Load Shedding - the all in one thread

The other side of the problem is that alternate sources of heat are overpriced.
9KB of LP Gas is sitting at around R150, forcing us to go back to electricity. SERIOUSLY OVERPRICED!

Then there's the problem of people using heaters that consume electricity like there is no tomorrow that are horribly inefficient, while at the same time using the heaters in a location that does not cocoon the heat.
 
stoke said:
The other side of the problem is that alternate sources of heat are overpriced.
9KB of LP Gas is sitting at around R150, forcing us to go back to electricity. SERIOUSLY OVERPRICED!

Then there's the problem of people using heaters that consume electricity like there is no tomorrow that are horribly inefficient, while at the same time using the heaters in a location that does not cocoon the heat.
Click to expand...

There's also a shortage of gas now, had trouble getting some the other day.
 
Reading what you all say... and who says we live in a first world country?
 
ambo said:
Was driving from the East Rand into Jozi last night and I noticed a HUGE number of streetlights that are out.

Now City-Power and its brothers out in the East have been shown to be pretty incompetant recently - but do you think that it is possible that they are actually conciously turning off the streetlights in order to load shed on their networks?

Just a brain fart I had while I was driving - it almost seems to clever for them to have thought of.
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I doubt it. There was something in the news a while ago, about how they leave streetlights on during the day even - the complaint was, obviously, that this uses a lot of electricity. They claimed that they leave them on to show that the cables are live, to prevent the cables being stolen.

On the other hand, they're perfectly capable of doing two contradictory things at the same time, so your theory might be right after all...
 
Why don't they replace all the street light bulbs with CFLs or LEDs? That would save a ***house full of electricity.
 
BlueCollar said:
Why don't they replace all the street light bulbs with CFLs or LEDs? That would save a ***house full of electricity.
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They are already in the process of converting the traffic lights to LED technology and saving loads of power on that. Not sure that the light from LEDs would be of a suitable quality to provide safe lighting conditions on the roads.

I don't know exact figures but I am sure that the efficiency of the lamps used for streetlighting is comparable to the efficiency from CFLs and the streetlamps are also considerably higher density light producers than what is possible with CFL.
 
Energy South Africa

South Africa is on one electricity grid with different sectors - that night the sudden high demand made certain sectors collapse which in turn almost made the complete grid collapse. A few people in key positions were responsible for the load shedding - if they had not made the right calls at the right time, South Africa would have had a national power cut. This is not something new as parts of Brazil and Florida State in the USA have had similar experiences.
 
I dont think street lights are going to save us from darkness. It is domestic heat generating appliances that are the problem - that and the growth...
 
LosRoques said:
South Africa is on one electricity grid with different sectors - that night the sudden high demand made certain sectors collapse which in turn almost made the complete grid collapse. A few people in key positions were responsible for the load shedding - if they had not made the right calls at the right time, South Africa would have had a national power cut. This is not something new as parts of Brazil and Florida State in the USA have had similar experiences.
Click to expand...

Guess we got lucky then, probably won't be so lucky next time though.

LosRoques said:
I dont think street lights are going to save us from darkness. It is domestic heat generating appliances that are the problem - that and the growth...
Click to expand...

The government should really be promoting and providing cheap gas as an alternative then, convince people to switch off electric heaters alone and you'd have a huge drop in consumption.
 
Gas

If you do the energy conversion Gas is still cheaper than electricity for Heating Water and Cooking. Unfortunately gas goes up and down as petrol does as it is a by-product of crude oil.. However Eskom has indicated that in the next 5 years our electricity will double in price per unit to be on par with the rest of the world. If that happens gas is the way to go! Thats if the petrol price does not double in the next 5 years:sick:
 
LosRoques said:
If you do the energy conversion Gas is still cheaper than electricity for Heating Water and Cooking. Unfortunately gas goes up and down as petrol does as it is a by-product of crude oil.. However Eskom has indicated that in the next 5 years our electricity will double in price per unit to be on par with the rest of the world. If that happens gas is the way to go! Thats if the petrol price does not double in the next 5 years:sick:
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What I mean is seeing as the SA government got us into this electricity mess they should subsidise gas or at least zero rate it for tax, VAT and duties. I don't think the oil price is likely to double, quite a few non-Middle East supplies now too that should help, especially ones in Alberta etc. that are viable at current prices even if they weren't at lower ones.
 
Consumers also have a role to play in this by making efficient use of electricity.
 
Energy South Africa

Well this is off their website - "educating" us on how to save:
1 Cover your electric geyser in blankets and use less hot water
2 Try not to use your electric stove. Cook with microwave ovens, toasters and bottle warmers
3 Don’t open your fridge unnecessarily and replace door seals
4 Put your heater on a low setting and sit as close to it as possible
5 Store hot water from the kettle in flasks
And many more useful tips

I think some suggestions are dangerous - not mentioning un-practical.

If they spent the maintenance budget in upgrading and planning we would not have been in this situation - "All this money for maintenance?? But nothing is broken???"
 
BlueCollar said:
Consumers also have a role to play in this by making efficient use of electricity.
Click to expand...

I'm sick of hearing about our role etc, I expect a constant supply of electricity and I'm prepared to pay for it, what should my role be beyond that? Maybe if they cracked down on all the people using illegal connections etc. that'd be a good start?
 
LosRoques said:
Well this is off their website - "educating" us on how to save:
1 Cover your electric geyser in blankets and use less hot water
2 Try not to use your electric stove. Cook with microwave ovens, toasters and bottle warmers
3 Don’t open your fridge unnecessarily and replace door seals
4 Put your heater on a low setting and sit as close to it as possible
5 Store hot water from the kettle in flasks
And many more useful tips

I think some suggestions are dangerous - not mentioning un-practical.

If they spent the maintenance budget in upgrading and planning we would not have been in this situation - "All this money for maintenance?? But nothing is broken???"
Click to expand...

Who actually lives like that? Seriously. Should we also break out the candles and only cook over an open fire? :rolleyes: How exactly can you cook with a toaster anyway???
 
LosRoques said:
Well this is off their website - "educating" us on how to save:
1 Cover your electric geyser in blankets and use less hot water
2 Try not to use your electric stove. Cook with microwave ovens, toasters and bottle warmers
3 Don’t open your fridge unnecessarily and replace door seals
4 Put your heater on a low setting and sit as close to it as possible
5 Store hot water from the kettle in flasks
And many more useful tips

I think some suggestions are dangerous - not mentioning un-practical.

If they spent the maintenance budget in upgrading and planning we would not have been in this situation - "All this money for maintenance?? But nothing is broken???"
Click to expand...


roflmao! I would like to see them try some of these suggestions. How do you cook with a bottle warmer? And does a heater not use the same amount of energy regardless of the setting? I would rather say put it on high for a short while in a room where the heat will be trapped.

Wonder who thought up all these "clever" suggestions?
 
Energy

Well the guy that should have done the planning is somewhere in a first world country earning a market related salary - he left long ago:(
All we can do now is improvise and prepare ourselves for real african conditions;) Gas - Generator - UPS - Solar (if you can afford it) and use Electricity when it's available. See it as an adventure:)
 
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