Loadshedding solutions

[Schnavel]

17 hours ago, tinmug said:

Now the fun starts: De Ruyter has resigned. 🙈🙉🙊

I see Koko has said that now Eskom can end load shedding in the next 6 to 12 months - what an idiot!

[Schnavel]

1 hour ago, -cK- said:

So that means I need to sort out my upgrade before then I guess...🤷‍♂️

Yup, it is only going to get worse from here on... 

Best to spend some more money on additional panels & batteries. We are going to start having more and more stage 6 loadshedding.

I have just installed another battery and looking at getting an additional 4 panels in the new year.

[TheoG]

Just now, Schnavel said:

Yup, it is only going to get worse from here on... 

Best to spend some more money on additional panels & batteries. We are going to start having more and more stage 6 loadshedding.

I have just installed another battery and looking at getting an additional 4 panels in the new year.

Agree 100%, if you have some bucks laying around, now is the time to invest it in your future energy requirements.

[dave303e]

I think a big thing is also adjusting your routines a lot to accommodate your system.

We are tweaking the daily routine a lot and it has a noticeable impact.

We have a herd of cattle always drink after eating around 4:30. The float switch would then kick on the water pump for an hour or 2 really late in the day/evening. We know there is plenty in the tanks so we put a timer on so the pump would pump the next morning only so that tanks were full around 10am. It meant the pump ran direct off the solar rather than partially off the battery in the failing light. It meant at 7pm battery was at 98% still. 

A couple of day night sensors meant spotlights were on the perfect amount of time rather than staff turning them on when they leave at 4 and turning them off at 7 the next morning.

Timer on the gate motor so it isn't charging all night, it can get through days without power so it can charge during the day and chill at night.

Also back in the routine of taking meat out at lunch to defrost rather than using the microwave late evening not that it is massive.

But a lot of things will add up.

[-cK-]

True its all about a little lifestyle adjustment as well.

5kw Inverter 6 panels and 1 battery, add a bit of profile tweaking and optimizing of my schedules saw me drop from 20+ units a day to 10 and another little tweak to roughly 4 units a day. 

Gonna try and add 6 more panels and another battery which should get me to a point that if it really gets bad I'm sorted just need a small adjustment on peak usage habits.  Ideally more batteries would be great but when you are on a budget you need to make due with what you can afford right now.

[Robbie Stewart]

2 hours ago, Schnavel said:

I see Koko has said that now Eskom can end load shedding in the next 6 to 12 months - what an idiot!

Well, I'm no conspiracy theorist, but I am pretty confident Eskom was being sabotaged to this exact end, to get De Ruyter to quit. Now that the goal has been achieved, the sabotage will magically cease and the new leadership will take the glory for bringing SA back from the brink.

But more importantly, now the mafia can resume the wholesale pilferage of the state coffers.

[117]

It's all about 2024.... 

And sadly most voters have short term memory

[lechatnoir]

2 hours ago, dave303e said:

I think a big thing is also adjusting your routines a lot to accommodate your system.

<snip>

very important point. I've installed a geyser timer to leverage my panels to do the heavy lifting on heating the geyser between 1-230pm each day. I was away this past weekend and with storms in the WC meant not enough sun in the afternoon and my battery was nailed by the geyser. it'd have been better to switch the geyser over to grid and take the minor hits overnight.

so for now, showers after afternoon bike rides are hothot. after morning rides, it's merely hot.

[Schnavel]

13 minutes ago, Robbie Stewart said:

Well, I'm no conspiracy theorist, but I am pretty confident Eskom was being sabotaged to this exact end, to get De Ruyter to quit. Now that the goal has been achieved, the sabotage will magically cease and the new leadership will take the glory for bringing SA back from the brink.

But more importantly, now the mafia can resume the wholesale pilferage of the state coffers.

I do agree with your view, but what that means for the state of the grid and loadshedding, we are yet to see...

I believe it's only going to get worse, unfortunately.

[Robbie Stewart]

1 minute ago, Schnavel said:

I do agree with your view, but what that means for the state of the grid and loadshedding, we are yet to see...

I believe it's only going to get worse, unfortunately.

Yep - the fact that the problem is going to get worse is a given. De Ruyter was actively fixing the issue, but being undermined. Now that he will be leaving, the status quo will resume with ineffective maintenance and bloated tenders until such time as the whole thing comes to a grinding halt.

I fear that SA is now comparable to an out of control nuclear reactor that has begun to go critical. The only way to stop it is to wait for the detonation.

I am not sure if I must not just sell up now and bail.

[117]

Err... If you thought load shedding is equal around the country... It's not

[-cK-]

47 minutes ago, lechatnoir said:

very important point. I've installed a geyser timer to leverage my panels to do the heavy lifting on heating the geyser between 1-230pm each day. I was away this past weekend and with storms in the WC meant not enough sun in the afternoon and my battery was nailed by the geyser. it'd have been better to switch the geyser over to grid and take the minor hits overnight.

so for now, showers after afternoon bike rides are hothot. after morning rides, it's merely hot.

You should look if you can't limit the supply of the battery during that times slot. 

I have a limit on my battery to not supply more than 1500w during the time the geyser is on and stop when it reaches 70% so if solar is short battery will supply up to 1500w and rest will come from grid, the 70% ensures that you don't drain your battery to far and always have reserve for the evenings loadshedding if you cant recharge to 100% again. 

Usually I'm 1000 to 1500w short on solar production with only 6 panels for the geyser so with this limit I usually don't use grid but during bad weather days I still have a little saving without nailing the battery to hard and still use less grid than just going full all grid. 

[The Ouzo]

1 hour ago, lechatnoir said:

very important point. I've installed a geyser timer to leverage my panels to do the heavy lifting on heating the geyser between 1-230pm each day. I was away this past weekend and with storms in the WC meant not enough sun in the afternoon and my battery was nailed by the geyser. it'd have been better to switch the geyser over to grid and take the minor hits overnight.

so for now, showers after afternoon bike rides are hothot. after morning rides, it's merely hot.

Why did you not switch the geyser off entirely whilst away, or was there still someone at home?

 

last week whilst we were away I had the geyser off, only turned it on the day before we were scheduled to come back. 

[lechatnoir]

1 minute ago, The Ouzo said:

Why did you not switch the geyser off entirely whilst away, or was there still someone at home?

 

last week whilst we were away I had the geyser off, only turned it on the day before we were scheduled to come back. 

I've had my system 2 months now and live on the west coast in a winter rainfall region. As the old saying goes, 'no one expects the Spanish Inquisition'

The point in all this is I need to expect to change how I do things. And yes, turn my geyser off when away.

[dave303e]

43 minutes ago, lechatnoir said:

I've had my system 2 months now and live on the west coast in a winter rainfall region. As the old saying goes, 'no one expects the Spanish Inquisition'

The point in all this is I need to expect to change how I do things. And yes, turn my geyser off when away.

You can get geyser specific smart switches for relatively cheap nowadays. Makes life very easy to manage that sort of thing. When we had electric geyser at our old house often the mrs would just log in and kill the geyser whilst we were driving to holiday/airport. Then she would turn it back on timing it right to be home to warm water if needed. It worked really well.

[ChrisF]

6 hours ago, -cK- said:

So that means I need to sort out my upgrade before then I guess...🤷‍♂️

 

 

Uhmmmm ..... both are dedicated capable individuals.

 

 

BUT .... the REAL issues relate to:

1. Old power stations ...

2. No new stations being built ....

3. Sabotage .... etc

 

Neither of these two gents have the political back.up to actually address these issues ....

 

 

No matter who gets appointed .... they wont be allowed to do what must be done ....

 

 

The real change is needed at ministerial level ....