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What’s the Difference: EcoFlow and Steco Power Stations
The EcoFlow River 2 Max and the Steco PS-500 both have about 500Wh of battery storage. This means that you can power some LED lights, power your wifi, keep your laptop charged, power an average sized television, and even run a fridge for 2 to 3 hours. If you just run...
Can Hydrogen Storage Improve Home Energy Costs and Reliability?
A recent article in PV Magazine describes a study done by researchers in Spain on combining solar PV with hydrogen fuel cells and battery storage [1]. The purpose of this combination is to help homes reduce their cost of energy and become completely self-sufficient....
Thoughts: Leaders Eat Last
I read a couple of chapters from the book “Leaders Eat Last”. I would like to share some of my thoughts on what I’ve read so far. I’ll give a couple of points on the chapters that I read. But, let me start with an overview of what I’ve read so far. The book appears to...
Thoughts: Rooiwal and Pretoria West Power Plants
According to BusinessDay [1] Tshwane’s city council has taken steps to lease Pretoria West and Rooiwal power stations to independent power producers (IPPs). This, of course, is an effort to reduce load shedding in the city. The power stations have been producing very...
Microgrid: A Mini-Eskom at a Beach Estate
This is an interesting story from ITWeb [1]. There is a residential estate in East London that has used some groundbreaking technology to solve its energy problems. In South Africa, we’re all having an energy problem. Load shedding is affecting all of us. Even if...
Bamboo as a structural component in buildings
ArchDaily reports [1]: Bamboo is gaining popularity as a sustainable building material in architecture and engineering due to its strength, flexibility, and eco-friendliness. The Luum Temple in Tulum, Mexico, is a prime example of bamboo's capabilities, designed to...
Should Eskom control electricity supply to homes?
Mybroadband reports [1]: Eskom is currently piloting a smart metering system that would control the amount of power supplied to households remotely Eskom wants to install this smart meter in every household. The meter will reduce the amount of power that a household...
“The Aircon Makes Me Sick”
Every so often I hear a complaint from a friend, colleague or family member that they are sick because they were in a training room, or another place, and the air conditioning system “made me sick”, or “was too cold” or “I’m not used to air conditioners”. For me, as a...
Stale Air in Your Office?
A few days ago a lawyer friend of mine told me that there is a section in their building that is a “dead zone”. What she meant is that people refuse to sit in that area of their office. They refuse to sit there because the air in that area is "stale." My knee-jerk...
Karpowerships are Picking Up Steam
Business Times reports that things appear to be moving forward with Government's plan to procure 1.2 GW of electricity capacity from the Turkish "power-station-on-a-ship" company Karpowership [1]. I would like to look at some of the good things and some of the bad...
When Architects Push Engineers
I recently completed a project for a healthcare facility. My experience in this project showed me how important it is for engineers and architects to work together in the design of sustainable buildings. Since this was a healthcare facility, the ventilation...
The Fuel Price and Renewable Energy
With each announcement of fuel price changes, motorists tend to dream about alternatives. At the moment, our fuel is produced mainly from imported oil. However, with South Africa’s incredible solar and wind resources, one can’t help but think about ways to get cheaper...
What Bud Light Teaches Us About Advertising
Bud Light is a beer common to most Americans. I’m not American, nor do I drink alcohol. But there is something every business owner can learn from some recent events in the Bud Light story. Bud Light put out a marketing campaign where they partnered with a transgender...
Mafube Municipality Forced to Dump Solar
Mafube municipality, in the Free State, has been using a private company, RFS, to manage their electricity network. This includes control over the municipality's connection point to the main Eskom grid and control over when they load shed the municipality. RFS has...
Another Ship Solution to Our Energy Crisis
An article from Moneyweb [1] reports on a company called Rosatom and their power offering to Eskom. Rosatom, like Karpowership, builds power stations on ships and sends them to the point of need. Karpowerships, you may recall, are gas-to-power technology. Rosatom...
The Electricity Minister’s Love for Coal
Last week, the newly elected electricity minister Kgosientso Ramokgopa gave a report on his visits to all the country's power stations [1]. Overall, I get the sense that the minister has a good understanding of where we are and what the possibilities are for getting...
Eskom’s Baseless Case Against Mafube
Daily Maverick reports that Eskom is trying to “stop residents in Mafube Municipality from implementing “voiding”, the process of using alternative, non-state-sponsored energy to make up for energy deficits as in the case of load shedding.” [1] Basically, this...
Traveling by Private Jet
There’s a video that’s done its rounds on social media. It’s about people posting about having luxury time on private jets, and how it shows that most people do not understand the value of flying in a private jet. Here’s the video:...
Is Bluehost Scamming People?
About a week ago, I made some changes to my website. Like millions of people all over the world, I use WordPress. It’s fairly straightforward to use and customize, and there is a lot of support all over the internet. About a day or two after I made the changes to my...
Is University Still Worth the Time and Money?
A recent article in the Economist asks the question: "Was your degree really worth it?" [1] The article reports that students and potential students are losing confidence in the value of university degrees. Increasingly, people are questioning whether or not it is...
Koeberg shows us why Baseload Power is Old-Fashioned
Moneyweb reports that Koeberg Unit 1, currently on planned maintenance, is set to return to service only in September [1]. The unit was initially supposed to be back online during the winter, but this has been moved out to spring. Koeberg Unit 1 is just over 900MW in...
Karpowerships Still a Possibility
Bloomberg reports that there is a possibility that Eskom will purchase electricity produced by Karpowerships through Mozambique.[1] In case you missed it, Karpowerships are essentially liquid natural gas fueled power stations on ships. The power station is built onto...
Progress Towards an Independent Electricity Transmission System Operator
Business Day reports that Cabinet has adopted a draft “Electricity Amendment Bill” that will, hopefully, lead to establishing an independent electricity transmission system operator (TSO). [1] At the moment, in South Africa, we have electricity generators and we have...
The Art of Networking
In my post on Robert Kiyosaki and how his advice can make you go broke, I mentioned that one of the issues with traditional education is that it doesn’t teach you the importance of collaboration. Your success in traditional education is more dependent on what you can...
Load Shedding: Private and National Solutions
South Africa is currently going through its worst bout of load shedding yet. Eskom power stations are failing one after the other. This has, of course, brought attention to the energy situation in the country and it has caused many people to look for solutions both...
European Energy Crisis: Lessons for South Africa
I’d like to talk a little bit about the energy situation in Europe. Because of the war between Russia and Ukraine, the supply of gas from Russia to Europe has been cut off. This has caused Europeans to start up their old coal-fired power stations and the world is...
Quiet Quitting: A Threat To Wealth and Health
There is a new buzzword floating around: “Quiet Quitting”. Since it’s a fairly new buzzword, it’s difficult to get a proper definition for it. Basically, quiet quitting is when a person decides that they are going to do only the bare minimum at work. They’re not going...
Robert Kiyosaki’s Advice Can Make You Broke
I first read Rich Dad Poor Dad in 2013. I picked up the book at an airport while on a work trip. The funny thing is that just a couple of days prior I had resolved that I needed to put in more overtime hours at work so that I can increase my income. I started reading...