What are you doing to combat load shedding in your household?

[biometrics]

http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthr...wer-Thread?p=13873457&viewfull=1#post13873457

 

[maumau]

http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthr...wer-Thread?p=13873457&viewfull=1#post13873457

Do you have car, will travel?

 

[biometrics]

Do you have car, will travel?

Lol no I don't do this kind of thing for a living! I got my gear from solardome.co.za.

 

[Nokkie]

Just asking: Is there any danger in using Gas? I'm always scared when it is suggested, at one time a gas-tank we were using couldn't be closed, so we took it outside to release the gas safely.

Generally gas should be fitted outside your home in it's own store area that has a locked gate. But its better to get legal advice from someone that actually knows how to install gas canisters

 

[Hemi300c]

I've removed my pool pump and turned the pool into a natural habitat for wildlife.

Aaaah a fire pool.

Solar HP geyser
Gas Hob and Gas water in kitchen area (48kg bottle)
Solar lights 3 x 3watt in 2 used bedrooms and one in living area
Gas heater when very cold
Inverter/UPS for PC, laptop, Alarm and CCTV - lasts 8 hours

Busy wanting to do solar inverter/UPS for TV and DSTV and outside LED lights (4.5watt x 4).

 

[Dan C]

2x 10w rechargeable flood lights
1x 30w rechargeable flood light
2x rechargeable light bulbs ( for bathrooms)
1x inverter and 2x batteries for TV and Entertainment
1x UPS for extra LED light and router

and a power bank in case my cellphone dies

 

[Stalker]

Hob = Gas
Water =Solar
Lighting = 12v - changed all lights internal and external to 12V led's running off a deep cycle battery which is charged when power is on.
No DSTV - netflix to ATV and on laptop if necessary during load shedding
Router runs off it's own ups/battery

 

[midnightcaller]

For short periods:

Cooking and heating food : gas stove

Light : candles and torches

Cellphone : power bank

TV and Internet : don't care

If things really go south : got a genny with some extension cords.

 

[Necropolis]

Just asking: Is there any danger in using Gas? I'm always scared when it is suggested, at one time a gas-tank we were using couldn't be closed, so we took it outside to release the gas safely.

It is widely used so I would say it is safe.

Just have it installed by someone that is certified to do so and you will be fine.

I am strongly considering splashing out on a gas hob and water heater.

Should take a big chunk out of my monthly power bill.

 

[grok]

Generally gas should be fitted outside your home in it's own store area that has a locked gate. But its better to get legal advice from someone that actually knows how to install gas canisters

For single use applications like hobs they do a single bottle in-cupboard installation too. Fully legal with certain provisions, you get a soc for them too.

 

[Sinbad]

Pondering getting involved in starting up a community initiative to get Egoli gas to extend their network to us.

 

[Hemps]

Solar geyser
Cadac gas cooker
Macbook with usb modem for adsl

 

[PsYTraNc3]

I suppose that would do wonders for the value of your house?!

If I had one and wasn't renting, yeah

 

[Volkvanmyn25]

Small 600watt inverter to power my tv. I have converted all my lamp to run from 12v dc batteries.

 

[Mier]

Replaced 7 regular cfl bulbs with rechargeable led light bulbs strategically around the house. Gas light. Gas hob

Next step will be an inverter and batteries on separate db and then cut over the TV+adsl router, fridge/freezer and light circuits to it.

 

[daveza]

Inverter for PC network and TV streaming.

Havent had to use it since I bought it !!

 

[B@rrels]

Inverter for PC network and TV streaming.

Havent had to use it since I bought it !!

Done similar setup but waiting for Eskom to bring back load shedding to test it.....hope not a waste of outlaying $$$ !!

 

[itareanlnotani]

Load Shedding? What Load Shedding. I'm off grid

I can cut n paste my answer from my blog for my newest build -

http://goingsolar.co.za/2015/08/23/off-grid/


Currently I have 6 x 300W panels, 2 x 220Ah GEL Lead Acid batteries, an FM80, and a Victron 3KW Multiplus running, which gives me about 2KW of usable battery +- in 16 hr period, or in easier to understand terms – about 125W / hr of usage outside of daytime.

This isn’t much!
Obviously the limiting factor here is storage (batteries), as the panels can generate far more than is needed to recharge the batteries or run the house.

What does my house need anyway in terms of power?

Lighting
Lighting is all filament LED, so is minimal
Kitchen = 5 x 3W
Bedroom = 1 x 8W
Bathroom = 3 x 3W

32W inside with all the interior lighting turned on.

Water
Hot water is provided by a solar geyser.
I’m not planning on supplementing the hot water with electricity to heat in winter unless I need to shunt excess power out from the solar panels at the inverter, so thats zero usage.

Fridge
Despite the complete lack of information on most websites regarding power usage for Fridge / Freezers, I’ve decided on this model – Bosch KGW36XL30

It claims to use 227 KWhr/year, so thats about 620W /day (or 25W / hr), which is quite reasonable. A++ rated.

Its R8,000 though, so not cheap!

Useful site for checking KW ratings here – http://www.shopmania.co.za, as most of the manufacturer sites are useless.

Cooking
Gas oven / hob setup, so zero power usage (SMEG 60cm unit).
Electric Kettles, and toasters are a no-no, as they suck too much juice.

Washing
Washing machine should use about 1-2KW a wash, so can only be run daytime when there is sun.

Entertainment
LED TV should be fine, as they’re about 50-70W on average.

Not much headroom for other electronics, but its sufficient for the basics.