The Parkhurst Post is the newsletter produced by the Parkhurst Village Resident's Association. It is distributed free throughout the suburb and is produced 3-4 times a year.

Electricity Eaters

The mantra that our hot water tanks (also called cylinders or geysers) make up 40-50% of our electricity bill has been passed down as a household law along with such myths that leaving the cut crust on one end of the loaf stops it getting stale. I always wondered why our electricity bill didn’t really get any less when we went away for a few weeks and turned it off. So with the fuss going on about cutting our electricity usage by at least 10%, I felt it was time to do some research of my own.

My starting point was the excellent table of the drawing power and cost of using various household electrical appliances that appeared in the Star on 21 January 2008. I added a few extra items that are applicable to my household and worked out exactly how much we are paying for our electricity in Parkhurst (R0.5191 cents a Kilowatt hour including VAT). And the results lead to some interesting findings which I have presented in the three graphs below.

Cost of Using Domestic Electrical Equipment
The above graph shows, in descending order, how much it costs in rand to use an item of electrical equipment that we often have in our homes.

Sure enough the hot water cylinder or geyser tops the list at R2.338per hour when it is heating water. Of the top 20 energy hungry appliances, only 4 items are not related to heating something up.

Right at the bottom of the list is one of those energy saving bulbs with which we are being urged to replace the old incandescent bulbs. It only uses 0.4 cents an hour, while the old style 60 watt bulb costs 3.1 cents an hour (or 12 times more electricity than the energy saving one).

This kind of information is useful, but it is limited as it doesn’t take into account the actual usage of the appliances. I therefore used my house as an example for actual energy usage. It is a normal 3-bed 2-person house with pool, security system, loft insulation & granny flat.

Annual Electricity Cost

The pie chart above shows the breakdown of energy use categories (like heating, electronics & computing, lighting, cooking, etc) as well as some of the appliances that use enough electricity to be placed in their own category.

What I have done is estimate how much I use each appliance (and it is only an estimate). I was gobsmacked by the results. Contrary to popular belief, our hot water cylinder only accounts for R900 (or 9%) of my annual electricity bill (based on it heating water the little bit of water we use in showering and doing the washing up). It came in at # 7 in the list of most costly electricity catagories.

Top of the list was the pool pump which costs me R2000 a year to run (or 20.37% of my energy bill). My pool guy recommends that it should be on 12 hours/day for the 8 months of summer/spring and 8 hours/day in the 4 months of winter. It is by far and away the worst energy consuming single item in the household - about the same as all our cooking appliances together.

Other energy sapping culprits are:

* 19.60%: Cooking (stove, oven, microwave, kettle, etc);
* 10.49%: Heating (we have four 7-fin oil heaters used for about 5 hours a day in winter);
* 9.93%: Electronic and computing equipment (2 computers, printers, answering machines, hi-fis, TV, etc - we both work from home);
* 9.67%: The 2 fridge-freezers cost R475 each per year to run);
* 9.57%: Lighting - we have a mix of energy savers where we can and normal bulbs in the chandeliers and spots. Note that despite bulbs being cheap to run it is number of them and the long time they stay on that racks up the bills (we have a total of 38 in our house);

I have included another item we leave on 24 hours a day - the electric fence (R00 or 1.02%). Despite putting out 12000 volts it uses very few amps (the bit of electricity that has the power to make things work) and so it hardly draws any current and costs less than R10/month to run.

This, then, is a much more useful analysis and really does give me pointers where I can make real savings based on real facts. So here is what I have done and will be doing to reduce my energy consumption both to save me money and to help Escom (and therefore you) to avoid those dreaded planned power cuts:

* Roof insulation - recycled paper treated with fire retardent and rodenticide that was installed in 07;
* Install timer switch on hot water geysers and pool pump to reduce the load on the electricity grid - about to do in early March o8;
* Replace electric hot plates with gas - about to do in March 08;
* Use an electric blanket in the bedroom instead of oil heater - bought one in 07;
* Reduce pool pump usage - I have a salt chlorinator and so need to run it to generate chlorine. I will add a chlorine floater to the pool and run it for 8 hrs in summer and 5 in winter;
* I will replace ALL my old incandescent bulbs with the energy saving ones;
* I will use those light sensitive energy saving bulbs for my outside lights;
* I will replace the two old brass chandeliers with more modern low energy light fittings;
* I will turn off my PC more often (even if only the screen when I am away from the desk and office);
* I will turn off the at the wall all the devices that have a standby function (like the TV, hifi, DVD player, toaster, cell charger, etc).

What are you going to do? I would suggest that you use the figures in the first graph and work out your own usage. Then have a look at what is really costing you money and wasting electricity. Then DO SOMETHING about it and make those changes.

Geysers - Beyond the Truth

OK - the above analysis exploded the geyser myth about it being the major electricity user in the home. But it is a major power user when it is on, especially at certain times of the day when EVERYBODY else’s geysers are on. This is what ESCOM are getting at when they want us to turn them off at certain times of the day.

From listening to “experts” on Talk Radio 702 and chatting to my plumber and electrician I have come up with the following information on geysers.

If you were to turn it off from time to time, would you (1) help save electricity and make you feel that you are doing something to help with the electricity shortage; and (2) save you any money? The answer is “it depends.”

The geyser uses electricity to heat up water in a large cylinder. When the water gets to a certain temperature, the geyser turns itself off. When the temperature of the water starts dropping, the geyser turns itself on to heat it up to the desired temperature again. This continues all the time often as much as 20 minutes per hour in an old geyser. So obviously the insulation of the hot water cylinder or geyser is important.

Old Geysers

If you have an old geyser, it is unlikely that it is not well insulated. This means that you will save money AND electricity by buying an insulated jacket and fitting it so that you decrease the heat loss. An uninsulated geyser loses heat quickly and so it has to work harder to keep the water hot.

If you turn off this type of geyser for several hours a day, you will save money. I asked a plumber about stressing the element (the thing that heats the water) in an old geyser by turning it off and on and he said that he hadn't come across this problem.

I have one of these in the granny flat I only turn it on when we have visitors. The element hasn't blown so far.

New Geysers

These tend to be the more like square boxes. The box often has insulation inside it to keep the water warm and the water loses about 1'C every 24 hours. Because the heat loss is less, the element doesn't have to work as hard to keep the water hot. Turning off this type of geyser will not really save you money as the money saved in turning it off will be added on when you have to reheat it again.

I have one of these in my house and I find out that the water stays warm enough to have 4 showers a day and sundry hand and dish washes for two days.

You can also turn down the thermostat on the geyser. I found that when I did this, I used more hot water as you don't use so much cold water to cool it down. I also found that the shower was weaker as it needed the cold water to boost its power. I will be investigating a low flow shower head which may solve this problem.

Ethics

As mentioned above, expense and just saving electricity is often not the main reason for turning off the geyser. The main problem we are facing is that at certain times in the day, the demand for electricity exceeds the ability of Escom to supply it. So if we can have our cylinders (and pool pumps, etc) turned off at these peak times (from 6-10 am and 4-9 pm), then we WILL be helping to solve the energy crisis.

Recommendations

I would recommend that you install a timer on your geysers (and also on your pool pump) that isn't affected by power cuts (it has a little battery built into it) that turns on your geyser at night and your pool off during off-peak periods. Ask your electrician about them they cost R1500 to supply a good quality one.

You can also fit an insulated cover onto the cylinder which will help a little bit for the new cylinders and a lot on old ones. Of course it will work better in winter when the temperature is colder. They cost from R200-300 each depending on your geyser size and are available from Parkhurst Paint and Hardware.

Power Cuts that Killed the DVD

We all know about power surges and outages causing damage to your computer equipment, but they can also have a disastrous effect on many of your electrical devices in the home.

Those most at risk are the ones that themselves powered by small micro-computers such as the more obvious MNET/Multichoice decoders, TVs and DVD players. However many other devices like fridges, microwaves and toasters also now have little computers or microprocessors built inside them.

They are also designed to operate on a constant and steady power supply to work well. They have been designed to be disconnected one or two times a month, but once or more a day is bad for them.

But the main problem is the on-off, on-off with the surges and dips in the current when the power is reconnected. An expert on Talk Radio 702 said that the best thing we can do during planned power cuts (and also in case of unplanned ones) is to shut down the device and turn it off at the wall. Only turn it back on when the electricity has been switched on again.
For the devices like fridges, you can fit one of the many external power supplies like a UPS or surge protector.

Rates

As you all know in July the Johannesburg City Council are planning on increasing the rates in the city to bring the rates more in line with the current market value of properties in the city. For instance, my rates are currently R490.11 on a property valuation of R371 000 (or a taxable rate of R0.00132 for every rand that the property is valued). The value of the house is laughably low - the last valuation we had in 2007 was R2.2 million. So if I were to pay the market related rates at the current taxable rate I should be paying R2904 a month.

The city is now realistically valuing properties and then applying a reduced taxable rate to work out your rates bill. The new city valuation of my property is a pretty accurate R1.98 million which will attract a rates bill of R818.75 (a taxable rate of R0.00041 per valued rand).

What the city has done is increase the value of my property by 533% and decreased the rateable tax by 322%. This has resulted in an increase in my monthly rates by R328.64 or 66.92%.

I think that we all agree that the properties are currently undervalued and it is a good idea to update them. However, by increasing the rates bill by a whopping 67% over night is pretty steep. If you add the current R180.87 that I am paying for refuse collection, sewer services and bin hire, the total monthly bill will go up from R670.98 to R999.62.

To object to and comment on the increase, please contact our rates and alternative energy sub-committee chair Mike Gardener mjcg@webafrica.org.za.

Check Your Valuations & Increases

There are two methods of doing this:

1) Call 011-375-5555 between 8am-4pm on weekdays and choose option #7. You will need your erf or stand # (it is found on your rates and electricity bills.

2) The Internet using the following instructions:
• Go to “eservices.joburg.org.za.”
• Enter your user name and password (or register if you haven't done it yet).
• Click "valuation services" in the grey box on the left.
• Click "I agree."
• Click on the black box called "Click here to get the new market value of your property."
• Click "I agree."
• Tick "township" and enter "Parkhurst."
• Tick "stand" and enter your stand #.
• Click "search."
• Click on "Parkhurst." This should bring up a screen with your property details and new valuation.
• To access an estimate of your monthly rates bill, click on the property details screen and then click on "click here” next to “calculate your draft rates".
• This will bring up a page with your property details and proposed increases.

Living Link

Nestling behind one of the high walls in 12th Street, there is a very special place for people with intellectual difficulties who often need a helping hand to launch them into adulthood as vital and productive members of society.

The Living Link was founded in 2000 by daughter and mother team Julia Wilkinson and Ingrid Menzel after their efforts in teaching life skills and social skills to their own intellectually impaired sister and daughter Nadine Wilkinson. They realised that there was very little support offered for intellectually impaired people once they left school and were determined to use their experience gained from helping Nadine with other similarly disadvantaged people.

The main services offered by The Living Link are:

Life Skills Training Programme: this is a year long programme where students are given instruction in everyday life skills, opening and running a bank account, workplace skills, safety and independent living skills. They are also given some work experience through various organisations and businesses like the Johannesburg Zoo and Ernst and Young.
Once they have graduated, The Living Link helps to find them a job and also appoints a job coach who supports the student, the employee and co-workers. There are now 60 graduates holding down jobs in the open labour market in such places as warehouses, factories, offices, schools and hospitals. The type of work that is suitable tends to be the repetitive and not frontline jobs like filing, data capturing and basic paper work.

After Employment Programme: They are assisted in independent living. In South Africa there is very little affordable housing for the disabled and most of the independent graduates live at the 14 REEA cottages (called “The Village”) at the bottom of 17th St. They live as independently as they can and all are working. There is a supervisor who is there to help with things like a monthly budget, grocery shopping, food and other issues.

If you want to support The Living Link either with donations of money or goods, or with employment for the graduates, you can contact Julia on 011-447-7183, julia@thelivinglink.co.za. They also have a very good and informative website at www.thelivinglink.co.za.

Leaves

Autumn is coming and it will soon be the time to deal with all our falling leaves. Instead of just throwing them away, how about making a mulch to protect your flower beds from drying up. To do this you collect the leaves and place them in a bin bag. Add some water to the leaves and tie up the bag. Puncture the bag a few times with a garden fork to allow some air to circulate.

The wet leaves should then start decomposing in the bags and you should hopefully be able to use them after a few months as a nutritious mulch in your garden in spring. I will be trying it out and will report back later in the year.

For those who have too many leaves, you can put them in bin bags and deposit them at the Victory Park dumpsite in Victory Park Rd next to Pirates Sports Club.