Sparks Electrical News January 2015

sparks

ELECTRICAL NEWS

january 2015

contractors’ corner

DESPITE some fears of load shedding, it was not

to be a candle lit dinner at this year’s Electrobase

Annual Supplier of the year awards and Eskom

managed to keep the lights on for this prestig-

ious affair, which was held at the Balalaika Hotel

in Sandton on Friday, 21 November.

Electrobase, a group of independent electri-

cal wholesalers located across Southern Africa,

evaluates suppliers based on their products and

the services provided to the Electobase group

nationally.

This year’s silver certificates were awarded to:

Bright Star Lighting, Crabtree, Eurolux, Kwikot,

Rabro and Sturdy, Reeflite, Strutfast, Stone Stam-

cor andWaco Industries. Gold certificates were

awarded to Enerji Electrical, HellermannTyton

and Major Tech. Waco Industries was awarded

the certificate for the most improved supplier.

It was an extremely close race this year and

HellermannTyton was awarded the much cov-

eted award,‘Supplier of theYear’.

Alec Hogg, the founder and past owner of

Moneyweb and now founder and owner of

Biznews.com captivated the audience with an

upliftingmessage. He said that a successful

entrepreneur will leave politics to the politicians

and get on with the task of finding solutions in

an ever-changing environment – and that entre-

preneurs weather the storms and navigate their

way out of them.

“Knowwhat you don’t know and stick to what

you are good at,”was his advice – an apt message

during a rather tumultuous time in South Africa.

Once again through the generous contribu-

tions from suppliers and service providers

together with the proceeds of the raffle held at

the dinner, Electrobase raised R17 277 for the

Johannesburg Children’s home. Thanks to Crab-

tree, Crown Publications, Enerji Electrical, Eurolux,

HellermannTyton, Major Tech, Safehouse, Stone

Stamcor, Valem Financial Services andWaco Indus-

tries as well as all those who bought raffle tickets.

Congratulations to all our winners especially to

Waco Industries and HellermannTyton – well done!

Enquiries: +27 11 023 0314

SCHNEIDER Electric SouthAfrica has set itself a target

to create access to energy for 20 000Africans by the

endof this year. An ambitious goal, but the energy

efficiency giant believes that this is achievabledue to

its solid sustainabledevelopment strategy, products

and solutions.

ZanelleDalglish, headof sustainabledevelopment

for southernAfrica at Schneider Electric says the com-

pany needs toprovide solutions to all sectors of society

and, for this reason, it has established a programme to

address global energy povertywithin its business strat-

egy. “Through its global BipBopprogramme (Business,

Innovation, and People at the Base of the Pyramid),

Creating social change in Africa

Schneider Electric develops collective solutions for

comprehensive rural electrification, domestic solu-

tions for energy-related needs, and the business

models that make these solutions sustainable,”she

explains.

The company has developed solutions adapted

to the means and needs of populations in remote,

primarily off-grid communities.“Many of these

are solar based, such as our In-diya and Mobiya

lighting solutions, both are developed to take

advantage of the African sun in order to lessen the

burden of daily life in poor and off-grid communi-

ties,”adds Dalglish.

According to the International Energy Agency,

World Energy Outlook, 2013 Factsheet, there are

1,3 billion people worldwide that still do not have

access to energy. In addition, there are 2,6 billion

people globally, about the joint populations of

the US, Europe and China, without cooking facili-

ties. TheWorld Resources Institute, in its report

“The Next 4 Billion”, reveals that up to 30% of BOP

household revenue goes to energy-related needs.

“The effects of our solutions can therefore have

a far-reaching impact on social and economic

development. In projects already undertaken, we

have observed an enhancement in lifestyle, safety

fromdwelling fires, the ability to study at night

and improve education, establishing small busi-

nesses, and somuchmore,”says Dalglish.

She highlights that to have a significant impact

and initiate lasting change, a performance meas-

urement tool is a requirement.“Schneider Electric’s

Planet & Society barometer covers the triple bot-

tom line: planet, profit and people. The results are

shared with the public and the measurement tool

aims tomobilise the corporate community around

sustainable development objectives.

“Importantly, we do not want to walk this path

alone and encourage partnerships with other

businesses, NGOs, NPOs and funders to establish

an electrificationmodel and fund our sustain-

able solutions, which we sell at cost, to off-grid

communities; establishing a consciousness of

social and environmental commitments, govern-

ance, reducing CO

emissions, launching solutions

that respect the planet, social changes, local and

regional positioning, corporate citizenship, ethics,

business and poverty,”concludes Dalglish.

Enquiries: +27 11 254 6400

Working knowledge by Terry McKenzie-Hoy

And so, the year begins ...

Have a good one!

ONE thing for sure is that the price of electric-

ity is going to go up and up and up ... This is

good news for many people – sellers of power

generators, installers of the same, sellers of

solar geysers, solar panels and the like. And, in-

variably, there will arise any number of‘energy

performance’contractors.

An energy performance contractor is a

contractor who undertakes to analyse the

electricity bill of some enterprise and then

fund some changes to theway the enterprise

uses electricity – either by applying for a tariff

change, installing power factor correction,

rationalising compressed air storage, changing

light bulbs, or similar.

At the end of the process, the contractor pre-

sents an invoice, which is based on a calculation

of howmuchmoney the enterprise has saved

using thesemeasures and the enterprise pays

it – awin-win situation.

The enterprise savesmoney for ever and

didn’t even have to pay for all themodifications

to the various items.

Now, there are energy performance contrac-

tors out there who are good. A clue is to look

at the qualifications of the senior staff – they

are qualified engineers or technicians and

are registered and knowwhat they are doing.

But, beware! There are energy performance

contractors who are self-appointed crooked,

scheming liars who should not be allowed to

do what they do.

For a start, the electricity bill of any enter-

prise varies quite a bit – factors that affect it are

the economy, the weather, the time of year, the

number of public holidays and, not least, the

degree to which the enterprise produces the

goods it is supposed to produce.

Thus, if an energy performance contractor

is to prove that the measures the contractor

has introduced have savedmoney, like must

be compared with like – the claimed reduc-

tion in energy cost must be adjusted for all the

above factors, not just compared on a month

by month basis or, even worse, on a yearly

average basis.

It is important that the claimed saving is not

at the expense of some other item – if the en-

ergy contractor reduces illumination levels too

much, people may bring in their own lamps;

if heating from air conditioners is reduced, peo-

ple will bring in their own bar heaters. Oh, one

can regulate the use of private appliances but

does one really want this extra trouble?

At the same time, beware of the energy

performance contractor who claims a fee when

the enterprise does something they were go-

ing to do anyway – for example, install power

factor correction or use infrared heating.

Thus, if you have a client who tells you, the

local contractor, that they are thinking about

employing an energy performance contractor

– help the client to establish that the chosen

contractor has a good reputation.

Something else to think of now in these

times of load shedding is the idea of ‘dip

proofing’a client’s plant or production process.

It goes like this: The client has a standby diesel

generator. All the important loads are wired to

one busbar. The main incoming supply is fitted

with a reverse power relay.

All‘not important loads’are wired to a bus-

bar, which will de-energise if mains power is

lost. Then, when load shedding is anticipated,

the diesel generator is started and synchro-

nised to the important load busbar in parallel

with the main incoming supply.

If load shedding occurs, the diesel generator

will pick up the important loads and the main

incoming supply will trip as will unimportant

loads. It does work. Then, the final thing to do

for your client is to insist on a test to see if the

client’s diesel generator can‘pick up’the full

load it is required to in an emergency.

This sounds obvious but it’s not. Often clients

tell staff that they will be having a‘simulated

power failure’on a certain day; and they do this

and all goes well.

Later, in an actual power failure it doesn’t

– because by telling the staff that the test is

going to take place, many employees will turn

off their computers and electrical stuff before

the test, which reduces the load the generator

should supply. Tests must be real and unan-

nounced.

And so…Have a good one.

The new CEO at OSRAM South Africa was introduced to media and clients at OSRAM’s

ultra-modern new offices and showroom in Midrand on 1 December. The new CEO,

Tobias Badelt (left) shares his limelight with Robbie Kreymborg (GI head, trade and

retail, OSRAM South Africa) and special guest fromOSRAM Germany, Peter Mannhart

(regional head, OSRAM, Europe Middle East and Africa).

Enquiries: +27 11 207 5600

New lighting CEO gets warm

welcome in South Africa

Electrobase Suppli