Rainwater Harvesting
It is now viable to harvest rainwater for your whole household. This includes rainwater harvesting, storing and pumping rainwater for bathing, showering, toilet flushing, pool, laundry and irrigation. Rainwater harvesting together with other Water Rhapsody products can save up to 90% of your water bill.
-
Category Archives: Renewable Energy
Securing energy needs
Everyone in the energy (petroleum) industry talks about security of supply. In the case of electricity security of supply, feedstock (mainly coal) for base-load power station is locally available, whereas in the petroleum industry analysts are concerned that almost 100% of crude is imported into SA. This is seen as a major risk to the country, considering that the bulk of crude imports are from Middle East. So when the Petroleum Agency of SA permits companies to investigate the availability of shale gas plans, this is the opportunity for SA to minimize the risk that experts talk about — of crude processed in South African refineries imported from the Middle East. One just needs to read the Energy Security Master Plan — Liquid Fuels that was published in August 2007 to see the government’s concerns about security of supply. The energy plan supports the promotion of local production of liquid fuels and recommends a policy of limited imports. In other words, companies search for crude, shale gas, natural gas, and mine more coal, etc. In the energy plan it is mentioned that in support of energy security and the balance of payments, there is a need for the maintenance of … Continue reading
No vision in Karoo fracking plans
A well written article from the Green Times: What is it going to take to stop the plans to threaten our sensitive Karoo region from being destroyed by Shell’s plans to blow it apart in search of natural gas? A controversial application by oil giant Shell to explore for gas in an area of the Karoo should be put on hold, the Democratic Alliance said on Tuesday.
Posted in Climate Change, Dam Levels, Rainwater Harvesting, Renewable Energy, Water Conservation, Weather
Tagged Dam Levels, Department of Water and Environmental Affairs, drought disaster area, Fracking, Indigenous Plants, Karoo, Natural Resources, Water Conservation, Water Rhapsody, Water tanks, Yes Solar
1 Comment
Get the frack out of my Karoo
Oh good, we’ve found a new way to ruin the environment Matthew Du Plessis: “Fracking” doesn’t mean what it used to mean. In the good old days, it was a wholesome substitute for an unprintable expletive – used to its highest glory and fullest effect in the television series Battlestar Galactica. Hearing Starbuck curse was an object lesson in the poetry of vloeking. It was from the heart. The new meaning of “fracking” doesn’t come from the heart. Instead, it’s a punch to the gut. The word “fracking” is a convenient abbreviation of the phrase “hydraulic fracture”. I’ll tell you more about that in a second.
What is Climate Change?
Outline of the potential problem of climate change and its cause as understood by the South African Weather Service The climate of the world varies from one decade to another, and a changing climate is natural and expected. However, there is a concern that the human industrial and development activities of the past two centuries have caused changes over and above natural variation… What is climate change? Climate change is the natural cycle through which the earth and its atmosphere are going to accommodate the change in the amount of energy received from the sun. The climate goes through warm and cold periods, taking hundreds of years to complete one cycle. Changes in temperature also influence the rainfall, but the biosphere is able to adapt to a changing climate if these changes take place over centuries. Unfortunately, human intervention is currently causing the climate to change too fast. (Climate models predict that the mean air temperature over South Africa will increase by an estimated 2°C over the next century.) Plants and animals may not be able to adapt as quickly to this rapid climate change as humans can, and therefore the whole ecosystem is in danger. What causes climate change? … Continue reading
Posted in Climate Change, Dam Levels, Green, Grey Water Recycling, Rainwater Harvesting, Renewable Energy, safe water, Solar Energy, Water Conservation, Water Tanks
Tagged Climate Change, Dam Levels, Global Concern, Rainwater Harvesting, Saving water, Water Conservation, Water Rhapsody, Yes Solar
Leave a comment
Interesting Facts about Electricity
A spark of static electricity can measure up to three thousand (3,000) volts. A bolt of lightning can measure up to three million (3,000,000) volts – and it lasts less than one second! Electricity always tries to find the easiest path to the ground. Electricity can be made from wind, water, the sun and even animal manure. Burning coal is the most common way electricity is made in the United States. The first power plant – owned by Thomas Edison – opened in New York City in 1882. Thomas Edison invented more than 2,000 new products, including almost everything needed for us to use electricity in our homes: switches, fuses, sockets and meters. Benjamin Franklin didn’t discover electricity – but he did prove that lightning is a form of electrical energy. One power plant can produce enough electricity for 180,000 homes. Alternative Energy The bicycle is the most efficient form of transportation known. It uses five times less energy than walking. B.C.’s forest industry obtains 25% of its electricity from biomass — in this case, the waste material from their own industry. A system of distribution and transmission lines brings electricity to southern Manitoba through 70,000 km of lines. That’s … Continue reading
Posted in Energy Saving, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy, Solar Geysers, Solar Power, Solar Water Heating, Water Conservation, Water Tanks
Tagged Alternative Energy, going green, Saving Electricity, Solar geysers, Solar panels, Solar power, Static Elecrisity Spark, Wind Tubine, Wind Tunnels, Yes Solar
Leave a comment
Fascinating Facts about Energy
Science Energy cannot be created or destroyed. It can only be converted from one form to another. Find an elastic band, and stretch it out. The stretched rubber band has potential energy. If you let it go, it moves and has kinetic energy. Have you ever wondered how you might get a hot air balloon to float up and down? How would you launch it? How would you get it back to earth? The balloon rises by warming up the air inside it. It descends by letting the air inside it cool down. It all works because of heat energy. Electricity travels at 300,000 km/sec. If you travelled that fast, you could travel around the world eight times in the time it takes to turn on a light switch. The energy produced by the atom-splitting of one kilogram of uranium is equivalent to the burning of 1.3 million kilograms of coal or 1.35 million litres of oil. People run on energy too, and food is our fuel. The unit we use to measure expended heat energy is the calorie. Calorie expenditures comparison: Lying at ease – 1.5 cal/min Tennis – 7 cal/min Playing drums – 4–6 cal/min Golfing – 6 … Continue reading
Posted in Energy Saving, Green, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy, Solar Power, Solar Water Heating, Water Tanks
Tagged Electricity, Energy, going green, Hot Air Balloon, Hydrogen Nuclei, Interesting Facts about Energy, Natural Resources, Saving Electricity, Saving water, Water tanks, Yes Solar
Leave a comment
Interesting Facts about Electricity
History The first windmills were developed in Persia in about 600 B.C. About 200 years ago, Alessandro Volta discovered that when two strips of different metals were put in a sulphuric acid solution and connected with a wire, electricity began to flow. Voila! The first electric battery was developed! Think of him the next time you pick up your battery-operated CD player or Game Boy. In 1879, just over 100 years ago, Thomas Edison invented the first light bulb. (Thomas Edison didn’t invent the first light bulb – but he did invent one that stayed lit for more than a few seconds. Think of the incredible changes it has brought to our current world! The first windmill to produce electricity was in Denmark in 1890. In the past, frightened sailors voyaging at night saw ghostly phantoms of bluish light dancing on the masts of ships. Called Saint Elmo’s fire, the light is actually a form of static electricity. In 1986, an accident at Chernobyl, USSR, sent radioactive material into the atmosphere and raised concerns about the production and storage of radioactive waste. What is a kilowatt hour? When we buy petrol, we’re charged per litre. When we buy electricity, we’re … Continue reading
Posted in Green, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy, Solar Water Heating, Water Tanks
Tagged Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs, Green Power, Interesting Facts about Electricity, Kilowatt Hour, Light bulbs, Natural Resources, Saving Electricity, Solar geysers, Solar power, Thomas Edison, Water Rhapsody, Yes Solar
Leave a comment
Ways to reduce your electricity bill – Step Two:
Switch to gas Gas is used extensively for cooking and heating in other parts of the world, but here in SA, we have no pipeline gas, says Palmer. You will need to buy a Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) canister which fits your appliance. A refundable deposit is required for the ongoing use of the canister and you refill it at your nearest gas outlet (see www.totalgaz.co.za; www.afrox.co.za; www.easigas.co.za). Remember, as LPG is 100% derived from oil, its price fluctuates with the oil price. Says Terence of The Gas Experts (www.gasexperts.co.za ), you can purchase a good, safe four-burner gas hob for under R2 500. For a family of four living in a basic townhouse, a 9kg bottle of gas can last up to nine months, costing R200 a year to run the hob. A medium-sized gas water heater, retailing for R3200, will use a 48kg bottle of gas (costing R790) approximately every two and a half months. Installation of a gas stove and geyser will cost around R4500 (excluding the bottles). To keep warm, gas heaters and fireplaces are cost- and energy-efficient.
Posted in Energy Saving, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy, Solar Geysers
Tagged Eastern Cape, Gas, Saving Electricity, Solar, Solar geysers, Solar panels, Solsquare, Yes Solar
Leave a comment
Ways to reduce your electricity bill – Step One:
Opting off the grid To live off the electricity grid, says Duncan Palmer from the Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies, you need a number of solar panels, a wind turbine (depending on where you live), an inverter and some batteries. ‘Solar energy from the sun is harvested with photovoltaic (PV) panels, which convert the solar energy directly into electrical energy. An electrician wires the inverter into your existing electrical reticulation circuit.’ ‘To sustain normal electricity habits and supply a regular house, you will need about 6kW of PV panels, which will cost around R210 000,’ says Riaan Meyer, from the Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies at the University of Stellenbosch.‘Adding the inverter, batteries and other components will up it to R500 000 – pricey, but you’re investing in 20 years’ worth of electricity.’ But while an entire solar power system may be out of reach of most people’s budgets, there are some simple steps you can take to lighten the load. According to Eskom, a household’s largest electricity expense is water heating, which typically accounts for 40–50% of the monthly bill. Installing a solar geyser system to cater for the needs of a family of four … Continue reading
What kind of droughts does South Africa experience?
A brief synopsis of drought in South Africa since 1960 -2005 Introduction The rainfall climate of South Africa is one of great variability. Seasonal rainfall percentage deviations since 1960 demonstrate wide fluctuations about the long-term average and it is in this context that large rainfall deficits must be assessed. Between July of 1960 and June of 2004, there have been 8 summer-rainfall seasons where rainfall for the entire summer-rainfall area has been less than 80% of normal. A deficit of 25% is normally regarded as a severe meteorological drought but it can be safely assumed that a shortfall of 20% from normal rainfall will cause crop and water shortfalls in many regions accompanied by social and economic hardship. Discussion All but the south-western and southern regions of South Africa rely on summer rainfall, which normally falls between October and March, the summer season. Rainfall is heaviest in the east and decreases westward. For convenience the rainfall season is taken to run from July until June of the following year, but rainfall outside of the summer season is usually insignificant. The consequence of rainfall being confined to six months of the year is that most crops can only be grown during … Continue reading
Posted in Climate Change, Energy Saving, Green, Grey Water Recycling, Rainwater Harvesting, Renewable Energy, safe water, Water Conservation, Water Tanks, Weather
Tagged Dam Levels, drought disaster area, Eastern Cape, Port Elizabeth, Rainwater Harvesting, Saving water, Solar, Solar geysers, Solar panels, Water shortage, Water tanks, Water usage, Yes Solar
Leave a comment
