Big problems at Eskom

RaptorSA said:
My thought for the day:

More and more people are moving into complexes due to crime, economics etc.
As battery prices keep dropping (I'm looking at you Lithium), many will be investing into larger-scale battery backup to offset usage during loadshedding times but they can't go full solar/off-grid (that's literally me at this stage and everyone complex dweller/friend I know is considering doing the same)... as time goes by we're simply offsetting normal usage and compressing it into smaller timescales as people and businesses adapt.

Thus, as time goes by the grid is going to k@k itself each time suburban areas in big cities are switched on again, we're already seeing this in our area, you simply never know if the grid is coming back on when loadshedding ends and I suspect it has something to do with the state of the infrastructure combined with loads of energy being dumped into batteries when the grid comes online.
Just the other day we had 16 hours due to a 4-hour switch-over k@kking itself 1 minute into being turned back on.

Expect things to get way worse in the coming years.
Click to expand...

That's Nigeria 2.0 power grid...
 
RandomGeek said:
Yup...with every second house having its own genny or alternate source. And with that you lose all the efficiencies of centralised supply
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Yeah, even when you consider that people will be using less energy than normal during load-shedding, imagine the combined losses of hundreds of thousands of inverters, chargers etc. etc. constantly converting between AC and DC.
 
RandomGeek said:
Yup...with every second house having its own genny or alternate source. And with that you lose all the efficiencies of centralised supply
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A centralised grid is reaching the limits of its usefulness, given changes in technology:
www.dailymaverick.co.za

Fast-changing electricity landscape calls for robust regulatory reform

SA’s electricity sector faces a perfect storm. Cheap and agile renewable energy, coupled with global divestment from fossil fuel, is fast disrupting legacy technologies and business model paradigms. W…
www.dailymaverick.co.za www.dailymaverick.co.za
 
So looks like Eskom and City Power are relooking at the 4.5 hours of downtime we have here. Probably due to the fact that somedays we can get hit for 9hours which really isn't fair.
 
Gordon_R said:
That's Nigeria 2.0 power grid...
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Tell me about it :confused:
A part of me hopes the crap hits the fan sooner rather than later.
I've been looking long and hard at a way to use our complex roof space better with the intent of being able to use solar panels but it's always a mission to get past the old timer mindset of the typical idiots running a body corporate.

There's also really stupid stuff our complex does, like spending more than a million every few years on repainting when you could've just paint stripped the place and used concrete staining or something, a million spent every few years on energy production would save us millions on the long-run.

It's easy to blame the government, but that doesn't solve jack-sh*t, the average person also need to wake the f**k up and use their heads if they want to survive in this sh*thole (or just get out)

Things like "shared" roof spaces, parking space roofs etc. all need to go solar sooner rather than later, it's quite literally the only way out.

P.S. In most places you even have all the ducting infrastructure previously built-in to accommodate Telkom copper, now we're all fibre-based so those pipes and ducts are perfect for a long 48V PV system copper run etc.
 
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RaptorSA said:
Tell me about it :confused:
A part of me hopes the crap hits the fan sooner rather than later.
I've been looking long and hard at a way to use our complex roof space better with the intent of being able to use solar panels but it's always a mission to get past the old timer mindset of the typical idiots running a body corporate.

There's also really stupid stuff our complex does, like spending more than a million every few years on repainting when you could've just paint stripped the place and used concrete staining or something, a million spent every few years on energy production would save us millions on the long-run.

It's easy to blame the government, but that doesn't solve jack-sh*t, the average person also need to wake the f**k up and use their heads if they want to survive in this sh*thole (or just get out)

Things like "shared" roof spaces, parking space roofs etc. all need to go solar sooner rather than later, it's quite literally the only way out.
Click to expand...
The problem is always getting the initial financial hit approved - people worry more about the costs now than the financial and lifestyle benefits down the line
 
RaptorSA said:
Tell me about it :confused:
A part of me hopes the crap hits the fan sooner rather than later.
I've been looking long and hard at a way to use our complex roof space better with the intent of being able to use solar panels but it's always a mission to get past the old timer mindset of the typical idiots running a body corporate.

There's also really stupid stuff our complex does, like spending more than a million every few years on repainting when you could've just paint stripped the place and used concrete staining or something, a million spent every few years on energy production would save us millions on the long-run.

It's easy to blame the government, but that doesn't solve jack-sh*t, the average person also need to wake the f**k up and use their heads if they want to survive in this sh*thole (or just get out)

Things like "shared" roof spaces, parking space roofs etc. all need to go solar sooner rather than later, it's quite literally the only way out.

P.S. In most places you even have all the ducting infrastructure previously built-in to accommodate Telkom copper, now we're all fibre-based so those pipes and ducts are perfect for a long 48V PV system copper run etc.
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Dude having lived in a complex, trying to get things done was a pain in the rear end. They even built this massive inverter/battery bank for the complexes gate, sure it was a gate that was used often but man they overspent on it.
It could've powered a house, but it was so badly setup the electrician was there often.
 
The_MAC said:
Economies of scale is a long forgotten concept..
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Economies of scale are only justified if the central generator is cheaper than local. Eskom lost that fight with Medupi and Kusile. Now its about chosing the least-worst option, for your particular circumstances.
 
RandomGeek said:
The problem is always getting the initial financial hit approved - people worry more about the costs now than the financial and lifestyle benefits down the line
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Yeah but even that can be handled in a proper phased approach if you're smart about it.
I mean, look at our complex, even if we purely invested a little bit into getting our security fence to be powered off-grid we'd literally save R50K PM.

The main issue is ignorance I think. That, and a massive issue with desperation, greed and corruption from contracting companies etc.
 
RaptorSA said:
Yeah but even that can be handled in a proper phased approach if you're smart about it.
I mean, look at our complex, even if we purely invested a little bit into getting our security fence to be powered off-grid we'd literally save R50K PM.
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Oh yeah that was my suggestion, cause you know the inverter system is so big, we may as well hook the electric fence to it. Which they did do, I was like with it being this big you may as well hook the lights too, which eventually did as well. When we left it was finally being used sort of for things that made sense.
 
RandomGeek said:
The problem is always getting the initial financial hit approved - people worry more about the costs now than the financial and lifestyle benefits down the line
Click to expand...

There's a brand new complex across the road from me. The roof is covered in solar PV panels. What do they use it for? Heating hot water!? Too complicated and expensive to set up inverters and batteries. Place was pitch dark last night during load shedding...
 
Gordon_R said:
There's a brand new complex across the road from me. The roof is covered in solar PV panels. What do they use it for? Heating hot water!? Too complicated and expensive to set up inverters and batteries. Place was pitch dark last night during load shedding...
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Possible they went grid-tied? Cause I know a few malls went grid-tied so power goes off they need to kick in gennies for the stores that pay.
 
Gordon_R said:
There's a brand new complex across the road from me. The roof is covered in solar PV panels. What do they use it for? Heating hot water!? Too complicated and expensive to set up inverters and batteries. Place was pitch dark last night during load shedding...
Click to expand...

Are you serious?
Using PV to heat water?!?!?!
o_O o_O

Jirre my geyser is quite literally the least of my problems during shedding, thing stays warm for ages when power goes out. Hell I don't even run my fridge even though I can, it's just not worth it, the freezer takes ages to warm up.
 
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