Sparks Electrical News May 2019

LIGHTING

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ENERGY SAVING TIPS TO REDUCE LOAD SHEDDING

I n light of the electricity supply crisis South Africans are facing, Spazio felt it would be a good time to share some useful energy sav- ing tips with Sparks Electrical News readers. Whether it be at home or at work, we all need to do our bit to use electricity sparingly in order to reduce the strain the Eskom power grid is currently experiencing. We don’t always realise howmuch of a difference a few small chang- es can make in our energy consumption. Implementing these changes will not make a big impact on your daily life but not only will they help in the fight against load shedding, they will also help your bank balance – it is a win-win really. Here are some easy tips to reduce your daily electricity consumption: • The first is a simple and obvious one: switch off and unplug all ap- pliances not being used. All things plugged in bleed some energy, this is called ‘stand-by’ electricity loss. • Where possible, delay switching on lights and appliances during

fittings. Traditional incandescent bulbs, even in domestic applica- tions, can be as high as 100 W. If you were to leave a 100 W bulb burning for 24 hours a day, 365 days per year, it would use 216 kW (1 kW is equal to 1000 W) per year. Rather go for a 10 W LED alter- native that will emanate the same amount of light as the traditional 100 W light bulb but will only consume 21 kW of electricity a year. • Replacing your electrical stove with a gas alternative not only means you save a lot on energy consumption, it also means you will still be able to prepare food or enjoy a much needed cup of coffee after a long day, during load shedding. Let’s all be energy-wise South Africans and do our bit to minimise the occurrence and severity of load shedding while saving money on elec- tricity bills at the same time.

peak times when national energy consumption is at its highest. • Switch off your geyser when not in use as it consumes a lot of electricity. If your geyser is permanently switched on and a hot tap is turned on, hot water is released from the geyser and cold water rushes in to replace it. As the water temperature in the geyser has now decreased, the element kicks in to heat the water back up to the set temperature. This continuous switch- ing-on of the element to warm up the water consumes a lot of electricity. • If you use air conditioners, set them at 24 degrees Celsius. If you set an air conditioner to 18 degrees, it will not cool the room any quicker, it only means that the compressor will have to run longer to reach a temperature as low as 18 degrees, thus using up more electricity. • Check the wattage of the bulbs you have installed in your light

Enquiries: +27 (0)11 555 5555

LIGHTING DESIGN TO BE RECOGNISED AT LOERIE AWARDS D esign from Africa and the Middle East fi- nally gets the recognition it deserves with the expanded Nando’s Design category at the Loeries in 2019. This year’s category has been extended to recognise design from a much broader range of creative professionals. “We’ve expanded the design category beyond brand communication to include areas of design such as retail furniture and product design, fabric, wallpaper, lighting, architecture and interior design, and even the design of signage programmes,” says Loeries CEO Andrew Human. He adds that the Loeries has long been recog- nised as the highest accolade in advertising and brand communication. “A strong design award has been lacking for our region and this is a great op- portunity for all designers to showcase their work and achieve recognition.” Design is woven into the Nando’s DNA, making Nando’s a natural partner for the Design category. “Design and creativity have been an intrinsic part of the Nando’s way of doing business. Nando’s is the first local brand to collaborate with local de- signers at the scale it does,” says Michael Spinks, Nando’s Property and Development Director. “The Nando’s Design category at the Loeries is an opportunity to showcase excellence across dis- ciplines in countries throughout Africa and the Mid- dle East. For independent designers, it’s a unique chance to achieve recognition across the industry, reaching creatives internationally,” says de Abreu. “For a furniture designer working in an independ- ent workshop or a graphic designer outside of the agency network, this year’s Loeries offers a chance to show the world what you’ve achieved,” he adds. The Nando’s Design category at the Loer- ies is open to designers across all the main dis- ciplines. The entry deadline is 15 May and more information can be found on loeries.com

Enquiries: +27 (0)11 325 6006

SPARKS ELECTRICAL NEWS

MAY 2019