Load-Shedding Solutions
IT Exec Load-Shedding Solutions
IT Exec load-shedding solutions are focused on bridging the gap during load-shedding so that life at home and business at the office can continue. Despite government and municipal assurances, load-shedding is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future, so it makes sense to have a backup solution ready for the next outage.
What is Loadshedding?
Understanding Eskom Load Shedding Stages
Load-shedding stages are declared according to the extent of generation capacity to meet the country’s electricity requirement.
Understanding Eskom Load Shedding Stages:
Stage 1: load-shedding 3 times over 4 days for 2 hours or 3 times over 8 days for 4 hours.
Stage 2: load-shedding 6 times over 4 days for 2 hours or 6 times over 8 days for 4 hours.
Stage 3: load-shedding 9 times over 4 days for 2 hours or 9 times over 8 days for 4 hours.
Stage 4: load-shedding 12 times over 4 days for 2 hours or 12 times over 8 days for 4 hours.
Stage 5: load-shedding 12 times over 4 days: 9 times for 2 hours and 3 times for 4 hours.
Stage 6: load-shedding 12 times over 4 days: 6 times for 2 hours and 6 times for 4 hours.
Stage 7: load-shedding 12 times over 4 days: 3 times for 2 hours and 9 times for 4 hours.
Stage 8: load-shedding 12 times over 4 days for 4 hours.
Per the Eskom website, load-shedding periods can endure for 4.5 hours or possibly longer.
What Can I Do About It?
We first analyse your anticipated electrical load before recommending appropriate solutions. We cannot overstate the importance of calculating the electrical load of your lights, appliances and electronics you intend to be on backup power. With this information, we can select an inverter that can produce sufficient power and a battery pack to keep you going through stages 5 – 8.
We then work with you to take an inventory of your lighting to convert all your light fittings to LED. While this may be an initial expense, the ongoing power cost of LED lighting will be around one-tenth that of regular lighting.
Finally, we liaise with an accredited electrician to install the backup system at your residential or commercial property, integrate it into your distribution board (DB), install a fail-over switch for systems maintenance and fit the LED lighting.
Personalised Service
We are committed to providing excellent power backup solutions tailored to your real-world needs. With stages 5 – 8 becoming a reality, 4+ hour outages should be considered the benchmark of your battery capacity selection.
Entry-Level Solutions
Entry-level systems typically comprise a 3KVA inverter and 2.4KWh or larger battery pack. These are not suitable to power the whole house or office, just lighting circuits and selected plug circuits to power light appliances and electronics.
Home
Keep the lights on, the internet and wireless going, the TV, a PC, laptop and entertainment system playing with an entry-level home solution.
Office
Ensure that your office keeps running by giving your team what they need, such as lights, network, internet, wireless, two computers, two laptops and a printer.
Intermediate Solutions
Intermediate solutions leverage a 5KVA inverter with a 4.8KWh or larger battery pack to power more electronics and larger appliances. However, heavier electrical loads may require larger battery banks to cope with stage 4-8 load shedding.
Home
Keep the lights on, the internet and wireless going, the TV, fridge, microwave and kettle, PCs and Laptops and the entertainment system playing with an intermediate home solution.
Office
Your medium size office keeps running by giving your team lights, network, internet, wireless, 3 computers, 2 laptops and a laser printer.
Advanced Solutions
Advanced load-shedding systems effectively power an entire household or office. An 8KVA or larger inverter with a 9.6KWh or larger battery pack can power more energy-intensive appliances such as fridges, microwaves and kettles, however, the electrical loads of multiple heavy appliances often require both a larger inverter and larger battery banks to cope with stage 4-8 load-shedding.
Solar
Hybrid solar inverters offer the opportunity of offsetting your mains electricity with solar power thereby reducing power utility expenses, so solar offers real return-on-investment opportunities. These units incorporate one or more Maximum Power Point Trackers (MPPTs), and electronic DC to DC converters that optimise the match between the solar array PV panels and the battery bank or utility grid.
How do I get started?
To get started, one should first analyse the load of the lighting, electronics and electrical appliances that you’d like to keep powered up. Enter your details in the form below, and we’ll send you a Loadshedding Energy Consumption Calculator spreadsheet.