Frequently Asked Questions
Batteries
What type of battery do I have?
There are mainly two types of batteries: Lead/Acid & Lithium-ion.
Your battery will be labelled with its type, voltage and amperage.
What’s the difference between Lead/Acid and Lithium-ion batteries?
Here is a brief comparison chart.
| Lead/acid | Lithium Ion |
| Reasonably cheap | Very expensive |
| Developed over 100 years ago | Developed in the 1980’s |
| Very heavy | Reasonably light |
| Life Cycle of approx. 400 cycles | Life cycle ranges between 400 – 1200 |
| Should not be discharged below 50% | Can be safely discharged down to 10% |
| Charges slowly | Charges quickly |
| Contains (mostly) Lead, Lead-Oxide & Sulfuric acid. | Contains (mostly) Lithium polymers in layers |
| Extensively recycled | Widely recycled |
What is my battery lifespan?
All batteries have a set number of times they can be fully discharged (run flat) and recharged again. This is called a ‘cycle’.
A battery’s lifespan depends on a number of things. Most important are: number of discharge/recharge cycles; how deeply it has been discharged; how long it has been left in a discharged state; temperature; quality of construction.
Are all Lead/acid batteries the same?
No.
There are different construction methods and materials which affect the performance and price of different types of Lead/acid batteries.
Are all Lithium-ion batteries the same?
No.
Most consumer Lithium-ion batteries are very similar, but there are still different construction methods and materials which affect the performance and price of different types of Lithium-ion batteries.
Can I recharge all batteries with the same charger?
It depends… Lead/acid batteries and Lithium batteries are completely different technologies and require unique chargers, unless specifically stated on the charger.
Batteries last forever, don’t they?
Batteries have a finite lifespan.
Unfortunately loadshedding has resulted in suppliers reducing warranties on batteries. Most batteries only come with a 3-month warranty now. Warranty information will be displayed on your invoice.
Inverters
I have an Inverter and Battery system that I never need to worry about.
This is unfortunately a popular (and incorrect) understanding about Inverters and Batteries.
Just like a car, inverter and battery systems need monitoring and maintenance.
I can power everything and anything with my Inverter!
Unfortunately this is a big misperception. Using your Inverter/battery system for something it is not designed for, will invariably result in damage to either your inverter/battery system or to the stuff it is powering.
What size Inverter do I need?
This depends on what you want to keep running. Once you have established what you want to keep powered on, you will need to work out how much power you need and what size inverter you will require.
Speak to us about how you can work this out.
Aren’t all Inverters the same?
Not all Inverters are the same.
Basic (and hence cheaper) inverters are designed to only power your basic electronic equipment. An LED tv; an internet router; a laptop or desktop computer; i small light bulb; a DVD player. A good general rule-of-thumb for basic inverters is: No elements, No motors.
More advanced inverters can power your ‘lighter equipment as well as bigger items: a fridge; a hairdryer, a fan. These inverters tend to be more expensive.
Contracts
Month-to-month
Month-to-month accounts are billed and payable in advance.
A full calendar months written notice must be given on cancellation of month-to-month contracts.
Connectivity
Is connectivity uptime guaranteed?
No service has a 100% uptime guarantee.
All ISP’s offer connectivity supplied as a best effort service.
Will loadshedding affect connectivity?
Loadshedding affects connectivity everywhere for a number of reasons.
Even if your local area does not have loadshedding, the internet service routes through many areas across the country and there may be disruptions along such routes that could affect you.
Is ‘Fibre’ available at my address?
You will need to provide us with a Street Address for us to lookup what services are available.
Not all services are available everywhere.
Microsoft
How to configure email forwarders (Business Accounts)
This FAQ applies to the Microsoft 365 Business solutions.
Log onto your online Office account by going to www.office.com, and click on the ‘gear’ on the top right-hand side.
A drop-down menu will appear called ‘Settings’.
Scroll down the Settings bar to the bottom where you will see the word ‘Mail’, under ‘Your App Settings’.
Click on the word ‘Mail’, which will open the ‘Mail Options’ window.
On the left, under the ‘Accounts’ heading, select ‘Forwarding’ and click on the radio button next to ‘start forwarding’.
Then type in the email address that you need to forward your mail to and choose whether you want to keep a copy of forwarded messages or not.
When you are done click ‘save’.
Take note that for security reasons Microsoft does not allow the forwarding of emails to an address outside of your organisation.
How to configure email auto-replies (Business Accounts)
This FAQ applies to the Microsoft 365 Business solutions.
Log onto your online Office account by going to www.office.com, and click on the ‘gear’ on the top right-hand side.
A drop-down menu will appear called ‘Settings’.
Scroll down the Settings bar to the bottom where you will see the word ‘Mail’, under ‘Your App Settings’.
Click on the word ‘Mail’, which will open the ‘Mail Options’ window.
On the left, under the ‘Accounts’ heading, select ‘Automatic Replies’.
Click on the radio button ‘Send Automatic replies’.
It’s helpful to tick the ‘Send replies only during this time period’ box.
That way, you can set up the Start and End time/day and won’t need to turn it off.
Choose the options to your preferences and remember to click on the ‘Save’ icon at the top in order to save.
