Load Shedding - the all in one thread

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???"
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ok,
from what I hear (and I have no knowledge on this one) - a geyser is pressurised and double walled - there is no proof that geyser blankets work - and note: GEYSER blankets - no, your down duvet will not work! I would even go so far as to say the energy expended in manufacturing and transporting the "blankets" outweighs any potential saving.
#2 is plain stupid - the best said the better.
#3 is valid - same as "replace a washer on a dripping tap"
#4 - yeah - could work. Just not practical - also, quite likely to get sick easier that way.
#5: sure - could work - in fact some people do this anyways. HOWEVER, I cannot see what you are really saving - a kettle probably uses 1kW for 3 minutes. every two hours. Big deal.
 
Syndyre said:
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?
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Your role beyond just paying for electricity is to use it wisely and not waste. At the end of the day, efficient use of electricity will save you money, reduce strain on the grid and reduce your impact on the environment. What's wrong with that exactly?

People who leave the lights/heater/TV on in rooms that are empty; who use incandescent bulbs instead of CFLs etc. and thgen bitch about electricity supply shortages are almost as much to blame as Eskom. I'm not saying Eskom's done nothing wrong, but if every South African electricity consumer reduced their consumption by 10-20%, it would make a huge difference to the stability of our supply.

Furthermore, there are many ways to improve your efficiency that don't mean having to reduce your quality of life or having to mission too much.
 
BlueCollar said:
Your role beyond just paying for electricity is to use it wisely and not waste. At the end of the day, efficient use of electricity will save you money, reduce strain on the grid and reduce your impact on the environment. What's wrong with that exactly?

People who leave the lights/heater/TV on in rooms that are empty; who use incandescent bulbs instead of CFLs etc. and thgen bitch about electricity supply shortages are almost as much to blame as Eskom. I'm not saying Eskom's done nothing wrong, but if every South African electricity consumer reduced their consumption by 10-20%, it would make a huge difference to the stability of our supply.

Furthermore, there are many ways to improve your efficiency that don't mean having to reduce your quality of life or having to mission too much.
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I agree.
I am an electricity-saving fiend. Not so much to "help" Eskom, but because, at the end of the day, its my money!

I get really annoyed with lights left on, heaters on when no one is using them, PCs left on for no reason, TV left on, fridge door left open while someone "looks for what they want", deep freeze left open while being packed, oven left on once cooking is done - sheesh, the list is endless.
All the above is simple waste - by NOT doing the above, we, as a household, save money - the fact that Eskom has less load is secondary. :-)
 
Moederloos said:
I agree.
I am an electricity-saving fiend. Not so much to "help" Eskom, but because, at the end of the day, its my money!

I get really annoyed with lights left on, heaters on when no one is using them, PCs left on for no reason, TV left on, fridge door left open while someone "looks for what they want", deep freeze left open while being packed, oven left on once cooking is done - sheesh, the list is endless.
All the above is simple waste - by NOT doing the above, we, as a household, save money - the fact that Eskom has less load is secondary. :-)
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Precisely.
 
BlueCollar said:
Your role beyond just paying for electricity is to use it wisely and not waste. At the end of the day, efficient use of electricity will save you money, reduce strain on the grid and reduce your impact on the environment. What's wrong with that exactly?

People who leave the lights/heater/TV on in rooms that are empty; who use incandescent bulbs instead of CFLs etc. and thgen bitch about electricity supply shortages are almost as much to blame as Eskom. I'm not saying Eskom's done nothing wrong, but if every South African electricity consumer reduced their consumption by 10-20%, it would make a huge difference to the stability of our supply.

Furthermore, there are many ways to improve your efficiency that don't mean having to reduce your quality of life or having to mission too much.
Click to expand...

Sure but they're not "to blame". I do most of the above anyway, but my point is that electricity's a commodity and as long as people are prepared to pay for it it should be available to them and in the case of a highly regulated, monopolistic environment like SA's its the responsibility of the government to ensure its availability. Obviously it makes sense to use all resources efficiently and not waste, but your argument is a bit like blaming fat people for a food shortage. :D
 
BlueCollar said:
Precisely.
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Quick calc:
We have 5 * 40W downlights in our kitchen = 200W an hour.
In 5 hours, thats 1Kw, or in 20 hours, it would use 4Kw, or R2 a day.
Leaving just the kitchen light on all the time would cost me R60 per month.

300W PC = 8Kw per day = R120 per month.

(My brain feels fuzzy today - feel free to correct the calcs).
 
Syndyre said:
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?
Click to expand...

Efficient use of electricity bah!... as I type this the Freeway lights burn 24/7 and street lights all over Durban are burning. Lead by example maybe....

toady:D
 
Your calculations seem accurate.
I lived on a sailing yacht for 3 years and if there is anyone that saves water and electricity it's me. I drive those around me nuts.
Fact is that we are a few people with a bit of brains that consider these things - there are millions that couldnt give a rat's @ss. Most people stay in flats or townhouses where they pay an average rate shared amongst the tennants and even if one household tries to save, another might forget the hose open before going away for a weekend...
Equipment today is much more energy efficient than what it was 10/20 years ago (fridges etc.) Microwaves save a lot of energy. So we have unknowingly decreased our individual consumption. The number of ppl and users have increased. Fact is: Eksom didnt keep up. They make money out of elec and now they are trying to teach ppl how to save it? The other night when we were in the red they said to switch off unnecessary equipment like TV's. Now how do you watch further to monitor the situation?:p
 
Moederloos said:
Quick calc:
We have 5 * 40W downlights in our kitchen = 200W an hour (or 0.2 kWh).
In 5 hours, thats 1kWh, or in 20 hours, it would use 4kWh, or R2 a day.
Leaving just the kitchen light on all the time would cost me R60 per month.

300W PC = 7.2 kWh = R120 per month.

(My brain feels fuzzy today - feel free to correct the calcs).
Click to expand...

Corrected (I think). Not sure about how much we pay per kWh of electricity atm.
 
To answer some questions about the loadshedding system:

The streetlights are on during the day because of faulty receivers and corrupt data being sent down the mains. Do you honestly think a wire being live will prevent it's theft. All they do is short it out so it trips the circuit breaker and that's the end of it.

I think the main reason is that it would require an upgrade of all the meters. A large portion of JHB is still using the mechanical spinning disk type meter that is not able to differentiate on the usage time. There are new areas that have the electronic meters (generally prepaid users) but i'm not sure if even those meters are capable of time based tarriffs.
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The data is already there, on the mains, they just have to install a ripple-capable kWh meter, which are available and have been for many years. Nope, easier to shove money into pocket than to spend on upgrading all the meters in JHB. Hell they won't even replace the old ripple receivers which are dangerous as they contain radioactive materials. Honestly, how can you expect them to implement multi-tarriffs then?

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
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They're converting the traffic lights to LED to avoid bulb-changes. The bulbs don't last and they're too lazy to replace them so they figure they'll rather put in LED replacements. As for street lighting, they are already more efficient than incandescent bulbs so what is the problem? Street lights are required to meet various SABS specs, and I know this because I install them.
 
Hopefully they'll pass us by for once.
 
Forget about load shedding, where are...

....the bloody traffic cops to help out at Traffic lights when they are down. I remember a few years back when any major traffic light that was faulty had a traffic cop on the scene directing traffic, what has happened to this...:mad:
 
taking bribes and/or sleeping somewhere cozy while waiting for your shift to end VS. boring duty at a busted traffic light...
 
Gru said:
taking bribes and/or sleeping somewhere cozy while waiting for your shift to end VS. boring duty at a busted traffic light...
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:D:D:D:D

Would do the same.

After all, it's not a safe job, you get yobs and roadhogs who ignore you... or try to run you down.
 
I believe manning a road block some 500m from the traffic light... Why actually do some real work when you can get money for pulling over soft targets?

Besides, there is never any traffic in Sandton right?
 
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