Energy

Candles for light and gas for cooking during load shedding. Pic © Penny Swift Load Shedding Is Not Acceptable so Why Does It Happen? By PENNY SWIFT Load shedding is not acceptable to me or to most people who live in South Africa. But the irony is that it isn’t …

The South African Government has confirmed its commitment to net-zero emission by 2050, even though it continues to rely on coal for the bulk of its energy needs.  This is what President Cyril Ramaphosa said in his 2021 State of the Nation Address (SONA) about net-zero emissions and renewable energy, …

By  PENNY SWIFT As the cash-strapped South African power utility, Eskom, struggles to meet the country’s ever-growing electricity demand, the Government has confirmed its commitment to comply with the 2015 Paris Agreement’s goals for 2050. But to reach its goal, there will need to be immense innovation and urgent action …

You Can Reduce Your Energy Costs by up to 90% After signing up for “My Green Home” four years ago the Makalima-Ngewana family family saw their house in the middle-class suburb of Pinelands (a suburb of Cape Town) retrofitted with energy saving LED lights, low-flow showerheads and roof-top solar panels, …

Environmental Sustainability & Energy Usage in Buildings-Part X & XA In 2011, in an endeavour to make our buildings more sustainable, and to decrease energy usage in South Africa, a new part was added to SANS 10400, The application of the National Building Regulations. Part X deals with environmental sustainability, …

Electric Cables – What is Legal We get a lot of questions about which electric cables are legal and how they must be installed. So here is a brief rundown of the different types of legal cabling available and the way an installation could be done. There are various accepted …

Fenestration and Glazing Guidelines, Procedures and Calculations. The guidelines featured in the pdf below give an idea to anyone wanting to calculate the Fenestration Compliance Procedures in terms of Sans 10400-XA:2011 and SANS 204:2011, what is required and what is involved. There is a step-by-step guide to area (nett floor) …

Water Pipes, Steel Reinforcing and Electric Cable Detector Even though instruments that detect pipes and cables have been around for a number of years, they are, I believe, under used. Pipe and cable detectors are indispensable tools for any contractors in the building industry from plumbers to electricians, and installers …

Cool Roofs Reduce Energy Bills by up to 70 percent On site research proves that it is possible to save as much as 70 percent on energy with a “cool roof”. This is because cool roofs reduce roof temperatures by reflecting heat and sunlight away from the building. This is …

By PENNY SWIFT Are you Ready to go Green? South Africa, as a country, has been incredibly slow to take up the challenge of sustainable living. Yet we really do need to embrace this challenge and build using sustainable materials and sustainable methods, so that we have sustainable homes. We …

Chimneys, Flues, Hearths and Fireplaces Used for Space Heating-Part V Anyone searching through the National Building Regulations for information about chimneys and flues, hearths and fireplaces, might go straight to the part that deals with Fire Protection. The next step would probably to look through the part that deals with …