Load-shedding

The threat of load shedding looms over the collective head of South Africa and rumours, facts and some hysteria swirl around much like pure sine waves. If you didn’t understand the sine wave bit, all will be explained! Never have Eskom apps been as used as at present. Are we shedding? Aren’t we shedding? Part of the reason for the uncertainty is the suddenness with which load shedding was implemented late last year. Fact is, we need to start making adjustments and provision for the times we are without electricity. We are here to help you.

There are several stages of load shedding. These are implemented according to how much power Eskom needs to keep the national power supply grid limping along. South Africa’s generating capacity is 47 000MW which should be enough but, because of frequent breakdowns for whatever reason, the power utility is often in short supply. In summer the system needs 30 000MW to keep the lights on. This increases to 35 000MW in winter. If it is short of megawatts Eskom starts with its juggling act of cutting power in blocks which affect the whole country – both municipal and direct Eskom consumers – to try to make up for this shortfall. If Eskom does not do this the whole grid could collapse.

Stage 1 allows for up to 1000 MW of the national load to be shed, stage 2 allows for up to 2000 MW to be shed, stage 3 for 3000 MW, stage 4 for 4 000MW, stage 5 for 5 000MW, stage 6 for 6 000MW, stage 7 for 7 000MW and stage 8 for 8 000MW..

Stage 1 allows for up to 1000 MW of the national load to be shed, stage 2 allows for up to 2000 MW to be shed, stage 3 for 3000 MW, stage 4 for 4 000MW, stage 5 for 5 000MW, stage 6 for 6 000MW, stage 7 for 7 000MW and stage 8 for 8 000MW..

Stage 4 means you will be scheduled for load shedding 12 times over a four-day period for two hours or 12 times over an eight-day period for four hours at a time. This depends on what load shedding schedule your municipality is on. The frequency of load shedding increases as stages increase. Usually load shedding is in two to four-hour blocks. An extra half an hour is factored in for the switching of networks so as to avoid damage to the system. In smaller municipalities technicians have to drive to the sub-stations to switch on and off manually.

Stage 4 means you will be scheduled for load shedding 12 times over a four-day period for two hours or 12 times over an eight-day period for four hours at a time. This depends on what load shedding schedule your municipality is on. The frequency of load shedding increases as stages increase. Usually load shedding is in two to four-hour blocks. An extra half an hour is factored in for the switching of networks so as to avoid damage to the system. In smaller municipalities technicians have to drive to the sub-stations to switch on and off manually.

The time has come where we all need to make provision of our own to retain some sense of normality. To do this you need to make some investments. I know, we all grumble that we shouldn’t have but, fact is, we will have to. So what do we invest in?

Solar power is the way to go. This power system technology has changed so much for the better and it is worth contacting one of the experts out there and having a chat. Solar power used to be complicated but it need not be so anymore. Yes, there are costs incurred but you could become self-sufficient without the noise of a generator or the hassle of other devices to keeps bits and pieces going.
Solar geysers, should you opt not to go the whole hog, could well become necessary in order to be able to have hot water in the house so that you can at least shower and bath in some comfort. The modern solar geysers are, they say, definitely worth the investment anyway as they save you a wad of money in electricity bills. Speak to a reputable installer about this though as there are some factors you need to take into consideration to get the best deal for you!

Unless you like braaing every day, invest in gas to keep a kettle on the boil and a stove on the go. Or invest in a gas braai as well so that you don’t have to get a ‘normal’ braai started just to boil a kettle or fry some eggs! We should all now be in the habit of boiling a kettle once and storing the boiled water in a thermos flask anyway as that makes economic sense!
The same goes for investing in a gas freezer, if you can. One that uses both electricity and gas when the power is off!

You want to keep a light, the tv, rechargeable torches and lights, your wi-fi router and your cellphones (the last two for as long as the towers have back-up battery power) going and charged so what do you do? Firstly we should all have power packs for charging the media devices, but you might want something better
Bundupower.co.za says the Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) and Inverter provide the backup supply to the electrical system. One of the big differences between the UPS and inverter is that the switching of UPS from the main supply to the battery is very immediate whereas in inverter the switching from mains supply to battery takes times. The UPS and the Inverter are differentiated below in the comparison chart by considering the various other factors.
It should be noted, that some Inverters and UPS’s can have multiple modes in order to satisfy the need for the specific application.
The abbreviation of the UPS is the Uninterruptible Power Supply. The UPS has a battery which supplies the power during the power outages. It provides the power for a short duration so that data can save before the complete shutdown of the system.
The inverter inverts the direct current to an alternating current. It takes the supply from the AC source and charges the battery. During the power cut, the inverter receives the supply from the battery (DC) and provides the power supply to the electrical equipment (AC).

Sinetech.co.za explains this as follows: The inverter simply stores and relays electricity in the event of a power failure, but it doesn’t monitor it. However, inverters do enjoy the preferred status for general electric gadgets, whose working doesn’t get affected by extended delays in power supply.
UPSes generally cost more than inverters of the same size owing to the delicate circuitry they require.
The UPS is more efficient as compared to the inverter. The UPS provides the electric backup to the appliances without delay and fluctuation. And, the inverter is a medium between the primary power supply and the battery.

1. The UPS is the electric device which has rectifier for providing the backup power to the system whereas the inverter converts the AC into DC.
2. The main function of the UPS is to store the electric supply whereas the inverter converts the AC power into DC power.
3. During the power outages, the UPS immediately switch over from the main supply to the battery whereas the inverter has a time delay.
4. The UPS provides the electrical backup power, and the inverter provides the electronics backup power supply.
5. The Offline, Online and Line Interruptive are the types of the UPS whereas the inverter is of two types, i.e., the standby inverter and Grid tie inverter.
6. The UPS is directly connected to the home appliances whereas the inverter is first linked to the battery and then attached to the appliances circuit.
7. The UPS is more expensive as compared to the inverter.
8. The rectifier and battery are inbuilt in the circuit of UPS. The rectifier converts the AC into DC and stores the energy into battery whereas the inverter has an external battery for storing the DC power.
9. The UPS provides the backup supply for very short duration whereas the inverter supplies the power for an extended period.
10. The UPS does not have voltage fluctuation because their input is independent of the output supply whereas the inverter has voltage variation.
11. The UPS is used for the domestic purpose, in offices and industries whereas the inverter is used in the office.

Once again, if you’re going the generator route, get expert advice before you buy. Also have the generator installed by specialists. Please, out of respect for your neighbours and neighbourhood , buy special housing that dampens the noise and get an extractor installed to lessen the fumes, especially from diesel generators.
Circutglobe.com explains: A Generator converts mechanical energy into electricity. It provides electricity to homes, industries, offices and so on. when there is no power supply. Generator use coal, natural gases, oil as a source of power supply. Hence, its maintenance becomes a problem, but one of it advantage is that it can operate for longer duration of time.
The Inverter is a device which converts direct current available in the form of the battery to the alternating current. The battery should be charged regularly or it should be always on the ON condition, so that it automatically, charge itself. It needs wiring to connect the equipment which one needs to run at the time of power cut so that the equipment starts automatically.

• Generator directly produces 120 volts AC supply, at 60 hertz supply frequency, whereas the Inverter converts 12 Volt DC power into 120 volts AC power.
• The Generator takes considerable time to start when there is a power outage. Inverter restores power supply immediately and take no time to start the supply of power.
• Generator makes noise and also produce smoke which causes both noise and air pollution. Inverters are soundless and pollution free.
• Generator requires power sources like kerosene, diesel, natural gases or petroleum to run. Inverter works on battery and thus charges its battery with electricity itself.
• Generator requires manual effort to start whereas Inverter starts on its own as soon as there is a power cut.
• Generators are available in high capacities whereas Inverters are available in lower capacities.
• The generator is started from the setup already installed or established. Inverter requires installation and wiring system.
• The generator is used where there is a long power outage problem, whereas the Inverters are suitable for the places where there is a short duration power outage.
• Inverter needs a backup of generators for the places where power cut is for a longer duration, whereas in case of the Generator there is no need of any backup facility.
• Generator requires storage of fuels whereas in the inverter there is no requirement of the fuel storage.
• The engine of the generator requires maintenance at regular interval of time. Inverter requires almost no maintenance.
• Generator requires much space and it is kept outside the home or office, whereas the Inverter requires less space and is kept inside the home or office.
• The Generators are large in size and shape and they are also heavy in weight as compared to the Inverter.
• Generator vary greatly in their rated wattage from 500 to 50000 Watts or more whereas, the Inverters are available in 1000 to 4000 W.
• Inverter can be linked to another identical unit to double the power capacity if required, but in case of the generator this facility of parallel operation in not possible.
• Inverters are more costly as compared to the generator of the same rating.

A sine wave is a geometric waveform that oscillates (moves up, down or side-to-side) periodically, and is defined by the function y = sin x. In other words, it is an s-shaped, smooth wave that oscillates above and below zero.
Pure sine wave inverters produce power which equals – or is better than – the power in your home. … Use these inverters for televisions, laptops, digital microwaves, fridges and other sensitive electronic equipment. Pure Sine inverters can power just about any AC appliance without risk of damage.
The main difference between pure sine wave and modified sine wave systems is that a pure sine wave system in battery backup mode is guaranteed to produce a cleaner output for any piece of equipment connected to it, whether it’s a computer at a workstation or a server .
If you buy an inverter be sure to buy a pure sine wave inverter as it is better for your normal household appliances.