So I am reducing my house's energy footprint...

J

JungleRumble

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Even without loadshedding, I felt it was the right thing to do to reduce my house's energy footprint.

Firstly, I replaced the hob with a gas hob. Both to save electricity, but also because gas IMO does a better job in cooking food. Then I replaced all 63 halogen downlighters with LEDs. And all the other globes with CFL. Total lighting consuption down from 4KW/hr to 226watts/hr. Then I installed low flow shower heads in all the showers. Also got rid of my electric heaters, family must now put on extra clothes or use a blanket in front of the TV:D.

Also bought one of these DriBuddy type clothes dryers, saving 30% (claimed) when compared to normal dryer.

Now I am considering retrofitting my relatively new geyser with solar panels. I already have a 300 lit geyser, so I just want to add the solar energy part. Anyone tried this yet? Is it worth it?
 
Great tips JR!

Dam... Where did you get LED downlighters and how much?

Solar water heating is the way to go - switching off your geyser doesn't really save you much, and might even damage it in the long run... Was thinking of diverting the pool's solar heating panels to the geyser, but haven't been brave (or drunk) enough to attempt it yet!
 
OSRAM does LED downlighters in 50w (for use with ballast) and 220v versions. A couple of months back they were in the +-R20 -R30 range. Also there is a great company I have dealt with in CPT www.ledlighting.co.za
 
chris2.0 said:
Dam... Where did you get LED downlighters and how much?
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Got them from a place in CT called Multisource Technologies. Contact person Riaan, at 021 552 3394. It comes in both 12v and 22Ov. I used the so-called multi LED, a 1.4watt downlighter with approx 24-something LEDs. Cost was around R55-00 each.

The Osrams mentioned in the post above does not cost R20 -30 anymore, they are now R70-00 odd bucks each. And they are only 0.75watt (around 16 20 small LEDs).

I find that they provide enough light, although not enough if you want to practice a hobby or similar - then you need additional light. But, even so, 1.4watt per downlighter vs a 50watt halogen globe is a big saving, and they stay cool as well.

I am very happy with them, at least now I can stop stressing when the kids leave the lights on...
 
JungleRumble said:
Even without loadshedding, I felt it was the right thing to do to reduce my house's energy footprint.

Firstly, I replaced the hob with a gas hob. Both to save electricity, but also because gas IMO does a better job in cooking food. Then I replaced all 63 halogen downlighters with LEDs. And all the other globes with CFL. Total lighting consuption down from 4KW/hr to 226watts/hr. Then I installed low flow shower heads in all the showers. Also got rid of my electric heaters, family must now put on extra clothes or use a blanket in front of the TV:D.

Also bought one of these DriBuddy type clothes dryers, saving 30% (claimed) when compared to normal dryer.

Now I am considering retrofitting my relatively new geyser with solar panels. I already have a 300 lit geyser, so I just want to add the solar energy part. Anyone tried this yet? Is it worth it?
Click to expand...

Hi JungleRumble

Yes it is worth it to connect your existing geyser to solar collectors. But (always a BUT) a proper solar geyser would be better. BUT begin with your current geyser. When it is time to replace go for a solar geyser.

Think carefully about the type of collectors someone will try to sell.

Make sure the installer knows how to connect a solar collector to the conventional geyser. (A solar geyser have additional cold and hot water connections and the conventional geyser needs to be modified)

Also watch out for costs.

PM me after your supplier gave you a quote AND a drawing of the modification.

And insulate all pipes to and from the collector and from your geyser to the consumer taps.

Well done on reducing your energy needs!

Watch out for the "Supermarket" type of LED's . Not all LED's are manufactured equally. Same for CFL's
 
Thanks for the info on the LED downlighters.

And nicely done with your modifications - it is a huge saving you've made.
 
Paulr said:
Thanks for the info on the LED downlighters.

And nicely done with your modifications - it is a huge saving you've made.
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Thanx guys. We all have to do our bit. PietB, I will PM you as soon as I have the drawing. What I do know is that the supplier will use the Evacuated Tube system - apparently it is more efficient that the Flat Panel system. Can you confirm that?
 
JungleRumble said:
Thanx guys. We all have to do our bit. PietB, I will PM you as soon as I have the drawing. What I do know is that the supplier will use the Evacuated Tube system - apparently it is more efficient that the Flat Panel system. Can you confirm that?
Click to expand...

Hi

Yes the tubes are much more efficient than the flat panels......but in our sunny climate the flat panels also work well and are cheaper than evacuated tubes.

I have a 300L tube system at my house and the water gets HOT I am thinking of removing 50% of the tubes to test the effectiveness of the remaining tubes but I am confidant that the system will work as before.

The tubes were developed for the colder European climate and are really an overkill in SA.

There are evacuated tubes and there are tubes. Some tubes work have water flowing through them. My concerns with them are a) Moving parts that can malfunction and b) the small diameter of the pipes inside the tubes. In some places lime scale will quickly clog the small pipes.

The other tube works via heat transfer through an element. No moving parts and no clogging.

One last thing: If someone tells you their system is better than another system they are talking B..S....! ALL solar collectors (coiled plastic hose, flat panels, tubes) heats up water. The difference is in the effectiveness in heating up the water.

Will look out for your PM
 
Getting a bit OT here, but those Dri Buddies - can you use them to dry clothes that you aren't allowed to tumble dry?
 
pietb said:
Hi

Yes the tubes are much more efficient than the flat panels......but in our sunny climate the flat panels also work well and are cheaper than evacuated tubes.

I have a 300L tube system at my house and the water gets HOT I am thinking of removing 50% of the tubes to test the effectiveness of the remaining tubes but I am confidant that the system will work as before.

The tubes were developed for the colder European climate and are really an overkill in SA.

There are evacuated tubes and there are tubes. Some tubes work have water flowing through them. My concerns with them are a) Moving parts that can malfunction and b) the small diameter of the pipes inside the tubes. In some places lime scale will quickly clog the small pipes.

The other tube works via heat transfer through an element. No moving parts and no clogging.

One last thing: If someone tells you their system is better than another system they are talking B..S....! ALL solar collectors (coiled plastic hose, flat panels, tubes) heats up water. The difference is in the effectiveness in heating up the water.

Will look out for your PM
Click to expand...

Any place we can find more details, pic's, info?
 
CathJ said:
Getting a bit OT here, but those Dri Buddies - can you use them to dry clothes that you aren't allowed to tumble dry?
Click to expand...

Well my second half use them for anything but weight and too much water is a problem. They tend to tilt when overloaded or loaded unbalanced. :D Works fine for quiet a while now. Even chucked out the conventional tumble drier
 
CathJ said:
Getting a bit OT here, but those Dri Buddies - can you use them to dry clothes that you aren't allowed to tumble dry?
Click to expand...

I think so, I had one and it worked ok on everything, damn slow though and it broke in just over a year.
 
JungleRumble said:
Also bought one of these DriBuddy type clothes dryers, saving 30% (claimed) when compared to normal dryer.
Click to expand...

I have my doubts about this claim.

It might use a third of the kWatts of a tumble drier (true - I've checked the specs) but it also takes three times as long to dry the clothes in my experience.

Nett saving = lots of time lost due to longer drying clothing.

From basic thermodynamics, it is unlikely that such a major saving would be possible evaporating water.
 
Gunny said:
If you at home during the day you can if not clothes tend to go missing from the line.
Click to expand...

I've never had clothes stolen off my line. Electric fence FTW. (No it's not ironic... my electric fence uses a lot less power than a tumble dryer).
 
Hi guys.

Thanx PietB, the infi is valuable.

Regarding the clothes dryer - yes, it can dry anything because it does not use the tumbling motion. And yes, it takes long so we a] use the sun (if there is sun in CT in winter...), b] use the buddy, and c] use the standard dryer when required. I find the buddy works well for thinner, well spindried stuff. Wet shoes also dries well. I bought the Checkers Hyper version, called Smart, which costs R299 vs the R599 of the Verimark version.

My a,b and c approach together should affect a saving, compared to just using the tumble drier.
 
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