Page 26 - FWG_Issue 6_2022

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FIVE TIPS TO GO (partly)

OFF THE GRID IN SOUTH AFRICA

B Y JUS TIN KILL OPS

South Africans are finally united 1. Rechargeable globes light during power outages, depending on
as a nation. However, this Perhaps these little gems won’t come as the type of globe you get.
a huge surprise. On the other hand, I only
united front has nothing to do discovered them very recently, and they 2. Wi-Fi mini-UPS back-up
with politics, religion, opinion or were an absolute revelation. Rechargeable Generators and/or inverters with enough
capacity to power your entire home
LED globes are readily available online or
allegiance to any particular set from most reputable hardware, DIY and during outages don’t come cheap. But if
of beliefs. What unites us is our lighting stores, and even in some of the you consider the essentials for any given
working day or quiet evening at home, you
bigger supermarket chains.
universal discontent when we don’t need to sell a kidney to power them.
hear the simple words: ‘load- These adorable rays of light come with If you work on a modern laptop, you’ll get
a built-in battery that charges when the
shedding!’ power is on. They generally require between between one-and-a-half and four hours’
four and six hours to charge and should battery life, depending on the brand and
e all face the same provide between two and four hours of battery capacity. If you’re at the higher
collective annoyance and end of that scale, you’ve probably found
inconvenience or worse – that your laptop generally outlasts load-
Wloss of income, business shedding, which is usually between two
interruptions and cold, dark, sometimes and four hours at a time.
hungry nights. We roll our eyes, shake
our fists, stub our toes in the dark and are While your laptop can power itself, your
never really certain which ‘Stage’ of load- Wi-Fi router can’t. But if all you need is light,
shedding to expect next. a laptop and an internet connection, just
switch on your rechargeable globe, make
Candlelit dinners are not quite the same sure your laptop charges when the power
when you aren’t having them by choice. is on and add an affordable mini-UPS or
After all, you can get too much of a good inverter into the mix to run your router.
thing. And sadly, not all of us can afford
the (roughly) R250 000 starter kit it takes Small UPS units, made exclusively to power
to move a modestly-sized home entirely
off the grid.

It’s not all bad news, though. With a few
small, relatively inexpensive touches
added to your home, you can dial down
the disruptions brought about by our Image by Dreamlike Street
ailing power utility. Here are five tips to Image by Kendall Ruth
beat load-shedding without breaking the
bank.

Fourways Gardens • 24 • July 2022