Energy Solutions
There are very few places that cannot be connected to the mains or national grid in South Africa. Despite that, some renovators and self builders prefer going the off-grid energy route while others will have access to one form of energy but not another.
Whatever your situation, there are options for providing cost-effective, reliable energy to your home.
Even if you can connect to the grid, there is a lot to be said for energy independence. We are increasingly relying on interrupted Eskom energy. Which is particularly not very sustainable or reliable to say the least.
Plus, with energy prices increasing all the time and price capping having little effect, there is even more benefit to going off-grid.
Loadshedding Solutions
A battery back up solution is a great product to install to counter load shedding. The system consists of a inverter and battery pack to provide power when the lights go out. The system is completely automatic and can be installed in a number of locations. The advantage of this installation is that you don’t have to install a noisy generator. Generators need constant refilling and maintenance and are not ideal for residential areas or for small businesses where noise and pollution from the exhaust are a problem. The systems consist of a modified sine-wave or a Pure sine-wave inverter; with a built-in battery charger, automatic changeover switch and a large battery bank.
When utility power returns, the whole procedure is reversed and the unit will switch back to ESKOM and will automatically start re-charging the batteries. Your equipment remains connected to the system even when power is restored. The whole process is fully automatic.
The recharge time of the batteries depends on how much power was removed from the batteries during a power failure. The recharge times in the catalogues is indicated at full battery discharge.
What is the difference between a home long backup system and a UPS system?
A UPS system is designed to backup sensitive equipment like servers, computers, medical equipment, telecommunications equipment, etc. Standard UPS systems have small internal battery sets and can only provide short backup times of approximately 5 – 10 minutes which cannot be extended as the internal battery chargers are small and can only cater for the internal battery sets they were designed for. Additional or external batteries cannot be connected to these UPS systems.
In contrast, inverter based long backup systems do have a small break when they switch over to backup power (irrespective of the inverter system brand or model). The higher quality systems, which Sinetech supplies, switch over in a very short time and it is hardly noticeable. Inverter backup systems incorporate larger battery chargers which allows larger battery sets to be installed which results in much longer backup times than UPS systems.
In contrast, home long backup systems, which do have a small break when they switch over to backup power (irrespective if the inverter system, but the good quality systems have a power break during switchover which is hardly noticeable), incorporate large battery chargers which enables extra large battery sets to be installed, which results in extra long back-up times.This is not possible. with UPS systems
Types of Batteries we offer or install with our Inverters:
AGM Batteries (Lead Acid)
GEL Batteries (Deep Cycle)
Lithium Ion Batteries (Rack/Wall Mount)
Maintenance
These systems require minimum maintenance. Depending on the system chosen, the batteries are either fully-sealed Gel batteries or Lithium Ion . Batteries are maintenance free and do not have to be filled. It is recommended that battery sets are installed in a battery cabinet and are locked in a room with ventilation, where small children do not have access. Lithium Ion units are completely maintenance free and are in their own cabinet with own management system.
Installation
​The smaller systems can be used as stand-alone systems or can be wired into your DB board. The larger systems can also be used as stand-alone systems but it is by far more convenient if they are hard-wired into your DB board.
Maintenance
Yes, but the system has to be correctly sized then you wont have any issues. These systems are capable of bridging power outages from 2 – 24 hours or (e.g. for 2 hours per day twice a day) as the battery chargers are powerful enough to recharge the battery bank to cater for the second outage on the same day (providing there is enough time between the 2 outages – at least 4-6 hours). This system if fully automatic
Appliances that run well on a backup power system:
You can connect the following appliances to the inverter systems as long as the total power consumption does not exceed the maximum VA rating of the unit:
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Small to large Plasma or LCD TV
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DSTV and M-Net decoders
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Surround sound systems
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5 to 10 energy saver lights
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a Fan
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Fridge and deep freezer
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Home alarm system
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Automatic garage door motor
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Intercom
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Electric fence
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Microwave oven
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Small kettle
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Fax machine
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some standard home Power tools