AFRICAN ENERGY
19
Providing the right battery
Effectively harnessing South Africa’s abundant solar energy in a business
environment offers both environmental and cost-saving benefits. However, when
introducing a solar solution, many companies find themselves facing unexpected
challenges due to incorrect set-up and battery usage.
The winning formula is to clearly
understand the company’s precise energy
needs upfront to implement a solution that
correctly addresses requirements, both in
terms of equipment set-up and in choice
of solar battery. This is according to Ingo
Eichner from Probe, South Africa’s leading
importer and distributor of batteries and
solar solutions.
He says that solar is not necessarily an either/
or scenario. “Obviously it is desirable to be
completely off-grid. But solar can still reap great
energy saving benefits working in conjunction
with the grid, providing crucial power during
daylight hours, storing essential energy, and
converting it for later use, and only pulling in grid
power when necessary.”
“Large industrial applications would typically
run off a three-phase application to power
heavy-duty or specialist equipment,” says
Eichner. “A health care facility or large corporate
environment where any dips or surges in power
could be catastrophic would require a large bank
of solar batteries to support the crucial UPS
backup power.
At the other end of the spectrum, filling stations
could also successfully incorpor ate solar into
their energy plan. Eichner says, “During the day,
solar energy would run the petrol pumps, with
a smaller bank of batteries storing energy. Then
at night, the solar battery bank would kick in
with energy provision. This is ultimately a cost-
effective way to run a small or medium-sized
business, especially in remote locations.” Here,
Probe’s gel battery would be used in the solar
solution, given that it charges at a slower pace
and is ideal for standby power.
Eichner says education is key to getting people
‘solar ready’. “The technology is here. At Probe,
we offer a variety of batteries for solar use that
have been specifically designed for a variety
of needs. The key is analysing whether you
require standby energy versus a high production
requirement, or a tie-grid or completely off-grid
solution.” PA
“The winning formula is
to clearly understand the
company’s precise energy
needs upfront.”
Fit for purpose solar cables
According to Helukabel South Africa sales
manager Hardus van Dyk, Helukabel’s
foresight saw the company already
developing appropriate solutions for
photovoltaic (PV) applications in the early
90s with the development of its first PV
cables, which are still marketed under the
Solarflex trademark. These carry global
approvals from TÜV and VDE.
These pre-assembled solutions include chains,
PV wiring fuse/diode, pre-assembled potential
equalisation cables, adapters, and other fit for
purpose PV cables. Components in the solar
range include panel boxes, as well as male and
female connectors and branches, with a host of
accessories that include cable glands, protection
tubes, shrink-on sleeves, and cable ties.
www.plumbingafrica.co.za
Specialist cable manufacturer Helukabel has developed a comprehensive
range of cables and accessories exclusively for solar energy applications.
All cables are ozone, UV, and weather resistant
and are highly resistant to chemical interference,
as well as being resistant to fire and abrasion. In
addition, the cables can be made in rodent resistant
versions or to customers’ exact requirements for
specific sites. The bare copper, tinned, and finely
stranded cable is double insulated with cross-
linked Polyolefin, while the outer sheath comprises
the same material in a black, red, or blue. The
nominal voltage of this particular cable is rated at
600/1000V AC and 1800V DC.
Helukabel’s PV cables are
still marketed under the
Solarflex trademark.
While most projects awarded thus far are for
solar PV cells, the company also has access to
dedicated cabling solutions for wind farms in
addition to its range of standard cables. PA
May 2017 Volume 23 I Number 3