Electricity - what is the self-sufficient alternatives?

[King Rat]

I think we all saw what ESKOM is planning in terms of rate-hikes and I think this will affect us all in a very severe way. What I would like to know is: what are the ideas out there on making ourselves self-sufficient i.e. solar panels, mini wind mills etc. in terms of residential living and making it sustainable – i.e. not generators. I just get the feeling that a lot of business out there selling alternatives is out to make a quick buck out of unsuspecting and naive customers like me. But I feel, like the guys with the hydrogen from water ideas on the engines, I need to start thinking on a way ahead to make me less reliant on government electricity. I’m not expecting it to be cheap, those days are over.
To ask nicely from my side: Please don’t make this a gripe session about ESKOM.

[CasKru]

I am contemplating installing a solar Geyser system. The cheapest quote thus far was 16K and the worst 33K.

Another option is to change you stove and water heater to LPG. Little unsightly when it comes to the water heater

[OOOOMS]

Hi Coenrad, as you say 'how can we make ourselves self-sufficient?

I have been looking into this for quite some time and my first project now being tested:

Lighting: Obviously, I have changed all my lights to Energy Savers, but am now taking it a step further.

12 Volt LED Downlights running off a small battery per room, charged via a solar panel. I am still testing my existing equipment and if successful will be converting the whole house.

This may only be a small portion of the bill and relatively cheap, however I must start some where.....

Stove, was replaced by a full gas hob and oven. The avearge cost ove 7 months has been R33.00 per month. Normal usage by OOOODS, baking etc. (reminds me, when are we getting another chocolate cake? Mom....)

Will add some more idea's later.

[Mr_B]

I guess a good start would be a solar elec/radiator panel powered geyser, I heard someone saying the other day that the heating of water contributes to about 65-70% of your electricty bill... I'm not sure how accurate this is but I intend to do some research... I believe Eskom offers a rebate of some sort... another power sucker is the home heating/cooling... instead of fitting an aircon, I fitted a whirly bird extractor to my roof... in summer it extracts the hot air out of the cieling cavity, so releasing the heated air and keeps the house much cooler... to aid this cooling effect I had eco-insulation put in the cieling, this too helps keeping the house warmer in winter, cooler in summer. I have installed a small trap door below the whirly bird, so that I can stop the flow of air out the cieling cavity in winter... so keeping the house warm.

Cas my whirly bird is bit unsightly... but hey it cost just about nothing... and works really well in windy Cape Town!

mr b

[CasKru]

Cas my whirly bird is bit unsightly... but hey it cost just about nothing... and works really well in windy Cape Town!

mr b

I installed one of these on a Granny flat I have (the back wall is on the border so there is no windows for ventilation) and it made a huge difference. Did modify it a bit to have a trap door in front of it which get closed in winter to keep the heat in.

[Mud Dog]

The biggest energy sucker by far is the geyser, and this should be the first line of action. One does'nt want end up with a situation that you run out of hot water mid-shower or your house guest has to have a cold bath etc. so wether we like it or not, without a huge capital outlay, our geysers will never be totally independant of council power, but we can assist them effectively at far more reasonable costs. The first thing is to fit a 'geyser blanket' which improves heat retension and to insulate / lag all the hot water feeds right from the geyser. You can make your own geyser blanket with suitable insulative material (I used "Isotherm"). The next step would be to have solar assisted heating. If you still make use of the old style combination geyser (with header tank and ball valve) it's much easier and cheaper to achieve, since you can utilise the existing geyser. If you're running an in-line pressure geyser, for any reasonable degree of efficiency, ideally you would have to replace this with a solar geyser. Then of course there's the solar panel itself, and these are pricey. One could make your own without too much difficulty, but I'm not sure how much of a saving you would achieve by doing so. The panel needs to be fitted at least 650mm lower than the bottom of the geyser, and this is something that's not always easy to achieve. Alternatively one has to go for the production unit which has it's own tank. In combination with a solar assist, it's wise to fit a timer to your geyser so that it relies purely on solar to heat it during the day and then electricity to raise the temp on a cold day and to maintain the required temp during the night. I believe it to be of no real consequence to switch off the geyser at night after everyone has showered and then on again early morning, if the geyser and pipes are insulated. For a relatively small cost in the geyser area one can already start making meaningful savings.

The next area is all heating elements like stoves, kettles, irons, space heaters, toasters etc. A gas hob would be the first thing to tackle since the stove is the biggest sucker of energy in this category. The oven is as well but it's generally not used as much and would be the second line of attack. At the moment with the current cost of LPG, gas is a viable alternative since it's also very efficient, heat is immediate (no warming up period, no colling down period), less energy is wasted. Don't boil a full kettle every time you want to make tea or coffee .... boil what you need ... the kettle will also last longer. Heaters in winter are somewhat of a luxury in our temperate climate, and we can survive without them, but of course we all like our creature comforts, so if you must use a heater, make use of the oil filled ones, and then use it to warm the room up and switch off when going to bed. Invest in a decent goose down duvet or cashmere type blanket that are good insulators, and you won't be shivering.

Then there's the fridges. Refrigeration is energy hungry, so keep your fridge organised so that you don't stand there with the door open while you search. Open as little as possible, and even your food preparation can be organised / streamlined to keep it from being opened unneccesarily.

Of course energy saving lamps and flourescent fittings help with keeping consumption down. Incandescent bulbs are thirsty, and so are downlighters, unless you're running them off a 12v battery system that is being charged by electrical solar panels and or wind turbines.

It's within each individual's power to cut your usage by half, if not altogether.

[stephanroos]

Hey Guys

We have also looked at the same issues the past few years and came with a brilliant answer. Solar Powered Geysers and Lights. With the modern technology, you can almost run your entire house from solar energy. We are building our own systems with great success and minimal maintenance. Because we import our parts directly and assemble it locally, the cost is reduced dramatically.

Please feel free to ask me if you guys have any questions on solar energy. It's by far the best way to cut on your eskom bill. They are talking on a increase of 150% over 3 years.... Thats insane! A normal bill of R 1200 p/m will end up being R 3000!

Regards
Stephan

[dalkill]

I was thinking of solar geyser, but how long must you save in order to recoup the money.

I was thinking of another alternative.
Somewhere I read that a 15 yr old boys managed to run a lawnmower on a hydrogen gasifier. Not sure how much truth there is in this, but if it is, could you not run a generator on HHO, and run the bigger items like geyser off that? - just a thought.

another alternative is methane. YES - the all powerful fart - "warms the blankets, and suffocates the fleas" :D
But it's an excelent source of energy. In india, they run they sewerage into some sort of septic tank, and use the methane released to cook with. On demand usage. No problem with compression of methane as this is very difficult.

Oooms, I'm glad to see such positive figures on the LPG gas stove and hob. I did some research into it, and high cost of LPG and gas stove put me off. Talked to my skoonsister about her usage, but she said it was about the same, but I'm not sure if she really looked at the numbers.
Government said way back in Mar 2008, when petrol hit R10/lt, that they want to regulate the price of LPG to +-R10/kg. And as is the norm we still waiting. I have send the Dept of Minirals and Energy (chief dir Mr Muzi W Mkhize in particular) a few reminders. First it was said end if 2008, then middle 2009... now they not replying to me anymore - I wonder why
So to my calc the regulation of LPG should be round about R7 / kg, which would make LPG usage much more attractive.

Solar panels would be a good option if also cheaper. I heard on the wireless a while ago that a professor at the Univ of Pretoria I think, invented a solar panel, cheaper and more efficient. haven't heard any more on that - who killed the electric car comes to mind.

Speaking of electric car , I was investigating this as well. A guy in Australia (although we hate them, they do alot for alternative , green energy) build his own electric car for about R70K, incl purchase of 1991 ford capri of about R14K - http://www.evcapri.com/
In this video, the one oke was converting a Mitsubishi bakkie to electric. maybe and electric lux, charged by solar panels

Oh yes as last note - yes I'm passionate about alternative energies , and sticking it to the monopolies - I wrote an email to Optimal Energy, the creators of Joule - SA first electric car, condeming their price tag of R200K for this car, batteries not included (R1500 / month lease on batteries ) - and yep you guessed it, no reply.

[Piesang]

Kan 'n mens jou yskaste laat oorskakel na 12v?

'n Man moet ook ingedagte hou ons betaal vir watt nie vir volt nie, so as jy na 12v toe oorskakel moet jou oorsprong self voorsienend wees.

[Mr_B]

About 2 years ago I heard about a SA Prof, that had invented a new cost effective way to produce PV panels... then it all went silent... on the radio this week they announced that Prof Vivian Alberts, of University of Johannesburg (RAU), had developed a new manufacturing process for CIGSS thin-film PV cells and that this tech is in production at Johanna Solar in Germany, and that a factory is presently being built in Paarl to produce the panels locally... hopefully to the benefit of all South Africans!

mr b

[dalkill]

I don't know why the freaking government does not invest in sustainable energy research more, like the more cost effective panels.
Instead the encouraging their cash cow eskom to build more nuclear power plants for uranium, which , according to DME spokesperson, is only about 40 yrs supply left on earth !!

Sorry King Rat, I know you said no Eksom bashing, but I get so in the moer in. I'm really passionate about alternative sustainable energy.

[Senyetse]

The problem with most of the solutions/suggestions is that it is going to cost you a lot of money, which many at the moment do not have. Instead of doing that why not take a step back in time? How did our oumas and oupas cope when there were no fridges and geysers etc? Maybe we should look or find out how they did it? There may be some practical alternatives one could apply.

Maybe its time to get back to the basics again?

[Werner]

Have a look at this site.

http://www.solarlifestyle.co.za/Index.htm

Their "new" system is currently at SABS for approval.

I'm just waiting for them to market this "new" model (hopefully before Jan next year) and then will look into this fore sure.

[Buff]

Sometimes we overlook the roll that our local munic plays in this fiasco. Take the time to read this. I'm not bashing anyone, just trying to put things into perspective.

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) indicated to Engineering News last week that it was not in a position to draft new guidelines for the country’s municipalities directing them to pass on only justifiable electricity-price increases from the recently approved Eskom increase, which came into force as from July 1.

However, the regulator agreed that it would be “unfair” for large local authorities to add the full 31,3% increase to the power that they bought from Eskom, but sold on at a substantial premium.

The issue was canvassed with this publication by Savcio Holdings CEO Robert Spoon, who argued that, if municipalities were directed to limit their power-rate increases to the “absolute” increase (in cents-a-kilowatt-hour terms) granted to the national utility last week, the overall rise would be limited to around 10% for municipal customers.

Accurate numbers are difficult to secure, but, assuming that Eskom charged large municipal customers 20c/kWh, and that these municipalities then sold that power on to households at 60c/kWh, Spoon calculated a “gross profit” of 40c/kWh. With the 31,3% increase sanctioned, Eskom’s charge to such municipalities would rise by about 6c/kWh, which is what Spoon argued should be passed through to end-users.

It is expected, however, that many municipalities could pass on the full percentage increase received by Eskom, which, under the theoretical example articulated, will translate into a 26c/kWh increase and a gross profit of around 52c/kWh.

Nersa’s regulator member responsible for electricity generation, Thembani Bukula, agreed that Spoon’s argument was “valid”. But he said that the regulator would only be in a position to “claw back the additional funds from the municipalities next year”. The reason was Eskom’s late application, which had left Nersa unable to provide the munici- palities with the appropriate guidelines beyond what had been applied for by the utility.

But, surely, even if Nersa cannot put out an official guideline, the strongest possible signal should still be sent to local authorities, calling on them not to abuse this pricing power. Failure to moderate theses price increases would have consequences for the economy as a whole and for its inflation outlook.

Edited by: Terence Creamer

[dalkill]

The problem with most of the solutions/suggestions is that it is going to cost you a lot of money, which many at the moment do not have. Instead of doing that why not take a step back in time? How did our oumas and oupas cope when there were no fridges and geysers etc? Maybe we should look or find out how they did it? There may be some practical alternatives one could apply.

Maybe its time to get back to the basics again?

I'm with you on this one. One of these days when oil runs out, we all going to go horseback again.
But for now, we have become accustomed to the creature comforts of home.
DOn't know why we can't do it longer term. Wehn we all go camping, we do without eskom - well we use to, now even the camping sites have power - which I'm the first to admit is huge bonus :D

[Joshua]

Hey Guys

We have also looked at the same issues the past few years and came with a brilliant answer. Solar Powered Geysers and Lights. With the modern technology, you can almost run your entire house from solar energy. We are building our own systems with great success and minimal maintenance. Because we import our parts directly and assemble it locally, the cost is reduced dramatically.

Please feel free to ask me if you guys have any questions on solar energy. It's by far the best way to cut on your eskom bill. They are talking on a increase of 150% over 3 years.... Thats insane! A normal bill of R 1200 p/m will end up being R 3000!

Regards
Stephan

Hi Stephan, I gather that you guys make these systems?
How about some prices/ideas/pics ?
Where can we get more info, eg website etc ?

[Hannes.S]

Hi Christo

Check out the website. www.groupxtreme.co.za
you'll find all the info there.

Regards
Hannes

[pietpetoors]

Have you heard of an earth battery before:
See: http://science.howstuffworks.com/earth/ ... /printable

[stephanroos]

Hey Guys

Christo - I will post some usefull info and some pics.

Solar Energy can be used for almost any purpose. We can even built a system that can run most of your house... However, the cost is always an issue. When thinking to convert, maybe start small (Lights, Geyser etc) and then built your system over a period to meet your needs. Our systems are expandable. You can start small and just add-on.

Contact me for any questions. I will gladly assist!

Regards
Stephan.

[0000DS]

Hi Stephan, nice website.........now updated
www.groupxtreme.co.za

[stephanroos]

Thanx Danelle! We are still busy to finalize the "end product".....

Just to answer one other question. Piesang: Yes you can. We do Solar Powered Fridges as well. One can even replace your pool pumps with solar pool pumps.

If you look in and around your house, the things that uses the most electricity are: geyser, stove, anything with a compressor (fridges, aircons etc) pool pumps, borehole pumps and television sets.

If you can switch those things to gas/solar you will definitely safe a big deal on electricity!

Regards
Stephan

[stephanroos]

Your guide to solar.

Solar is the new buzzword, but what does it all mean

The sun supplies earth with heat and light. Anything referring to the sun is called SOLAR. Both heat and light are solar energy sources.

The heat energy is called solar thermal.

The light energy is also called solar PV or photovoltaic.

For all practical purposes you cannot mix the two.

You cannot use solar heat to make electricity.

You cannot use solar light to generate heat.

Solar Thermal – this is heating geysers with solar heat.
The basic principles are :
The more people using hot water, the more storage you need = bigger geyser. We average 50 litres of hot water storage per adult per day.
The bigger the geyser, the bigger the heating panel needed to heat the water.
The closer the panel to the geyser, the greater the efficiency of the entire system
The fewer components needed, the cheaper the system.
We provide several systems for private houses.
They range from R4000 to over R20 000.
In order of increasing cost they are:

1. Low pressure one piece systems with the system placed as high as possible on your roof. This is especially applicable to low income houses where no geyser has ever been installed. (Low pressure system)


1. High pressure two piece systems with the heating panel and a special solar geyser both being outside either on a pitched roof or on a stand on a flat or very slightly sloping roof. (Close coupled external system) Available in 150 litres – 300 litres


Flat roof stand with a close coupled external system – 150 litres


Close coupled external system on a pitched roof - 200 litres


Close coupled external system on a pitched roof – 150 litres.
1. High pressure two piece system with the heating panel outside on the pitched roof, and the special solar geyser being inside the roof on a base above the top of the heating panel. (Split thermosiphon system) Available in 150 litres – 300 litres


In this system, the roof is steep enough to have the geyser inside the roof above the heating panel. 200 litres geyser inside the roof.
1. High pressure two piece system with the heating panel outside on the pitched roof, and the special solar geyser or converted regular geyser being inside the roof. The water is pumped from the geyser through the heating panel and back into the geyser. An intelligent pump controller turns the pump on when the water heating panel is hotter than the geyser water, and turns it off when the panel is no longer hotter than the water inside the geyser. (Split pumped system) Available in 150 litres – 300 litres

In this system the geyser is a long way from the heating panel, so a pump is required. The copper piping is well insulated. 200 litre geyser inside the roof.

EFFICIENCY
Ironically the efficiency is also in the same order with the most affordable system being the most efficient. However there are different advantages and drawbacks associated with each type of system. Generally the drawbacks are highlighted as the household income increases. The richer you are, the fussier you can afford to be!
Advantages –
1. Low pressure. The heating panel links into the geyser for maximum efficiency. The system is immediately above the point of use, so there are minimal losses. It is possible to use lower pressure ( cheaper) plumbing fittings and piping. Any problems from a leak will not result in damage inside the house.
2. Close coupled external system. The geyser and heating panel are very close to each other, so the system is efficient in gaining heat.
3. Split thermosiphon system. The geyser is hidden from view. No pumps or controllers are needed.
4. Split pumped system. The geyser can remain where it is. It is possible to convert some regular geysers to solar geysers. Some pump controllers include geyser element timers. The piping between the heating panel and geyser is thinner (cheaper) than for thermosiphon systems.
Drawbacks –
1. Low pressure. The flowrate through the pipes and taps is limited by the height of the geyser on the roof above the taps. It will be slower than water supplied by municipalities. It is best used when taps to the bath or basin are separate. Care must be taken to balance the pressure to showers and mixers. Mixers and showerheads if used cannot have small holes as this restricts the water flow and may result in poor water flow. The roof angle and direction are critical to the efficiency of the system. Any roof that is not north east to north west facing will either need a special frame built for it at greater cost, or will lose efficiency. Low pressure external systems are not well known in South Africa, so a specialist plumber may be required.
2. Close coupled external system. The geyser insulation is critical. The best insulated geysers provide the best systems. Unfortunately the standards in South Africa are not stringent and no manufacturers are prepared to advertise their real losses to differentiate their geysers from their oppositions. This leads people to choose geysers purely on price. Externally fitted geysers need better sealed electrical connection points to prevent rain getting into them (called IPX4) that are more expensive. You cannot add a geyser blanket to an external geyser.
3. Split thermosiphon system. The piping from the heating panel to the geyser needs to be 22mm and well insulated. The shallower the roof pitch, the longer the pipe length will be and the less efficient the complete system. Longer pipe lengths cost more and reduce the efficiency of the system. In most cases you will need to raise the geyser above the ceiling onto a special wooden base to get good water flow between the heating panel and the geyser.
4. Split pumped system. You need an electric pump and a pump controller to get maximum efficiency. The pumps and controllers are relatively expensive compared with unpumped systems. The electrical components have a shorter expected lifespan than the rest of the system.

Hope you find this helpfull!

Regards
Stephan.

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