Solar Geysers
Pretoria North
Solar geysers Pretoria North homeowners fit now have to earn their place twice: against an 8.8% electricity tariff rise in July 2026, and against hail like December 2025's. Both are planned for first.
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Which solar geyser suits which house
Two collector types, two ways of plumbing them, and one decision that matters more than either: the backup.
A solar geyser is a tank of water heated by a collector on the roof. Flat-plate collectors are panels with water channels behind glass; evacuated-tube collectors are rows of glass tubes. Either can feed a tank mounted above it on the roof, or an existing geyser in the ceiling.
On a sunny day either does most of the work. On short, cold days the water still needs heating, so every solar system has a backup: usually the existing element, ideally on a timer, or a heat pump. How the backup is controlled decides most of the saving.
Adding solar to a working geyser is often the cheaper start, because the collector simply heats water the element would otherwise heat. Where the old geyser is near the end of its life, a complete solar geyser makes more sense.
Half the hot water, by law, for new homes
National building rules already push new houses in Pretoria North away from the element.
50%The most of a new home's hot water that may come from electric resistance heating (SANS 10400-XA)
If you are building, extending or renovating with approved plans, SANS 10400-XA already answers part of the hot water question: no more than half of the home's yearly hot water should come from electrical resistance heating. A solar geyser, a heat pump or gas covers the rest.
For existing houses the reason is the bill. Tshwane's residential electricity rose 8.8% on 1 July 2026, and every kilowatt-hour now costs between about R3.24 and R4.46, depending on how much the house uses. Every unit of heat the sun puts into the tank is one the element does not draw at those rates.
Then there is the roof. Most of Pretoria's rain falls in summer thunderstorms between November and March, and on 1 December 2025 golf-ball hail hit Pretoria North hard enough to bring down ceilings in Montana. A collector is glass facing the sky, so the choice between flat-plate and evacuated tubes, and the maker's hail rating, belong in the quote.
The certificate still matters here. When the Certificate of Compliance requirement fell away for electric geysers in 2022, PIRB pointed out that solar water heating installations still need one under their own standard, SANS 10106.
A solar geyser sized for summer, mounted without a thought for hail or shade, and backed by an element left on all day saves very little. One planned for winter mornings, with its backup on a timer, does what it was bought for.
Ask for the collector's hail rating, the backup arrangement and the SANS 10106 certificate on the quote before you compare prices.
Source: Nedbank SANS 10400-XA homeowner guide · City of Tshwane, 2026/27 tariffs, 2 July 2026 · Geological Survey, Geology of the Pretoria area, 1977 · Rekord, hail storm in Pretoria North, 1 December 2025 · PIRB, CoCs for electric geysers, 24 June 2022
Solar geyser cardRoof first, then the system
Roof check
Direction, shade, pitch, and the condition of the roof and timbers where the collector goes.
Collector
Type and size chosen with you, with the maker's hail and pressure ratings on the quote.
Backup
Element, timer or heat pump, and how it is controlled, agreed before installation.
Plumbing
Pressure control, vacuum breakers, drip tray and insulated pipes, to SANS 10106 and SANS 10254.
Paperwork
Certificate of Compliance, itemised invoice and the maker's warranty details.
Ask how long the collector's warranty is and who honours it. The answer belongs on the quote.
Sized for July, not just for January
A solar geyser is judged on a cold, cloudy week, so that is what it is planned around.
Solar water heating sells itself in summer. The quote has to work in winter, when days are short and the backup does more of the heating.
The roof, the backup and the controls get as much attention on the card as the collector does.
The plumber behind Noord Plumbing has eight years of plumbing work in Pretoria North.
From the roof check to the first hot tank
The roof is looked at before the system is chosen.
Roof and usage
Where the collector can go, how much hot water the house uses, and what the existing geyser is.
Choose the system
Solar added to your geyser or a complete solar geyser, collector type and backup, priced side by side.
Install
Collector mounted and sealed, plumbing to the tank, controls and backup set up.
Prove it heats
Circulation and temperature checked, the controller set, the certificate issued.
Solar geyser questions
Asked before the roof is drilled.
How much does a solar geyser cost in Pretoria North?
The range is wide, because adding solar to an existing geyser and fitting a complete new solar geyser are different jobs, and the collector's size and type and the backup all move the price. No current Pretoria price guide gives a figure worth repeating, so you get an itemised quote after the roof check, with the options side by side.
Can solar be added to my existing geyser?
Often, yes. A retrofit adds a collector and circulation to the geyser you already have, and it is usually the cheaper start if that geyser still has years left in it.
Do solar geysers survive hail?
Collectors carry hail ratings from their makers, and some types stand up to hail better than others. After the golf-ball hail in Pretoria North in December 2025 it is a fair question: ask for the rating on the quote, and check that your household insurance covers the collector.
Solar geyser or heat pump?
Both cut the element's share of the bill. A heat pump works day and night but uses some electricity; solar uses none in sunshine but needs a backup. The choice depends on the roof, the budget and how the house uses hot water, and some homes use both.
Does a solar geyser need a certificate?
Yes. PIRB states that solar water heating installations still need a Certificate of Compliance under SANS 10106, even after the 2022 change for electric geysers.
What does a solar geyser need in winter?
A working backup with sensible controls. On short, cold days the collector gives less and the backup does more. Set to heat on a timer before the morning showers, rather than on all day, the backup uses far less.
Request a call-out
Tell us the job and leave a number, and the plumber calls you to talk it through.
Water where it should not be? Turn it off at the meter now. It is the cheapest part of any repair.
Pretoria North and the suburbs around it
From the Apies River west to Rosslyn, and from Onderstepoort down to the foot of the Magaliesberg.
North
Wolmer, Onderstepoort, Bon Accord, Hesteapark, Clarina, The Orchards, Klerksoord
East
Annlin, Wonderboom, Sinoville, Magalieskruin, Montana, Montana Park, Doornpoort
South
Mountain View, Park Town Estate, Mayville, Wonderboom South
West
Dorandia, Florauna, Tileba, Theresapark, Ninapark, Karenpark, Amandasig, Akasia, Chantelle, Rosslyn
Not sure your suburb is covered? Send the request anyway and say where you are.