be the best option for your energy needs. The cost for an off-grid solar system that functions on sun and wind is between $20,000 and $80,000.

AC Solar System

Whether you’re looking for an off-grid power system or one that stores energy on your city’s grid in order to get energy credits, an AC solar system is a popular option. The cost of this off-grid solar system is between $30,000 to $60,000, a price that includes several solar panels, a few backup batteries and a DC/AC inverter to convert energy into a usable form.

AC System With a Back-Up Generator

This comprehensive system is the best option if you’re looking for completely off-grid solar systems. The average cost for this type of system ranges from $40,000 to $70,000. An AC system with a back-up generator is typically designed to handle all of your home’s energy needs; as such, the size will vary based on the size of your home and your energy consumption.

Cost by Component in Zimbabwe

Another way to price out an off-grid solar system is to consider the cost of each different component. Of course, this will differ based on the type of solar energy system you’d like to set up, but the following will give you an idea of how much you’re likely to spend on the parts that you need.

1. Solar Panels: The most important component of any solar energy system is the solar panels. The price for solar panels will vary based on the size of your home’s solar system. But in general, the price of solar panels is about $2.76 per watt and most solar panels have between 250 and 400 watts each.
2. Solar Charge Controller: A solar charge controller is a device that regulates the energy produced by the solar panels so that it doesn’t overload the battery. This is an important component of any solar energy system. You can expect to pay between $500 and $600 for a basic solar charge controller, with more advanced models (featuring LCD displays and more functionality) costing as much as $2,000. Each backup battery requires its own solar charge controller.
3. Alternative Energy Source: If your location has insufficient sunlight and you want to remain completely off the grid, you’ll need to have an alternative source of energy, such as wind power. Wind turbines generally cost between $6,000 and $11,000, while a backup generator costs between $10,000 to $20,000.
4. Solar Battery Bank: Unless you are installing a small DC solar system, you’ll need a backup battery for your solar energy system. Despite the high price tag—between $4,000 and $14,000—a battery is a critical component that stores the energy collected by the solar panels and transmits it to your home or RV. A battery allows your solar system to sustain itself through cloudy or bad weather without interrupting your energy stream.
5. Inverter: An inverter works to change the energy coming from the solar panels (DC energy) into energy that you can use in your home (AC energy). The average cost of an inverter is $300 to $13,000, based on how advanced the inverter is.

How Many Solar Panels Are Needed to Run a House Off-Grid?

It can be difficult to estimate how many solar panels you might need to run your home strictly on solar power. But in general, there are three major factors to consider: your home’s annual electricity usage, the wattage of the solar panels and the production ratio (the estimated amount of kWh/year your system will produce, divided by the total wattage). 

An industry estimate is 20 to 24 solar panels to fully support an average-sized household.