Ask a Zimbabwean for tips on power cuts

w1z4rd

w1z4rd

Karmic Sangoma
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First rule for survival: get a solar panel on the roof, which is connected to an especially large car battery in your house, which is then attached to an inverter, which in turn has a switch that lights up the world.

This system keeps a TV, DSTV encoder, DVD player, mobile and laptop chargers going. And it costs nothing to run. The bigger the battery, the more lights. (Ditch desktop computers today.) It doesn't do fridges (more about fridges later) and it doesn't do electric stoves.

Go for gas. Mozambique has 300 years of gas, and the ANC government - even though it chose to do the arms deal instead of electricity - did put in a pipeline for gas from Mozambique.
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http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20080120082729711C936696

Some useful information in there.
 
I wonder how much these solar panel kits go for, and how many would be required to eventually run the whole house.

If you buy a kit to run the basics, can you not add more panels and more batteries at a later stage (say a year or two later) so you can become totally independent of the power grid?
 
w1z4rd said:
I wonder how much these solar panel kits go for, and how many would be required to eventually run the whole house.

If you buy a kit to run the basics, can you not add more panels and more batteries at a later stage (say a year or two later) so you can become totally independent of the power grid?
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Huge money.
 
w1z4rd said:
I wonder how much these solar panel kits go for, and how many would be required to eventually run the whole house.

If you buy a kit to run the basics, can you not add more panels and more batteries at a later stage (say a year or two later) so you can become totally independent of the power grid?
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Goto http://www.bushpower.co.za/

Shop around with the above items
ie Solar Panel -> Solar Charger -> 110aH battery (Whew heavy price) ->
Inverter -> 220 v
The size of the inverter (1000 watt) will influence the solar panel. solar charger and then the battery.
It all depends on what you want to run some lights (12v or 220v)
look at the Phocos Fluorescent lamps.

I know Omnisolar in George will do some calculations on the size of the solar panel, and how long do you want to provide power for - Speak to Thys (044)884-1514

Connect a multimeter in series to calculate your amperage in order to calculate the
approx size for your inverter (not sure what factor multiply)

Power (in watts) = Volts x Amps
 
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Busy re-doing an old Eco page (New World Days) one good idea for a wind power was to stick a prop on a alternator
 
how very very sad that we should even have to be thinking about things like this.
we should just be able to flip a switch for power, not resort to macguyver/solar panel resources.

Stupid country >:(
 
Zim's tips on Power Cuts

Ask a Zimbabwean for tips on power cuts print friendly version

Zimbabwe will recover sooner than South Africa, because our population is in Hillbrow

What an incredible fuss you South Africans make about a few power cuts. I happened to lie down next to my battery-operated satellite radio for a nap this week after the season's only two hours of summer whacked me out. I heard the likeable David O'Sullivan sounding unlikeable. Okay. He was in a rage, so angry he sounded as though he might burst an artery, or the membrane holding his brain in place. About Eskom. I couldn't believe my ears. As far as I can remember, in this past week there were only about six cuts, and none longer than five hours. Same thing at the pharmacy: moan, moan, moan. Then it struck me - for the first time in my life I had really useful knowledge. I do know about electricity cuts and what to do about them. I know about boilers, paraffin fridges, wicks and lighting the lamps by pumping them hard at 5.30pm.

Please, South African householders, unless you live on more than an acre, don't get a generator. There will be murder in the streets of Parkhurst, the Berea in Durban and Obs in Cape Town if home owners on tiny bits of land all have generators farting rhythmically through long days and dark nights. Even small generators use 1 litre of diesel per hour. And they get stolen easily unless cemented in and you need monster ones to do fridges and stoves. Leave generators to Raymond Ackerman and his ilk. First rule for survival: get a solar panel on the roof, which is connected to an especially large car battery in your house, which is then attached to an inverter, which in turn has a switch that lights up the world. This system keeps a TV, DSTV encoder, DVD player, mobile and laptop chargers going. And it costs nothing to run. The bigger the battery, the more lights. (Ditch desktop computers today.) It doesn't do fridges (more about fridges later) and it doesn't do electric stoves.

Go for gas. Mozambique has 300 years of gas, and the ANC government - even though it chose to do the arms deal instead of electricity - did put in a pipeline for gas from Mozambique. If you live in the older suburbs of Johannesburg phone up the angels (seriously) at eGoli Gas and they will look on the map to see if you have a gas pipe in your street. If you have, then get connected. Gas geysers also work at a fraction of the cost of electricity if you don't go for solar-heated water. Refrigerators are another thing altogether. If you keep the doors shut, a tall one will keep food from going off during a power cut of about 30 hours. A deep freeze lasts about 2,5 days if you don't open it. Longer than that and the food goes off. After all, you can shop daily in South Africa. Raymond Ackerman is going to keep the generators running.

Most Zimbabwe-owned supermarkets shut down during power cuts. Only foreign-connected ones such as Spar have generators, or those owned by Zanu PF chefs (political elite), as they get cheap fuel. You must conserve power. You have a chance to do this because you still do have commerce and industry. We lost our industry over the past few years, so that sector can't really help much. We have more or less given up mining. Except, except, and think about this: your mining houses can buy power with foreign currency directly from Cahora Bassa and pay in US dollars, as they are doing in Zimbabwe now. It is a bit more expensive than Eskom, but it keeps the platinum pouring out. We also don't have any robots left in our streets, and little traffic, so we don't have the kind of traffic jams I saw along Jan Smuts Avenue in Jo'burg on Thursday during a power cut.

We don't kill each other in fuel queues, and we don't have road rage as our roads are mostly gone. Nor do we kill each other in banks, even when there is no money there, or in supermarkets. Well, only very, very occasionally, and only once, over sugar and that was in Bulawayo, which is very far from town. So bear up, improvise and go get the solar, inverter, battery alternatives, and gas. And you will all survive until you have enough new power sources within eight years, so I hear, and you are not going to be nearly as short of foreign currency as Zim, so can import some power. But Zimbabwe will recover sooner than South Africa, because our population is in Hillbrow
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Interesting read :D

Source
 
What an incredible fuss you South Africans make about a few power cuts
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Hehe.
Unlike Zim though, 'we' have an economy to look after.
 
...generators farting rhythmically through...
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:D:D:D:D

But Zimbabwe will recover sooner than South Africa, because our population is in Hillbrow
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hehehehe :D

But he makes a point - solar power is the way to go.

Will have to look at a proper fridge then.
 
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Here's my tip - keep your beer in the vegetable crisper - cold air sinks to the bottom so it will stay colder longer (and for extended outages you can fill it with ice). :D
 
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