Attorney Michael de Broglio on: South Africa, Law, Politics, Attorneys, Sport, Photography, Technology, Gadgets, Media, Crime, Road Accidents Fund,
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I see the latest Government documents are indicating, again, that we are likely to have rolling blackouts from 2011 to 2016, if we, the consumer, do not reduce our consumption.
The one thing you can be assured of is that a growing population and economy is not going to use less electricity and it would really be so much more fair, of Government and Eskom, if they could at least have the good courtesy to say that the real reason we will have rolling blackouts is because they never planned ahead and it has nothing to do with us, the consumers. It seems that we have all been lulled into a sense of complacency, but by next winter we will probably be experiencing electricity shortages again, and one can only wonder how much worse it will get in the ensuing years.
Anybody building a house now really needs to be doing their little bit in terms of solar power and having back-up plans such as generators. I made sure my offices, when designing it in 2001, had both and I only wish architects were more up to date with things like LED lights, etc. As somebody who is building at the moment, I can tell you that it is very difficult to actually get any information, or suggestions, from architects on green concepts for conserving electricity.
Posted by Michael de Broglio on Thursday 14-Oct-10
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Comments
Henry said:
on Sunday 24-Oct-10 05:52 AM
It is expected from every household to say, but what about the following people and municipalities. Many people who live in mine house burn every possible light they can burn. The municipalities leave street lights in suburbs and apollo lights in the so called locations burn during broad day light. The offices of municipalities are like fridges in the summer and ovens in the winter. This is only to mention a few area that can help save electricity. The government must stop pressurising those that do save.
Jeff Hollingdale said:
on Tuesday 19-Oct-10 07:02 PM
Michael, you must be talking to some very 'green' architects. There is an absolute wealth of information available to install facilities to ensure an energy saving, water saving, waste managed house/building. Check out the Web (locally) on "Energy Management", "Water management, etc. Attend some of the conferences on Energy Management.
BRIDGET LOOCK said:
on Monday 18-Oct-10 03:41 PM
If every single household did something to save on electricity for example, solar powered geyser/pool etc im sure it will help considerably. We generally spend a lot of energy typing out solutions and complaints but we as individuals need to act, i'm guilty. We must drum it into our children's heads how important water and electricity is. Scarce water is going to become the next problem. But we only react when the problem becomes out of hand.
Yumna Rojan said:
on Monday 18-Oct-10 12:04 PM
If you want to build a 'green' house you would be interested to know that there was a program on the Home Channel called 'Love and Mortor.' This was a reality show that featured Ryan and Michelle Garforth Venter. The show was based on how to build a 'green' house. The couple bought a plot in JHB and built a house completey 'off the grid'.
the program is very informtive for anyone who wants to know everything about building a house to conserve energy. As Michell and Ryan, the architect involved in building the house was very clued up on the subject.
The production campany that produced the show is SETSEBI Productions based in JHB should you need more info.
Mike said:
on Monday 18-Oct-10 11:58 AM
It has taken the ANC just 16 years to ruin our infrastructure by appointing politically connected executives rather than suitable qualified and experienced individuals. Sadly, this is not only a problem that applies to Eskom, but also to Water, Health, Education, Social Services and Home Affairs. Budgets have been mismanaged and billions of Rands lost through corruption in all it's various forms - incompetence and a lack of accountability have allowed this to take place openly, we all know about it!
The problem is that it will take billions of Rands and probably at least 20 years to put this right, and there is no evidence that the government is even moving in the right direction. We can only hope that the DA will persist in their activities to force the government to take responsibility for their actions and start moving towards a solution.
Andrey Vrey said:
on Sunday 17-Oct-10 04:47 PM
There is a way for companies and government to save more than 50% of the power they use on lighting alone and still have the same amount of light. For buildings/stores/offices where 60% or more of the power consumed are due to lights, Escom has got plans in place to help these companies to achieve the savings. If they want to know how it is done they can email me at [email protected]
Andre Jansen said:
on Sunday 17-Oct-10 12:34 PM
We are currently in a catch 22 where if we reduce our consumption we get penalised by the utility providers because they aren't selling enough electricity to cover their expenses. While we are encouraged to save electricity and don't get me wrong here I'm totally for alternate energy and have been actively involved in this field for the last 10 years.
What we need is for people to become more educated in alternative energy resources, using them and managing them to be a sustainable energy resource.
Many people install solar panels and sit back and say that they have done their bit, but that's not where it stops. Wind energy is a very viable resource. Biogas digester's are also another energy resource that many people aren't familiar with.
While talking about energy resources we also need to look at the water resources and the wastage that we currently experience in our country. We will need to change the way we think about and use our resources if we want to continue with our current lifestyles and have any chance of growing as a nation.
Adam said:
on Sunday 17-Oct-10 10:51 AM
Use what you need and not more i.e. dont waste. Geysers (big kettles) use up to 45% of a households electricity so this is the best place to start for. Barring solar which can be an expensive and daunting proposition as there are so many vendors and so much conflicting information out there try the following. Install a visual timer that allows you to set the times your geyser operates mounted in an easy accesible point in your house. Set the Geyser to only operate at off peak times - say 04:30 to 06:00 and in the evening after 6pm for a similar time frame as this will greatly help by reducing the load in peak periods which is essentially where the problem is. I have also noticed using such a device that even when the water temperature drops to mid 30 degrees that the water is more than hot enough to enjoy a very hot shower and what I have noticed, using this system, is that you are just mixing less cold water with the hot water supply through the mixer. So definately think that another quick way to reduce cost / electricity use is to reduce your geyser temperature setting to well below the recommneded 53-55 degrees recomended and use a visual timer that you can set yourself that you can use to fine tune your usage according to your requirement and not more. Also do what you can to best insulate your geyser (blanket) and piping (lagging) which is a quick and inexpensive excercise. As for government, they too could lead by example by simple steps like this and converting streat lights, robots etc to LED technology, not CFC because those contain mercury and can be dangerouse to the person handling same and if not disposed of correctly which will never happen in SA they are a disaster for the enviroment. Also govt should fine institutions for example my least favorite bank Nedbank, which whilst touting green responsibility leaves all their lights on in their banks and office parks which is just wasteful and a true reflection of the obvious - they only want us to think they care so we bank with them - a marketing excercise with no real responsibility just a drive for more business.
Susana said:
on Friday 15-Oct-10 09:31 AM
It's amazing how we as consumers need to reduce our electricity consumption yet municipalities do nothing but increase electricity consumption, e.g. suburb and highway street lights are left lit 24/7. As usual, it doesn't help lodging a complaint with any government department as nothing gets done about it.
Dean said:
on Friday 15-Oct-10 08:44 AM
Goverment were told long ago that they need to build more power stations, but Eskom was ignored. Know everyone blame Eskom, rather blame goverment who simply ignored it!!!!!!!
Bob said:
on Friday 15-Oct-10 07:31 AM
Why only anybody building now? You can install solar heating for your geyser now and get government susbidy. Come on man you caqn make a change today.
Cornelia Bredenhand said:
on Thursday 14-Oct-10 10:37 PM
All consumers are paying more for less electricity. One should look at how much electricity is being sold to other countries, by Eskom, and how much they are paying for it compared to us here in good old South Africa
Johannesburg based attorney specializing in personal injury matters including Road Accident Fund claims and medical negligence matters. My interests include golf, reading and the internet and the way it is constantly developing. I have a passion for life and a desire for less stress!
