Resident has ‘cure for load shedding’

Ferndale resident Kinesh Chetty has designed a product he describes as “the cure for load shedding”. General manager of Maxx-Solar Energy South Africa, Chetty has designed the Be More Independent (BMI) Solar Energy System. The system includes solar panels for a resident’s roof, an inverter which converts the direct current (from the panels) to alternating current for the house, and a battery-run island that simulates an electrical grid that will keep the inverter operating during power outages. The batteries charge during the day (from the solar energy) and theoretically the system can run without any assistance from the City Power grid for up to 10 years, and even longer if you buy more batteries.

But even if you connect the system to the grid, the quantity of energy required from the grid is reduced, and you can save up to 95 per cent on your electricity bills for as long as the system operates, which is said to be up to 25 years when connected to the grid. “Eskom increases strangle the economy,” Chetty says. “We need cheaper energy. Solar energy is the answer.” He adds that his company, which is a subsidiary of Maxx-Solar Energy Germany, does not see itself as competing with Eskom, but as merely helping take the load off the economy by diversifying the country’s energy supply. He adds that energy produced by fossil fuels are not sustainable, but solar energy is. More information can be found at the company’s website www.loadsheddingcure.co.za

Details: Maxx-Solar Energy South Africa info@maxx-energy.co.za