Find out if your suburb has a high Solar Score with this easy-to-use tool

According to Standard Bank's LookSee home efficiency platform, homes in Gauteng have a higher Solar Score than coastal provinces — meaning they're able to generate more electricity from their roofs. 

However, it’s not bad news for southern parts of the country as houses there can still produce high levels of solar power.

A home’s location, solar irradiance, shady conditions, roof direction, size and slope can have a significant impact on how a solar system will perform, says Standard Bank LookSee executive head Marc du Plessis. 

“These elements are difficult for most people to assess themselves, which can lead to disappointment when their chosen solar system does not reach the advertised generation potential. It’s for this reason that Standard Bank developed the first Solar Score system focused on SA’s residential properties.” 

The easy-to-use Solar Score needs only your physical address for the system to generate a 3D model of the house and assess it against a variety of solar performance factors. You'll be presented with a Solar Score out of 100, usable roof area, average sunlight days, potential electricity generation, and estimated savings on your electricity bill. 

How homes perform

The Solar Score system has also allowed LookSee to analyse which suburbs in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape offer the best conditions for a home solar installation. 

“Looking at the average Solar Scores for homes in the top 30 suburbs, Gauteng has the overwhelming majority, with KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape suburbs taking ninth and seventh place respectively. The average homes in the top Gauteng suburbs all have the potential to generate upwards of 100kWh of power a day. This is due to the level of photovoltaic emissions or solar irradiance lowering as you move away from the equator.”

While the scoring tells a user how efficiently a solar system will perform on their roof, the system also looks at the generation potential based on how many solar panels can be installed on the optimal sides of the roof. This means that two houses with the same Solar Score can expect different generation levels because of their roof sizes. 

“What’s clear from the analysis is that a home’s location, size and structure have a real impact on how a solar system will perform and the electricity it could expect to generate. The insight provided by a free Solar Score is invaluable to a person who is considering investing in solar. The interest we’ve seen shows that households are keen to take an informed approach to their solar decision,” says du Plessis. 

LookSee also offers an end-to-end solar journey focused on helping households find the right system size for their electricity needs, flexible financing options, vetted solar installers, and support from its dedicated solar concierge team. 

The LookSee Solar Score covers cities in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape. Work is under way to extend the coverage to all towns and cities in SA during 2023 and adding sectional title properties. 

^{*This analysis is based on suburb-level data for Gauteng, eThekwini municipality and the City of Cape Town. Only residential suburbs containing 80 or more houses were used in this analysis. No sectional title properties or agricultural-type suburbs were included in the analysis. Generation capacity is based on the maximum standard installation configuration. The conditions of an individual property may mean its Solar Score differs from the average Solar Score for that suburb.}

This article was sponsored by LookSee by Standard Bank.