Electricity + Control October 2016

ROUND UP

CABLES + ACCESSORIES

Solar training and demo facility

As with any electrical installation, a solar power system should be inspected and the owner should be issued a certificate of com- pliance, either by the installer or by an independent electrician. "Power surges, lightning strikes, short-circuits and reduced product lifespan are some of the risks of a faulty installation," says Johann Wassermann, Sales and Marketing Manager at KJION Energy SA . "Then there's the risk of insurance companies refusing to pay out." Power surges and short-circuits will damage appliances if surge ar- resters have not been properly installed, potentially melting cables and posing a fire risk. "Dc power is dangerous. Aside from possible insurance issues, it's a powerful force. If you place a spanner across both battery terminals, it'll melt a spanner - that's some energy. These are extreme examples though, and from an efficiency per- spective, it's important to start off with a well-considered design." He says. "During our training, we touch on every aspect, from design to final installation, with focus on cost and efficiency. For example, if the solar panel plant is too small to charge the battery bank fully, you could cycle the batteries in way that affects them negatively. Surprisingly, it's the batteries which are the most ex-

pensive items, so it's important to be well-informed. Our demo and training set-up allows us to simulate a range of different scenarios, such as dc-coupled, ac-coupled and grid-tide solutions.We're able to tailor our training to a specific audience, be it installers, insur- ance assessors or electricians providing compliance certificates.” Enquiries:Tel: +27 (0) 12 880 0088 or email johann.wassermann@kjion.co.za

Open access telecommunica- tions model in South Africa “The OpenAccess Network (OAN) model has been adopted to a major extent in the telecommunica- tions sectors of many parts of the developed world (European Union and theAmericas).The advantage of this model is that it allows multiple service providers to compete over the same network, in so doing eradicating the monopoly of the telecom- munication sector.” This is according to Muneer Adam, Project Engineer for EES Africa, who supports the imple- mentation of the OAN model in South Africa. EES is an ISO 9001:2008 certified company providing management, engineering and auditing services to a range of industries throughout Africa. Adam says that the SouthAfrican government is currently implementing the local loop unbundling process of the telecommunication monopoly holder,Telkom. “In the context of an OAN model, the roles of the service provider and the network owner are separated. The service providers obtain access to the network and the end customers according to fair and non-discriminatory conditions,” Adam explains. “The model promotes a high level of competition and maximises freedom of choice for the end users.” Enquiries: Annabel Eaton. Email eatona@netactive.co.za