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Input your diesel or petrol generator size, typical runtime, and market to compute current monthly fuel cost, generator-vs-grid economics, and equivalent solar+battery sizing. Particularly relevant for Lagos chronic-shortage markets, SA load-shedding contexts, andoff-grid deployments across DRC, CAR, Burundi, and humanitarian operations.
Sets local fuel price (~25 ZAR/L) and grid tariff baseline (~3 ZAR/kWh).
Diesel: 3 kWh/L energy density, ~30% generator efficiency.
Typical residential: 5-10 kVA. Commercial / oil-sector backup: 20-50 kVA. Nominal output ≈ kVA × 0.8 kW.
Lagos diesel: typically 8-14 hrs/day. SA load-shedding: 4-12 hrs depending on stage. DRC chronic shortage: 6-16 hrs.
% of generator capacity actually used. Residential typical: 30-60%. Commercial: 50-80%.
Generator electricity costs ZAR 27.78/kWh in fuel alone — about 9.3× the local grid tariff of ZAR 3.00/kWh.
This ratio is why solar+battery payback is often dramatically faster in generator-dependent markets than pure grid-displacement markets — covered in the Nigeria country guide where post-2023 fuel-subsidy removal accelerated payback to 2-4 years.
Country guides cover full deployment context including regulatory framework + installer ecosystem.