The quick answer: a PAYGo solar system is sized by battery — 6Ah for lights only, 15Ah to add a fan or small TV, and 5.3kWh to 10.6kWh for a whole house with a fridge. Pick too small and it dies before night’s end; oversize it and you pay for capacity you never use. Here’s how to match the battery to what the system actually powers, with real pricing.
PAYGo solar systems come in three tiers
| Tier | What it powers | Battery size |
|---|---|---|
| 1 — Home lighting kit | A few LED tube lights + phone charging | 6Ah–15Ah |
| 2 — Lighting + small appliances | Adds a DC fan or small TV | Bigger, more headroom |
| 3 — Full home energy | Lights, TV, fan, fridge together | 5.3kWh–10.6kWh |
Tier 1 is the entry point for a household that mainly needs light and a charged phone. Tier 3 is the off-grid inverter with a real battery bank for whole-house coverage.
What’s actually inside a PAYGo system
The thing that makes PAYGo work — and why it costs a bit more — is the unlock module. The system is delivered to the customer but only runs once they make a payment, often via an SMS code that unlocks it. That’s how a distributor sells the hardware now and gets paid over time.
So when you size a PAYGo system, you’re sizing three things together: the battery, the solar panel, and the appliance load it can carry.
Sizing by what it powers
| Need | Battery | Cash version | PAYGo version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lights only (4 tube lights + phone) | 6Ah | US$37 | ~$59 |
| Lights + a fan or small TV | 15Ah | $73 | ~$118 |
| Whole house: TV, fan, fridge (5.3kWh, 4.2kW inverter) | 5.3kWh | ~$978 | — |
| Whole house, more headroom (6.2kW inverter) | 10.6kWh | ~$1,658 | — |
The unlock module adds roughly 60% to the hardware cost on the lighting kits. At the top end, the 5.3kWh and 10.6kWh systems replace a small generator and give a household real, quiet power through the night.
The rule of thumb
Add up the hours each appliance runs per night, and pick the battery tier that covers it with about a third of headroom left for cloudy days:
| What runs at night | Battery |
|---|---|
| Lights only | 6Ah |
| Lights + fan | 15Ah |
| Lights + TV + fan | 15Ah to 5.3kWh (by TV size and hours) |
| Lights + TV + fan + fridge | 5.3kWh to 10.6kWh |
Our PAYGo solar systems and solar home systems cover the full ladder, so a distributor can offer one brand across every customer tier instead of juggling suppliers.
Why PAYGo changes the sale
For a distributor, the math shifts with PAYGo: instead of collecting the full price at the door, you spread it over months of small payments. That unlocks customers who couldn’t pay for a $1,600 system upfront but can pay the equivalent of what they already spend on kerosene and phone charging. It’s the same reason PAYGo has taken off across East Africa and Southeast Asia.
Building a PAYGo portfolio and want to size a mixed order across lighting, fans, and whole-home systems? Get in touch — we can batch a container that covers every customer tier.
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OEM/ODM customization · Mixed container OK · Sample available · 12-month warranty
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