“Geyser Has No Choice”: Joburg Expert Shows How Solar Geyser Can Still Use Electricity From Grid

• A Johannesburg energy expert explained why solar geysers still draw power from the municipality grid
• The man explained how the solar geyser system works and when it's best to use hot water
• South Africans shared their own experiences, with some suggesting gas geysers as an alternative

A Johannesburg energy expert has cleared up confusion about solar geysers after explaining why they still use electricity from the municipality grid even though they're supposed to be solar-powered. The video was shared on 9 January 2026 and shows the man breaking down exactly what happens.

In the footage, the energy expert explains that during the day, when the sun is shining, the solar system heats the water throughout the day. However, if your family showers in the evening between 6 pm and 8 pm, you're using up all the hot water that was heated by the sun during the day. That hot water is then replaced by cold water, and because there's no sun at night, the geyser has no choice but to use electricity from the grid to heat it up again. This ensures you have hot water in the morning for school and work, but it also means you're paying for municipal electricity.

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The expert's explanation has helped many people understand why their solar geysers aren't saving them as much money as they expected. The video shows that the timing of when you use hot water makes a huge difference in whether your solar geyser actually runs on solar power or draws from the grid. For families who shower in the evenings, the solar system essentially becomes a regular electric geyser during the night hours, defeating the purpose of having solar in the first place.

Watch the TikTok clip below:

SA weighs in on solar geyser efficiency

TikTok users shared their thoughts on content creator @wesreddy1's clip, stating:

@hermane suggested:

"Rather go with a gas geyser interconnected to your existing geyser."

@zaghostie wrote:

"It does have a choice. You can switch it off if you don't need hot water in the morning."

@raeesa gushed:

"With our solar geyser from the middle of December till today, which is Jan 14th, I've not switched on the geyser not once, and we have plenty of hot water."

@mr_funny_dude🙂 asked:

"Sir, can a solar geyser also be turned off?"

@wes_reddy explained:

"When you drop the geyser breaker on the DB, it cuts the power to the solar geyser. It has a controller that switches between mains power and solar."

@🇿🇦dumisani_🇵🇸 said:

"I use a gas geyser about 19kg per month at the cost of R580 per month. No regret at all."

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@deadpool added:

"That is why these solar geysers got a section where u connect the element..."

@kaylin_claude_pillay commented:

"I always thought it had a battery store 😂 Makes sense..."

@wally stated:

"I have one. Works brilliantly in summer weather... I can turn the geyser off at the mains, and the water will be hot all day. In winter, not so much."

More on electricity in SA

• Briefly News recently reported on a Gqeberha content creator who broke down why South Africans pay different prices for electricity.
• A Johannesburg energy expert shared a video breaking down how much power a PS4 console uses.
• City Power is urging residents to register for free basic electricity before the 31 July deadline.

Source: Briefly News