About Maarten Kronberger

Who I Am

I’m Maarten Kronberger. For 15 years I’ve run The Barefoot Builder, a building and construction business on the Lower South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal, and I’m a qualified carpenter who also builds roof structures and does structural self-builds.

On projects with solar, the electrical work is done by registered electricians, but as the contractor I’m responsible for the whole job. So for those 15 years I’ve researched solar systems in depth, well enough to check the electricians’ work rather than take it on trust: the protection, the cabling, the mounting and the paperwork. That is the perspective this site is written from. It’s the view of the person who has to make sure the installation is right, not the person selling it.

I am not a registered electrician and I do not sign off Certificates of Compliance. Everything on this site is written to help you understand your installation and ask the right questions of the professionals who do.

My Own Off-Grid System

I don’t just write about solar. Since June 2026 my home has run completely off-grid on a Deye 5kW hybrid inverter, a Dyness 16kWh battery and ten JA Solar panels, built in stages over three years. Our property is surrounded by trees, so the panels sit on a dedicated elevated structure above the tree line.

I publish what it actually cost (about R141,320 in total, including R35,500 to beat the shading), what it produces on clear and overcast days, and what went wrong along the way. When I recommend something on this site, it’s often something I’ve paid for and live with.

• What it really cost me to go off-grid
• Can a 5kW hybrid inverter really run a home off-grid? (with eight days of data)
• Building solar on a forested property
• Why I switched batteries
• All off-grid articles

What I Bring to This Site

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  A contractor’s view of solar

  I understand how buildings go together and where solar fits in: roof structure and fixings, cable routes, where the inverter and battery can safely go, and the practical problems a spec sheet never mentions.

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  Checking the work, not selling it

  Fifteen years of checking electricians’ solar work on my projects means I know what a good installation looks like, where corners get cut, and which questions to ask. Our installer checklist comes straight from that.

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  Living with it every day

  My own off-grid system is the test bench for much of what I write. Production figures, battery behaviour and costs on this site come from my own monitoring, not a brochure.

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  Rules checked against the source

  Regulatory guides cover SANS 10142, registration with Eskom, municipalities and NERSA, and the status of incentives. They carry a “last reviewed” date and cite official sources where they exist.

Editorial Policy

SolarPowerGuide is an independent publisher. No manufacturer, distributor or installer pays for coverage, ratings or placement.

Where I own and use a product, I say so. Reviews of products I haven’t owned are based on research: datasheets, manufacturer documentation and South African availability. I’m working through every review to make that distinction clear.

The site earns its income from Google AdSense display advertising. Advertisers have no influence over what I write, and a product can carry an advert on the same page as a critical review.

Important: content on this site is for information only. It is not professional electrical advice and does not replace a Certificate of Compliance. Solar electrical work in South Africa must be done by a registered electrical contractor and comply with SANS 10142 and your supplier’s requirements.

Corrections are always welcome. The solar industry moves fast, and I’d rather be corrected than wrong. Contact me here.