Keeping Your Home Running Through Stage 6 Load Shedding

Stage 6 load shedding means power cuts of around four hours at a time, often more than once a day. At that level, getting through it comfortably takes a bit of planning, whether you have a full solar system or are still relying on backups. Here is how to keep your home running.

Prioritise the essentials

You do not need to power your whole home to stay comfortable. Focus on the circuits and appliances that matter most:

• Lighting, Wi-Fi and phone or laptop charging to stay connected and working.
• Your fridge and freezer, so food does not spoil across back-to-back outages.
• A few plug points for small appliances.

These essentials draw surprisingly little power, which is why even a modest battery can carry a home through Stage 6 if it is sized correctly. Our guide on what size battery you need walks through the maths.

Protect your appliances

Frequent outages and the surges when power returns can damage electronics. To protect them:

• Use surge protection on sensitive equipment like TVs, computers and fridges.
• Switch off or unplug high-value electronics during an outage if you are not on backup.
• Consider proper surge and lightning protection as part of any solar installation.

Manage heavy appliances around the schedule

Geysers, ovens, kettles and pool pumps are the big power users. During Stage 6 it helps to:

• Run the geyser, dishwasher and washing machine during the day when solar is generating, or just before a known outage.
• Avoid switching on several heavy appliances at once, which can overload an inverter.
• Use a geyser timer so you are not reheating water during peak grid hours.

The permanent fix

Inverter trolleys and generators help, but the only solution that keeps essentials running automatically and cuts your bill is a hybrid solar system with enough battery capacity for back-to-back stages. Sized correctly, it makes load shedding something you barely notice.

To design a system that handles even Stage 6, request free quotes from verified installers who will match the battery and inverter to your needs.