Eskom and Making the Most of the African Sun

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What can be found in larger quantities in Africa than in any other location of the world? Sunlight of course. And this is the feature that the new daring new project will take advantage of.

Eskom, that is known to be a South African utility, has announced its plans to install one million solar heaters by 2015. This seems to be a major green movement in the region that is said to offer wonderful results.

Eskom Solar Water Heaters

Almost 30%-50% of the total of electricity used in the South African households is consumed to heat water, and so it is very natural to consider using solar water heaters in a region that has an abundance of sunlight.

The company has been offering free electricity to numerous poor families in the region, but this free electricity has been solely used for lighting. This is why the families in question are using paraffin heaters that are to blame for a part of the pollution and they represent fire hazards. These households will be offered 110 liter capacity solar water heaters for free to use.

Even in case of those families that aren’t qualified as being poor, the company promises rebates up to 120% regarding the heater costs. All there is to do is to register for the rebate and to install a water heater that has been approved by Eskom.

There are about 80 manufacturers that have been approved by the company after there have been tests conducted regarding the quality, efficiency, and safety of the products.

The solar water heater is made of a water tank located on top of the evacuated glass tubes that are used as solar collectors. In the moment when the water is heated in the tubes, it rises to the water tank above and cool water will replace the warm water.

Through this circulation the tank will get filled with hot water, of 55 degrees Celsius or even more. The average energy consumption of the heater is of about 1KW, and this is why the 1 million heaters that are planned to be used will have a great impact on the energy demand of the region.

This way some of the concerns should be solved regarding the coal burning power plants that are planned to be constructed in order to meet the energy needs of the country. Along with this, there are also some other green energy projects that have been accepted by the South Africans.

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