Where The Name Comes From
Insele is the isiZulu word for the honey badger. It’s a small animal with a reputation out of all proportion to its size, known for being stubborn, resourceful and hard to discourage.
That’s the standard we set for the systems. An Insele unit has to work every night in a real home, often a long way from the nearest town and the nearest technician. It gets carried by its handle from one room to another, hung on a wall, taken down and put back again. Nobody comes out to service it.
So the charge controller shuts the system down before the battery runs flat, then switches it back on once the sun has recharged it. The first units supplied in Ekurhuleni in 2014 are still in the field and still working.
What Our Systems Changed
Households and municipalities using Insele systems have told us the same things over the years:
Children can study after dark, with enough light to work by.
People can charge their phones, so they can apply for jobs and hear back about them.
Well-lit streets and yards have made communities feel safer.
Fewer candles and paraffin lamps means fewer house fires.
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife’s K9 anti-poaching unit wrote to us after receiving Insele systems for its field teams.
Our Story So Far
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2014 to 2017
Ekurhuleni, Gauteng
The Ekurhuleni Municipality put out a tender for solar home systems for informal settlements across the municipality (A-EE 05/2014-17). Microtronix Manufacturing, working with Segametsi, was chosen as one of the service providers, and supplied the first Insele solar charger, then called the i150 Gold.
The systems were well received compared with the imported products the community had been given before, and Microtronix was awarded several more tranches over the tender period. Most of those units are still in the field and working.
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2017
Kuruman, Northern Cape
The Department of Energy launched its Solar Home System tender as part of the National Electrification Programme (DOE/002/2016/17). Microtronix supplied Insele systems to EOH, which was awarded the tender, for rural communities in and around Kuruman.
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2018
Ngcobo, Eastern Cape
As the National Electrification Programme continued, Microtronix and SWAN Electrical were chosen as suppliers for the 2018 Eastern Cape tender (DOE/005/2017/18). The Hillside rural communities received the i350, the successor to the system used in Kuruman.
These units had our GSM technology built in, so usage could be monitored remotely for the length of the tender.
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2019
Matatiele, KwaZulu-Natal
The Department of Energy awarded Microtronix and SWAN Electrical a tranche of its 2019 tender in Matatiele (DOE/005/2019/2020). This time the brief called for more capacity, so the community received the i1000 HomeGrow.
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2020 to 2025
KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga
Insele i1000 HomeGrow systems continued to go out through the National Electrification Programme, including installations in Thabazimbi, Durban, Witbank and across the Eastern Cape.
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2023
Zimbabwe and Botswana
Insele supplied i100 systems to the Child Protection Society in Zimbabwe for distribution to rural households, and began supplying i100 and i150 systems to Great Plains Conservation's Solar Mamas programme in Botswana, where women are trained to supply, install and service systems in their own communities.
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2026
The next roll-out
i1000 HomeGrow units are in production for the Department of Energy's 2026 electrification roll-out.
Who Does What
Microtronix Manufacturing
Microtronix designs and manufactures the Insele range at its facilities in Strijdom Park, Johannesburg. With more than 25 years in South African electronic contract manufacturing, and a specialty in PC board assembly, it handles everything from single prototypes to large volume production. Microtronix also gives the 12-month warranty on Insele products.
Visit Microtronix →
MX-Tech
MX-Tech installs and develops Insele systems, and offers maintenance contracts for the RMS-330 remote management system.
Visit MX-Tech →
Our Distributors
Insele products are sold through distributors in South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
Find A Distributor →
About Questions
Who makes Insele solar systems?
Microtronix Manufacturing, at its factory in Strijdom Park, Johannesburg. Microtronix operates an ISO 9001-certified quality management system.
How long has Insele been making solar systems?
Since 2014, when the first systems went into informal settlements in Ekurhuleni.
What does Insele mean?
It’s the isiZulu word for the honey badger.
Are Insele products certified?
The products themselves don’t carry product certifications. They’re manufactured by Microtronix Manufacturing, which operates an ISO 9001-certified quality management system.
Which programmes use Insele systems?
Municipal programmes such as Ekurhuleni’s, the Department of Energy’s National Electrification Programme, and NGO and conservation programmes in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana.
See All FAQs →