Sparks Electrical News February 2020

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

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Harnessing solar energy S outh Africa is regarded as one of the best solar resources in the world. On average, most areas in the country get close to 3 000 hours of sunshine a year; with a 24-hour global solar ra- diation average of about 220 W/m2. That is about 4.5 to 6.5 kWh/ m2 of solar radiation levels a day that could be converted into electricity. For businesses, harnessing this resource does not only boost their bottom line by reducing electricity costs (where tariffs are set to rise by 80% soon), it also frees them from relying on the grid and from harmful and expensive diesel power generation alternatives. This ultimately reduces their carbon footprint, and helps them meet their corporate sustainability goals. When it comes to energy supply, corporates that harness solar energy are never in danger of struggling to operate or losing time and money during blackouts. “For most domestic installations, there

system can be used as a power backup for an office space that is not connected to an uninterruptible power supply. Resolution Circle is a technical ecosystem that acts as a bridge between industry and communities by offering short learning programmes, workshop based learning, and experiential training programmes that are applicable to the ever-changing world of engineering, engineering technology and artisanship. The company is a University of Johannesburg (UJ) initiative, founded in 2012; and is funded by both the National Skills Fund (NSF) and UJ. Resolution Circle has a Super Solar School, which offers exciting workshop-based training programmes.

Enquiries: www.resolutioncircle.co.za

is no cost of opportunity – it doesn’t matter if a person brushes his or her teeth by candlelight. But if a factory works with machinery, a lot of money is lost when there is no electricity. So, the cost of opportunity often outweighs the cost of having a solar PV system,” says Resolution Circle’s Electrical Consultant – Dennis du Plooy. He explains that in the industrial market, “businesses need to harness the maximum power supply during their productive hours - that is when everyone is at work. Other systems apply during weekends and holidays, but the most important thing is to have demand during the week”. The main advantage of having a solar system is self- consumption – where the self-generated solar electricity isn’t fed into the grid, but directly into the building – especially during peak hours. Industries have come to realise just how economically viable solar is when it is distributed directly into their distribution boards. That, and the fact that people are at work during peak hours. “I think the agile workforce of today also allows for this system where, outside of the sun’s peak, people work remotely, and only get to the office when the sun is at its peak,” says du Plooy. Corporates investing in solar can get intelligent energy managers which either store excess energy for use during off-peak hours or feed it back into the grid. If a business generates more electricity than it consumes, it can be fed back into the grid, and the business gets credits from the city or municipality for the electricity. Businesses might experience power outages, hefty electrical bills, tariff increases, and expensive diesel power generation costs while struggling to reduce their carbon footprints and meeting their sustainability goals – but one thing is certain, South Africa will never be short of sunshine. As a technical training hub that also offers a Solar PV installation short learning programme, Resolution Circle is passionate about energy efficiency management – to the point where electrical engineering students who were part of its P2 Work Integrated Learning Programme implemented a project they dubbed #Sunny18. Here they developed a grid-tied system that works with micro-inverters instead of string inverters, which are normally used in grid-tied systems. The Top industry awards for South African industrial energy efficiency project T he South Africa Industrial Energy Efficiency (IEE) project team received the highest recognition from the energy efficiency fraternity when it walked away with two awards when the Southern African Energy Efficiency Confederation (SAEEC) held its 14 th conference. The IEE project won the prestigious 2019 Project of the Year award, while National Project Manager, Alfred Hartzenburg, received the 2019 Hall of Fame for Energy Efficiency Lifetime Award, which is the highest honour bestowed on an individual by the SAEEC.

Enquiries: www.energy.gov.za

SPARKS ELECTRICAL NEWS

FEBRUARY 2020