Legal
Privacy Policy
In terms of the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA)
Last updated: April 2026
1. Who We Are
Responsible Party: Off Grid Engineering (Pty) Ltd
Registration number: 2021/523737/07
VAT number: 4670305681
Physical address: 7 Jannie De Waal Avenue, Estcourt, KwaZulu-Natal, 3310
Email: admin@offgridengineering.co.za
Phone: 083 555 7900
Websites: offgridengineering.co.za | solarforfarms.co.za
2. Purpose of This Policy
Off Grid Engineering (Pty) Ltd ("OGE", "we", "us", or "our") is committed to protecting your personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 ("POPIA") and all applicable South African privacy legislation.
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal information about individuals who interact with our business, including through our websites, lead generation forms, advertising campaigns, and direct communications.
3. Personal Information We Collect
We collect the following categories of personal information:
3.1 Contact and identity information
- First name and last name
- Email address (personal and/or work)
- Phone number (mobile and/or landline)
- Business name and trading name
3.2 Operational and property information
- Type of business or farming operation
- Nearest town or city
- Province
- Eskom transformer size (kVA)
- Monthly electricity spend (Rands)
- Eskom tariff type
- Key electrical loads (e.g. pumps, milking, refrigeration)
- Roof type and area (square metres)
- Farm name and type
3.3 Communication records
- Records of calls, emails, and WhatsApp communications
- Notes made during site assessments and discovery conversations
- Proposal and quotation records
3.4 Technical information
- IP address and browser type (collected automatically when you visit our websites)
- Source of your enquiry (e.g. Facebook ad, Google, referral)
- UTM tracking parameters from advertising campaigns
4. How We Collect Personal Information
- Lead generation forms on Facebook and Instagram advertising campaigns
- Contact forms on our websites (offgridengineering.co.za and solarforfarms.co.za)
- WhatsApp messages sent to our business number
- Telephone calls to our sales team
- Site assessments and in-person meetings
- Email correspondence
- Referrals from existing clients or business partners
- Automatic collection via website cookies and analytics tools
5. Why We Process Your Personal Information
5.1 To provide our services
- To conduct site assessments and design solar energy systems for your property or business
- To prepare proposals, quotations, and financial analyses tailored to your operation
- To install, commission, and maintain solar energy systems
- To provide after-sales support and warranty services
5.2 To communicate with you
- To respond to your enquiries and assessment requests
- To send you proposals, quotations, and project updates
- To follow up on submitted lead forms within our standard response timeframe
- To send you relevant educational content about solar energy and tariff information
5.3 To operate our business
- To calculate travel costs and assign the nearest OGE team member to your enquiry
- To score and prioritise leads within our CRM system (GoHighLevel)
- To generate proposals using our automated proposal system
- To create invoices and process payments via Xero
- To comply with legal and regulatory obligations
5.4 For marketing purposes
- To show you relevant advertising on Facebook and Instagram based on your interests and location
- To retarget you with follow-up advertising if you have previously engaged with our content
- To build lookalike audiences on advertising platforms to reach similar potential clients
We will always obtain your consent before sending direct marketing communications where required by law.
6. Lawful Basis for Processing
- Consent — where you have submitted a lead form or contacted us voluntarily
- Contractual necessity — where processing is required to fulfil a contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract
- Legitimate interest — where processing is necessary for our legitimate business interests, including responding to enquiries and following up on submitted assessments, provided this does not override your rights
- Legal obligation — where we are required by law to process your information
7. How We Store and Protect Your Information
Your personal information is stored in the following systems:
- GoHighLevel CRM — our primary client relationship management system, hosted on secure cloud infrastructure
- Xero — our accounting platform for financial records and invoicing
- Google Sheets — for live pricing data (no personal client information stored here)
- GitHub — for proposal documents (anonymised or with client consent)
- Hetzner VPS — our self-hosted automation server, secured with SSL encryption
We implement the following security measures to protect your personal information:
- SSL/TLS encryption on all web-based systems
- Password-protected access to all CRM and operational systems
- Role-based access controls limiting staff access to information relevant to their function
- Regular security reviews of our technology infrastructure
Despite our best efforts, no method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure. If we become aware of a data breach that poses a risk to your rights, we will notify you and the Information Regulator as required by POPIA.
8. How Long We Keep Your Information
- Lead enquiries that do not proceed to a proposal: 12 months from last contact
- Active client records: for the duration of the business relationship plus 5 years
- Completed installation records: 10 years (for warranty and compliance purposes)
- Financial records: 5 years as required by the Companies Act and SARS
- Marketing engagement records: 24 months from last engagement
After the applicable retention period, personal information will be securely deleted or anonymised.
9. Who We Share Your Information With
We do not sell your personal information to third parties. We may share your information with:
9.1 Service providers
- GoHighLevel (CRM provider) — for lead and client management
- Xero (accounting software) — for financial processing
- Meta Platforms (Facebook/Instagram) — for advertising and lead form processing, subject to Meta's privacy policy
- Hetzner (VPS hosting) — for our automation infrastructure
- Anthropic (Claude AI) — for proposal generation and internal AI assistance
- Google (Drive, Sheets) — for operational data storage
9.2 Professional advisors
- Our external consulting engineer (for technical sign-off on designs)
- Legal and financial advisors where required
9.3 Legal requirements
We may disclose personal information if required to do so by law, court order, or regulatory authority, including NERSA and municipal electricity authorities in connection with grid-tie applications.
10. Your Rights Under POPIA
- Access — request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
- Correction — request that we correct inaccurate or incomplete information
- Deletion — request that we delete your personal information, subject to our legal retention obligations
- Objection — object to the processing of your personal information for direct marketing purposes
- Withdrawal of consent — withdraw consent to processing at any time, where processing is based on consent
- Complaint — lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator if you believe your rights have been violated
To exercise any of these rights, please contact our Information Officer using the details below. We will respond within 30 days of receiving your request.
11. Cookies and Website Tracking
Our websites use cookies and similar tracking technologies for the following purposes:
- Analytics — to understand how visitors use our websites (via Google Analytics)
- Advertising — to measure the effectiveness of our Facebook and Google advertising campaigns (via Meta Pixel and Google Tag)
- Functionality — to remember your preferences and improve your experience
You can control cookie settings through your browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of our websites.
By using our websites, you consent to the use of cookies as described in this policy.
12. Direct Marketing
We may send you information about our products, services, and energy-related content where you have:
- Submitted a lead form or enquiry to us, or
- Provided explicit consent to receive marketing communications
You have the right to opt out of direct marketing communications at any time by:
- Clicking the unsubscribe link in any email we send you
- Sending an email to admin@offgridengineering.co.za with the subject line "Unsubscribe"
- Sending a WhatsApp message to +27 63 671 1399 requesting removal from our contact list
We will process all opt-out requests within 5 business days.
13. The Information Regulator
You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa if you believe we have processed your personal information in violation of POPIA.
Information Regulator (South Africa)
Website: www.justice.gov.za/inforeg
Email: inforeg@justice.gov.za
Address: JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001
14. Our Information Officer
OGE has appointed the following person as Information Officer responsible for ensuring compliance with POPIA:
David Botha — Information Officer
Title: CEO and Director
Email: david@offgridengineering.co.za
Phone: 083 555 7900
Address: 7 Jannie De Waal Avenue, Estcourt, KwaZulu-Natal, 3310
For all privacy-related enquiries, requests to access or correct your information, or complaints, please contact our Information Officer directly.
15. Updates to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our business practices, technology, or legal requirements. The most current version will always be published on our website at offgridengineering.co.za/privacy-policy.
Material changes will be communicated to existing clients via email. Your continued engagement with OGE after any change constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
Off Grid Engineering (Pty) Ltd | Registration 2021/523737/07 | VAT 4670305681
offgridengineering.co.za | solarforfarms.co.za | admin@offgridengineering.co.za