How to dim the lights on load-shedding

South Africans first got load-shat on by Eskom for two weeks in January 2008. Since then we've become complacent about our daily dose of darkness. Over the past few years a meme has done the rounds. In it, President Cyril Ramaphosa phones a "help desk" to complain he has problems running the country. The technician on the other end of the line replies: “Have you tried switching it off and on again?” Yes, he says, “twice a day. It's not working.” After the president announced a minister of electricity at last week's state of the nation address (Sona), local radio shows were full of jokes. “Derek Watts would be perfect," said one listener. “PJ Powers even better,” said another. And the minster's mandate? “To make good connections,” said a third.

Load-shedding is likely to be with us for years and could get worse. South Africans have every reason to complain about Eskom. But thereafter, householders have to decide what to do to best cope with blackouts.

Households range from families living on the streets of Johannesburg to the deep-rural homesteads of the Eastern Cape, the shack settlements of every town in the country to the estates of Constantia. It’s impractical to write an article that has the best answer for everyone’s needs. For this, we had in mind those that use 250kWh to 650kWh of grid power a month. That covers most.

What you do depends on how much money you are able or willing to spend. Below are some reasonable options to help inform your decision.

Less than R10,000: Option 1 — small adjustments

You can convert to an affordable gas oven and stove, get battery-operated or solar lights, and install a low-cost UPS to keep your router, cellphones and laptops going.

You might also consider buying a power pack for R300 to R1,100 to recharge your cellphone or laptop.

This option allows you to use electronic devices, have lights on and cook. A gas oven/stove also makes you much less dependent on Eskom.

On the downside, you have to fiddle with lights when load-shedding starts and remember to charge them and other devices when you have grid power. Also, a low-cost UPS may not get you through four-hour blackouts. And gas cooking devices may not be feasible in some apartment blocks. This type of cooking is also more expensive than using the grid.

Albeit fiddly, this option works, well. As load-shedding stages rise though, it becomes harder.

Less than R40,000: Option 2 — small inverter/battery

Buy a 3kW inverter and battery, and get an electrician to connect it to your home's system.

This gets you through two-hour and, depending on your usage, four-hour load-sheds. It’s more convenient than option one, but pricier.

You might not be able to use your stove, geyser, borehole or pool pumps with such an inverter. If you use several electric devices you’ll probably trip the system, but with frugal use this option helps.

Less than R40,000: Option 3 — diesel generator (we hate this option)

This is the worst option, but one many people use. In some circumstances, such as apartment blocks with little roof space, it may be unavoidable, but should be considered the option of last resort. Diesel generators are noisy, smelly, smoky, less safe and emit notable greenhouse gases. Your neighbourhood will not be pleased with you if you go this route. If too many of us choose this option, we’ll turn South Africa’s suburbs into a dystopia.

The cost of diesel is about R10 a kilowatt hour. A household that uses 400kWh a month of grid power can expect to spend R600 a month on diesel during stage 4. This isn't the road to independence from Eskom’s grid. Also, do you want to spend time constantly carting diesel from your local petrol station to your home to fill up a generator?

Less than R100,000: Option 4kW-5kW inverter plus one or two 5.1kWh batteries

Buying a 5kW inverter and one or two 5.1kWh batteries will get you through four-hour blackouts. You can also use either your oven, stove, borehole or pool pump, but probably not two or more at the same time (maybe you could use the pool pump and one other). It's a big step towards less dependence on Eskom.

There's one problem though: it still depends on Eskom to charge the batteries. If too many households go for this option without getting solar panels to charge them, it will put enormous pressure on the grid and intensify load-shedding. But as an interim step before buying solar panels, it’s worth considering.

Less than R100,000: Option 5 — rent a solar system

A number of companies offer decent solar set-ups for rent. At least one offers a 5kW inverter, a 5.1kWh battery and eight solar panels for R1,580 a month. This is option 4, but with less dependence on Eskom as you generate your own power.

A downside is that if you cancel within 36 months, you pay a R20,000 fee and R10,000 if you cancel in years four to six. Also, the monthly payment goes up annually. It’s also not clear who'd get the income from selling electricity back to the grid, when that becomes an option, at least in Cape Town, in mid-2023.

This is a new option, so read the contract carefully before proceeding. Customer reviews on Google range from glowing to stomping through the floor. Interestingly, one of the main complaints is how long the waiting time is, suggesting demand is high.

Less than R150,000: Option 6 — medium-sized solar

Installing a system with a 5kW inverter, one or two 5.1kWh batteries and up to five solar panels will get you through any load-shedding and make you virtually independent of the grid on sunny days.

You can use one oven, stove, borehole or pool pump at any one time, but usually not two or more together unless you pay an extra R15,000 for an 8kW inverter. You'll probably be able to sell some power back to the grid from mid-2023, depending on where you live.

This is an excellent option if you can afford it.

Less than R200,000: Option 7 — the full monty

If your household uses less than 700kWh a month you can probably be virtually grid-free, at least in the sunny months, by getting the following system installed: an 8kW inverter, two 5.1kWh batteries and eight to twelve 545W solar panels. (You may go a bit over R200,000 if you have 11 or 12 solar panels.)

With this, you can run a standard home, usually without giving a second thought to which appliances are on: you might even be able to use the borehole pump, the oven and the stove at the same time. But you may need a little bit of grid power if there are several consecutive heavily overcast days.

If you don’t have a pool or borehole pump, you do have a solar geyser, and you use a gas oven, you can save about R15,000 with a 5kW inverter instead of an 8kW one.

With this option, you’ll be able to sell a lot of power to the grid on sunny days.

To sell to the grid you’ll also need a bidirectional meter. These are just shy of R11,000, but the prices are expected to come down soon.

An argument can be made that if you can implement this option, you should. It will help alleviate pressure on the grid.

Apartment blocks

Apartments are one of the most sustainable ways to live, but load-shedding solutions for these can be tricky. Often there isn’t much roof space for solar panels. Also, residents usually have to negotiate a use agreement with each other. If your block has solved the load-shedding problem, we're keen to hear from you.

What about informal settlements and RDP houses?

An important achievement of the postapartheid government has been to provide electricity to millions of people living in informal settlements and RDP houses. This is being undone by the deterioration of Eskom. No option we’ve listed is feasible for the majority of people living in such housing.

GroundUp and Sunday Times Lifestyle are interested in hearing from organisations and residents experimenting with providing non-grid power to informal settlements or solving load-shedding for RDP neighbourhoods.

This article was first published here.