What You Can Do About the Eskom Crisis

Cercopes
Apr 1, 2019
3 min read

Updated: Apr 6, 2019

Every South African knows what load shedding is, and while Eskom may have turned off our electricity, we don't have to be in the dark about how to stop this.

I know right now you're probably thinking something along the lines of "what on earth can I do to stop this? I'm only one person!" Here's the thing though: there are 58 million South Africans, 86% of which have access to electricity in their homes, (according to Trading Economics), and if every South African reduced their power consumption by 10% load shedding would be a thing of the past. Here are some ways in which you can reduce your electricity consumption, end loadshedding, save money, and help the earth all at once:

Geysers

Set your geyser to 55 degrees: because your geyser doesn't need to use additional energy to heat water to 80 or so degrees, it uses a lot less power. Your shower will still be warm enough, trust me.

Holiday mode: when you go on holiday mode, so should the dear old geyser back home. Switch it off completely. You won't need warm water when you aren't home, and leaving it on wastes power.

Insulation: cover the geyser and as many pipes as possible with an insulating blanket to avoid heat being lost to the surroundings.

Lights

LED: LEDs, or light emitting diodes, use much less power than your average CFL or incandescent bulb (X). This ultimately saves you money because you won't have to replace them as frequently (they have an average lifespan of 25000 hours compared to CFL's 8000 and incandescent's 1200) and you will also be saving money on your electricity bill.

Appliance lights: It may seem inconsequential, but that little red light on your TV uses power - and it adds up. Turn off your appliances at the walls! Yes it's annoying to have to do this, but so is load shedding.

Switch your lights off when you leave a room!

Other:

Get that energy efficient appliance: when the time comes to replace your fridge/freezer/microwave/whoever, make sure to go for that AA or AAA rated appliance. We bought a new fridge-freezer combo for approximately R6000, we save R200 per month just on the electricity bill, making the payoff approximately 2,5 years.

Stoves: when the stove decides to flake on you, and repairs aren't an option, opt for a gas stove instead (this way even if load shedding continues, there's still a way to make a warm meal)

Pool Pump: your pool pump only needs to run for about 6 hours per day in summer, and 4 hours in winter. Change the settings to reflect this and continue to enjoy a crystal clear pool and start enjoying the extra change in your pocket.

Phone Chargers: unplug your phone/iPad/tablet charger at the wall. Because the charger supplies a direct current in order to charge your phone, it continues to use power even when it isn't charging your phone.

Wash Full Loads: This applies to both your dishwasher and your washing machine. Don't wash half empty loads, rather wait until you can wash a full load and save both water and electricity.

When it gets chilly: when it starts reaching the winter months, don't immediately jump to the heater. Start with layers, and only use the heater when absolutely necessary. Even better: use the chilly weather as an excuse to cuddle with your loved ones!

Find more energy saving tips at Powertime.