Alterative power solutions for businesses

South Africa was rocked with a new round of load-shedding in June, as stage four power cuts were announced.

During stage four load-shedding, customers’ electricity is cut 12 times over four days.

This is devastating to businesses, industries and the South African economy, which loses R500-million for each load-shedding stage.

Although President Ramaphosa announced changes to the Electricity Regulation Act, which will see new electricity providers enter the market, reducing dependency on Eskom, load-shedding will remain part of South Africans’ lives for the foreseeable future.

ALSO READ: Body found in Mooifontein Cemetery

Working in the dark isn’t an option and businesses and industries should adapt to alternative energy solutions to keep the power on.

After almost eight years of load-shedding disruptions, Border-Kei Chamber of Business took action and installed alternative power solutions.

The chamber made this decision after struggling businesses approached it for strategies to help mitigate their losses from load-shedding without the need to purchase generators.

It became the country’s first green business chamber, going off the grid in 2016, except for their air-conditioner, which demands high energy.

After an audit of its energy demands and efficiencies, the chamber installed LED lighting and passive motion sensors.

Although it reduced its electricity demand, it was still affected by load-shedding.

The chamber decided to install a backup system of grid-tied solar photovoltaic panels.

This system is powered by two Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) converters and battery banks.

Using this new electricity system saves the chamber thousands of rands in annual electricity bills and keeps its lights on even during a power outage.

Donations from several companies, including battery banks from First National Battery, made renewable energy for the chamber possible.

The chamber’s UPS converters are powered by gel-filled battery banks that ensure continuous power to the building, even during load-shedding.

Businesses and industries looking to power their off-grid applications should look for reliable and robust batteries with the following benefits.

Low self-discharge rate
Batteries have high performance due to the low self-discharge rate.

Long service life
Grid design and technology has extended the battery service life.

Maintenance-free
Technology advancements and proper battery care mean battery banks can be maintenance-free with no topping up required.

Recyclable
At the end of its long battery life, it is important to recycle the battery.

Recycling batteries will prevent harmful elements from polluting landfills and contaminating water, which is detrimental to people, the environment and animals.

As the first green business chamber in the country, the Border-Kei Chamber of Business is the blueprint for businesses and industries to go off the grid. The chamber found a way to bring light into darkness and found a solution to supply its neighbours with a stable supply of power.

Also follow us on: