PowerOptimal offers affordable water heating system
The recently inked exclusive partnership between sustainable energy and demand management solutions company PowerOptimal and Electrolux SA is set to meet the ever increasing demand for cost-effective and sustainable solar photovoltaic (PV) water heating solutions in...
Preventive maintenance, retrofitting upgrades to keep power on, safe, uninterrupted
In the ongoing balancing act of achieving maximum production efficiency but keeping a tight control on budgets, appointing a trusted preventive maintenance partner who can extend the lifespan of existing power installations and retrofit upgrades is the best way to...
Confusing UPS and renewables with backup power can cost
With more companies getting ready to operate again and empowering their employees to work from home, reliable electricity is essential. But reliable power is not a given. It can come with a threat to business continuity for remote workers trying to operate from home...
Energy needs new models in a post-lockdown SA
The novel coronavirus pandemic and subsequent global lockdowns have destroyed the business case for a lot of power purchase agreements (PPA) but has subsequently created fresh markets. Demand for reliable energy has shifted from corporate offices to smaller businesses...
The power challenge for remote workers
Even though it is still unclear what the workplace of the future will look like, remote working is likely to form an integral part of it. By Jurgen Sorton, head of managed IT services at Vox With many companies using the past several weeks to migrate to the cloud,...
Fraym partners with Shell Foundation
Fraym, a geospatial data company that uses machine learning to produce local-level consumer data for emerging markets has launched a comprehensive initiative with the Shell Foundation, a UK charity, to increase electrification across sub-Saharan Africa. "The potential...
Ricoh creates solar panel that charges under indoor light
Ricoh has created a solar panel capable of charging under indoor lights. Technically, the new panel is a solid-state, dye-sensitised solar cell that mimics the same photosynthesis process plants use to harness the sun’s energy to make glucose and oxygen from carbon...
Surge-protection helps to cope with grid instability
The instability in the electricity grid due to ongoing load-shedding is increasing the possibility of overvoltage events. CPT Cirprotec is distributed locally by ElectroMechanica (EM). Overvoltage events are now much more common, warns EM product manager Christo van...
Li-ion UPS batteries: a smart investment
Until recently, Lithium-ion (li-ion) batteries have not been commercially adopted as batteries for single-phase UPSs. While used in various other applications, they didn't provide the necessary balance of price, energy density, power, safety, and reliability to be...
Take the guesswork out of carbon tax compliance
As the world's 14th largest emitter of carbon dioxide, South Africa has an urgent responsibility to drive a positive response to climate change by striving for a lower-carbon economy. This is the word from Francois du Plessis, operations director at EDS Systems, who...
What SMEs can do when the lights go out
Eskom announced on Monday the implementation of stage six load shedding for the first time in South Africa's history. As rolling power cuts are predicted for the coming weeks, the commercial sector, including many small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) will bear the...
Capex-free solar solutions power up SA business
Power shortages, rolling black-outs, policy uncertainty and electricity price hikes are pushing business owners to look for alternative solutions to Eskom. Sunshine is a resource southern Africa has in abundance, making solar an obvious solution, and many solar...