How to beat load shedding and become Eskom free

[Kevin Lancaster]

How to beat load shedding and become Eskom free

Solidarity’s electricity self-help guide shows South Africans how to become less reliant on Eskom.

 

[Necuno]

Diesel or petrol generator – R16,000

That's going to work wonders

Perhaps its time to stop making plans and taking a stand.

 

[Arthur]

Hope much for a 6kW system?

 

[animodaemon]

I can read and understand Afrikaans but is there an English version of the .pdf?

 

[IdlePhaedrus]

I think the prices for their grid tied systems are a bit on the high side. I recently installed a 3Kw solar array (12x250w panels), a Fronius grid-tied inverter (http://www.europe-solarshop.com/fronius-ig-plus/fronius-ig-plus-50-v-1.html) and the total cost was R74K, so a 6Kw equivalent shouldn't be more than double.

I didn't think the ROI on 5/6Kw system was worth it, so I concentrated on dropping my daily average consumption first. Last time this year I was on about 31Kwh per day, last month I was at around 12Kwh per day, and I should be able to drop that a little further in time, probably to around 10Kw (well that is the aim anyway).

To do this I installed an A++ energy efficient fridge / freezer from Bosch. A gas hob, and a gas geyser. A gas geyser is not for everyone, but since I use very little hot water and live alone, the R10K install cost (including the unit, also a Bosch) was considerably cheaper than a solar unit. I also replaced all my CFLs with LEDs, and have become much more conscious of switching appliances off at the wall when not in use. Except on rare occasions all heating is now gas / paraffin (believe it or not) and wood fire. This has more than halved my average daily consumption.

The solar array has been running for 22 days, and I am averaging around 9Kwh feed into the grid according to the inverter. I think this is pretty good considering it is the middle of winter, and there have been quite a few cloudy / rainy days in Cape Town. The minimum daily grid feed so far has been 3Kwh, and the maximum has been 12 Kwh.

At a later stage I will swap out the grid tied inverter with a hybrid and attach batteries, but that will not be for another six months at least. Currently my long stay UPS (four deep cycle batteries and 2Kva inverter) which plugs into the wall keeps what I need running during load shedding.

If you decide to go solar get at least three quotes for whatever you do. As an example for my gas installation there was a R12K difference between my cheapest quote and most expensive quote. Seriously!

 

[SilverNodashi]

I don't know who wrote the article, but the prices on just about everything is quoted quite a bit more expensive than what it should be. Seems like a lot of companies enjoy 60-80% markup!

 

[Masataka]

I think the prices for their grid tied systems are a bit on the high side. I recently installed a 3Kw solar array (12x250w panels), a Fronius grid-tied inverter (http://www.europe-solarshop.com/fronius-ig-plus/fronius-ig-plus-50-v-1.html) and the total cost was R74K, so a 6Kw equivalent shouldn't be more than double.

I didn't think the ROI on 5/6Kw system was worth it, so I concentrated on dropping my daily average consumption first. Last time this year I was on about 31Kwh per day, last month I was at around 12Kwh per day, and I should be able to drop that a little further in time, probably to around 10Kw (well that is the aim anyway).

To do this I installed an A++ energy efficient fridge / freezer from Bosch. A gas hob, and a gas geyser. A gas geyser is not for everyone, but since I use very little hot water and live alone, the R10K install cost (including the unit, also a Bosch) was considerably cheaper than a solar unit. I also replaced all my CFLs with LEDs, and have become much more conscious of switching appliances off at the wall when not in use. Except on rare occasions all heating is now gas / paraffin (believe it or not) and wood fire. This has more than halved my average daily consumption.

The solar array has been running for 22 days, and I am averaging around 9Kwh feed into the grid according to the inverter. I think this is pretty good considering it is the middle of winter, and there have been quite a few cloudy / rainy days in Cape Town. The minimum daily grid feed so far has been 3Kwh, and the maximum has been 12 Kwh.

At a later stage I will swap out the grid tied inverter with a hybrid and attach batteries, but that will not be for another six months at least. Currently my long stay UPS (four deep cycle batteries and 2Kva inverter) which plugs into the wall keeps what I need running during load shedding.

If you decide to go solar get at least three quotes for whatever you do. As an example for my gas installation there was a R12K difference between my cheapest quote and most expensive quote. Seriously!

Just to confirm, you're feeding power/credits back into the grid during the day and then using those to run your house for the rest of the day, given that you don't have a battery system?

 

[Fudzy]

Feedback meter? Is that what reassures you that you haven't just wasted a lot of money on keeping your TV on for the two or three hours of loadshedding each day?

 

[Wasabee!]

I have a fan which I have reversed so it spins backwards. It now makes power when it is on.

If anybody is interested I can provide this service to them as well.

 

[IdlePhaedrus]

Just to confirm, you're feeding power/credits back into the grid during the day and then using those to run your house for the rest of the day, given that you don't have a battery system?

That is a bit of a gamble because it depends on what type of meter you have installed, and I don't have sight of mine as it is in a big green box down the road. But, a neighbour down the road's meter goes backwards, so essentially what he puts into the grid is on a 1 to 1 basis on what he pays for one Kwh. He switched his pool off the the other day for a couple of weeks for maintenance and the Eskom came knocking on the door. He will not get paid for what he has put into the grid over and above what he used, so the trick will be to keep the amount used just above the amount put into the grid. And to have the right meter.

I will know for sure what meter I have when I get my next bill. The panels have only been up for 22 days. So, holding thumbs....

 

[Vitamin_Sea]

. He switched his pool off the the other day for a couple of weeks for maintenance and the Eskom came knocking on the door. He will not get paid for what he has put into the grid over and above what he used, so the trick will be to keep the amount used just above the amount put into the grid.

The days until we pay "standing charge" as I paid in LDN is few and around the corner...

EISH! another tax will surface soon.

 

[IdlePhaedrus]

I don't know who wrote the article, but the prices on just about everything is quoted quite a bit more expensive than what it should be. Seems like a lot of companies enjoy 60-80% markup!

Yes, agreed, but if you look at the kragdag web site it is as much of a sales pitch as "public service" and there are suppliers at the weekend event, so there will be money tacked on. At the same time, if you look at comments under the article, there are people getting away with much much cheaper installations. On the face of it these appear to be Chinese imported batteries, panels and inverters.

All my kit is assembled in Europe at the least, some of it is wholly manufactured there, primarily in Germany and Austria. It was also installed by two German blokes, so it is "just so". The installer himself has been doing solar for about thirty years. So, there is a premium on that, but it was still considerably cheaper than what the Solidarity "how to" suggests....

 

[Pakka]

I'm looking to start off with converting my outside lighting to a 12v circuit running from a battery. For now the battery can be charged or bypassed while electricity is on, and kick in during loadshedding. I'd like the lights to run on a timer. Eventually I'd like to add a solar panel to charge the battery with. Can anyone help me with a guide to so this type of setup or give some pointers?

I'm also looking at reducing my geyser's usage by adding an automatic timer and wrapping it in a geyser blanket,though I've heard mixed opinions on the effectiveness of this

 

[IdlePhaedrus]

The days until we pay "standing charge" as I paid in LDN is few and around the corner...

EISH! another tax will surface soon.

This will almost certainly happen here as those who can afford it (who are also those who pay their bills) will likely go off-grid completely or hybrid. In the States there has been been a large push back from the utilities in the last year or two who are not happy that they are losing their revenue stream, slowly but surely. The subsidies there are starting to dry up (we will never get those for PV I don't think) and the rate paid by the large utilities per unit is dropping quite smartly now...

At the same time the cost of PV has decreased substantially in the last few years: http://www.greentechmedia.com/artic...ontinue-to-fall-during-a-record-breaking-2014

In the states is not as big a deal as here as I expect the utilities will always have customers who pay. Here it is a bit of a different story...

 

[IdlePhaedrus]

I'm looking to start off with converting my outside lighting to a 12v circuit running from a battery. For now the battery can be charged or bypassed while electricity is on, and kick in during loadshedding. I'd like the lights to run on a timer. Eventually I'd like to add a solar panel to charge the battery with. Can anyone help me with a guide to so this type of setup or give some pointers?

I'm also looking at reducing my geyser's usage by adding an automatic timer and wrapping it in a geyser blanket,though I've heard mixed opinions on the effectiveness of this

Can't help you with the outside lights as this is not something I have looked into, but can comment on a timer on the geyser. This will depend on your usage habits entirely. I installed a timer about three years ago. It ran the 2kw 150l geyser for 1.5 hours every morning between 5:30 and 7:00 AM, nice and hot for my shower and enough hot water to wash any dishes during the day. In summer it was more efficient than keeping it on full time so saved a bit, but in winter it was probably even stevens as the water cooled down quicker so took more energy to get to temperature.

If you have a family who shower or bath at various times of the day, then it is going to be more tricky, you might save a bit in summer, and would have to have the timer switch on more than once a day, for shorter periods for when it is required.

My geyser is outside on the roof, so never bothered with a blanket, don't think it would have made any difference whatsoever and would probably have been lost to a South Easter, but if your geyser is inside the roof or house I believe it might help, though modern geysers are pretty well insulated already.

PS, since a timer only costs about a R125 rand from your local hardware store, and a blanket is only about R500 you might as well suck it and see...

 

[Geoff.D]

I'm looking to start off with converting my outside lighting to a 12v circuit running from a battery. For now the battery can be charged or bypassed while electricity is on, and kick in during loadshedding. I'd like the lights to run on a timer. Eventually I'd like to add a solar panel to charge the battery with. Can anyone help me with a guide to so this type of setup or give some pointers?

I'm also looking at reducing my geyser's usage by adding an automatic timer and wrapping it in a geyser blanket,though I've heard mixed opinions on the effectiveness of this

I have run my geysers of timers for more than 30 years. With a household of 4, now down to 2, one has to work out the timing sequence to ensure maximum availability of hot water and change the bathing/showering habits of the family. A Geyser blanket does help but only if the geyser is inside a roof or inside the house. What I have found that you must also insulate the hot water pipe leading from the geyser as far as possible. Then also insulate the incoming cold water pipe, as you will be surprised at how much heat is conducted away from the geyser by the pipes.

I took endless measurements before setting the times. You need a different cycle for summer and winter. At the moment with 2 in the home, we have our timer set for 1.5 hours in the morning, and 2 hours at night. In summer, I cut back to 1 hour and 1.5 hours.

I also use an energy control unit, which ensures that the stoves and the geyser are not on at the same time.

Another item to consider, is if you have an older house with pipes in the walls and with the geyser a long way away from say the kitchen is to install a small water heater unit under the kitchen sink. This compensates very well for the fact that the water cools in the pipes and helps save water and ensure water is instantly hot when required. In our case the geyser is in between the 2 bathrooms, and far from the kitchen.

I have forgotten what the savings are exactly, having done it for so long. My next step is to replace the geyser with solar heating. We have plenty of frost in winter so I will not be going for an in line system.