Latest news with #AndrewDickson
TimesLIVE
13 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Money-saving tips that will keep you warm this winter
Smart home systems can help you monitor your home appliances, how much power they draw and when they should best be used By With temperatures dropping and electricity bills on the rise, one of the surest ways to tell winter is here is your bank account. Recent studies have found that household consumption can spike by at least 20% in colder months due to heating alone. Engineering executive at CBI-electric: low voltage, Dr Andrew Dickson, says Eskom's 12.74% tariff increase means that the average family cold pay an extra R300 per month. To help households stay warm without burning through their budget, he offers 10 smart home tech tips: 1. UNDERSTAND YOUR ENERGY HABITS If you don't know how much electricity your appliances are using, you won't know where to cut back. Take an oil heater, for example. Running a 2,000W heater for eight hours a night could use up to 16 kWh per day, costing around R260 a week at current rates. Over three months, that's more than R3,000 for just one room. Smart devices help track usage so you can cut back where it counts. 2. AVOID ENERGY OVERLOAD Some smart home systems offer load management, which ensures that only one high-energy appliance runs at a time, reducing the peak demand. Smart automation can stagger appliance use, ensuring each runs at optimal times without straining the system. 3. SET SMART TIME LIMITS Users can specify the operating duration of appliances, like running the geyser for only two hours to save electricity while ensuring a hot bath. 4. TIME IT RIGHT Smart home technologies give users the ability to schedule when appliances turn on or off. 5. CURB THE WINTER SPIKE Even with flat rates, household consumption climbs during winter as heaters, underfloor systems and electric blankets work overtime. Smart home devices can help by setting on/off schedules and limiting how long appliances run. 6. LET THE WEATHER DECIDE Smart home technologies can respond to real-time environmental conditions, such as temperature drops, reduced daylight or even changes in humidity, to automatically control appliances. For instance, if the sun sets earlier on a gloomy winter afternoon, lights can be set to turn on. 7. CONTROL ENERGY FROM ANYWHERE: Worried you left a device switched on? Smart home technologies allow users to turn connected appliances off with their smartphone and/or tablet from anywhere in the world. 8. STOP PAYING FOR SLEEP MODE: When in standby mode, electronic goods like microwaves, computers, televisions and coffee machines can consume even more electricity than when they are in use, as they are often only active for relatively short periods. While the obvious solution would be to unplug all non-essential appliances when inactive, smart home tech lets users switch off any items that are pulling power unnecessarily. 9. SAFEGUARD YOUR SOLAR INVESTMENT: As more South Africans invest in rooftop solar, not only for backup but to reduce reliance on the grid and cushion the impact of rising electricity costs, smart home technology can play a role in protecting that investment. Smart power indicators, for example, help solar PV users manage energy more effectively when grid power is unavailable, by disconnecting non-essential appliances and preserving battery life until the system recharges. They can also automate other smart devices to keep essential infrastructure, such as security systems, operational. By allowing users to switch off high-consumption appliances such as geysers and pool pumps, smart indicators help prevent system overload and extend battery performance. 10. PROTECT YOUR APPLIANCES: Even though load-shedding has largely eased, occasional voltage fluctuations and power surges still pose a risk to household appliances, especially in areas with ageing infrastructure or after storms. Smart home technologies can help protect your devices by allowing you to set a safe operating voltage range. If the voltage falls outside this range, the system can automatically switch off the flow of electricity until it stabilises, reducing the risk of damage to costly items like fridges, TVs and Wi-Fi routers.
IOL News
18-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
SA punished for going solar
Looming international tariffs and Eskom's Generation Capacity Charge could make solar unaffordable, even for those who already have it. Image: Supplied Desperate after years of relentless load shedding, South Africans were forced to turn to rooftop solar as a last line of defence against blackouts. But now they could be punished for the very solution that helped take pressure off the national grid. The unwelcome return of load shedding this week has again highlighted the need for alternative sources of power. But looming international tariffs and the implementation of Eskom's Generation Capacity Charge could make solar unaffordable, both for those still considering the switch, and those who've already invested in it. Dr Andrew Dickson, an engineering expert, says there were initially incentive programmes to encourage people to invest in rooftop solar, Eskom was part of that drive. 'Now they're turning around and saying to people, you have to be registered. They're even changing tariff structures around that and here we're not talking import tariffs, I'm talking kilowatt consumption costs. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ It feels like a punishment. You had to make a plan just to try and live a normal life under abnormal circumstances, and now you're being told: well done, but actually, that's a liability for you. And that seems very unfair from a consumer perspective,' said Dickson. Eskom recently announced that the power system had improved and was in a 'more reliable' position than in recent years. It's promised that there won't be load shedding this winter, if unplanned outages remain below 13GW. 'If outages increase to 15GW, load shedding would be limited to a maximum of 21 days out of 153 days at Stage 2,' it said on its website - a major improvement on last winter's worst-case forecast of Stage 5. Dickson believes those improvements are directly linked to rooftop solar, but says consumers have been blindsided by the costs now being forced onto them. That includes Eskom's new Retail Tariff Plan (RTP), which has already started affecting solar users. Since April, the power utility started implementing 20% of the Generation Capacity Charge (GCC), which has increased electricity bills for solar-equipped households that still rely on the grid for backup. In addition, the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) has proposed duties of between 5% and 30% on 82 solar-related tariff codes which Dickson says could massively drive up the cost of new installations for homes and businesses. 'ITAC is saying the benefit is to protect local manufacturers and spur economic development,' he says, but most of the country's solar panels come from overseas. 'If we impose these tariffs, it means any renewable projects already in planning will carry an extra 15 to 20% cost on raw materials which just means project rollouts will slow down, or budgets will overrun.' Dickson has described it as another form of tax on something that citizens have come to rely on and warned that Eskom runs the risk of losing long-term revenue if people, especially those who can afford it, decide to go completely off-grid. Melanie Veness, CEO of the Pietermaritzburg & Midlands Chamber of Business, painted a grim picture of the current situation and its impact on the private sector. 'We were promised load shedding was over, so it's disappointing and frustrating to be dealing with it again. It's devastating to the economy and we can't afford that with such low growth and high unemployment. Interrupted processes mean higher labour costs, less output, more rejects, late deliveries, and ultimately, losing the ability to compete globally. Eskom's failure to provide reliable, affordable electricity has forced businesses to invest in alternatives. It would be disingenuous to now tax them for doing so.' Socio-economic commentator Dr Bhasela Yalezo says it may be time to take legal action. 'For the economy to grow, we need sustainable energy, not what we're getting from Eskom. President Ramaphosa told people to invest in solar, and even sell excess energy back to the grid. Now those people are being double charged. The problem is that Eskom still acts like a monopoly, and they're unregulated. If this goes to court, we might at least get legal guidelines. If Eskom crosses the line, there'll finally be some kind of recourse,' said Yalezo.
