Home » browse » South African Bureau of Standards

South African Bureau of Standards

  • South Africa: Eskom convenes Solar Industry Workshop-

    NP monthly installations” In early August, South Africa's national utility, Eskom, convened a workshop for solar water heating manufacturers, suppliers and installers. The primary objective of the workshop was to advise the industry on what to do about the remaining budget for the solar water heating rebate scheme, as well as which immediate steps to take until the end of the 2011-2012 financial year. Quality issues of currently installed systems were also discussed (see the attached presentation). The chart shows the strong increase in the number of applications for non-pressurised (NP) solar water heaters.
    Source: Eskom

  • SOLTRAIN: Solar Thermal Training in South Africa-

    Thirty seven solar water heating industry leaders and academics have just attended the third SOLTRAIN solar thermal technical training course.” Thirty seven solar water heating industry leaders and academics have just attended the third SOLTRAIN (Southern African Solar Thermal Training and Demonstration Initiative) solar thermal technical training course in Pretoria, South Africa. The training was formally opened by the regional coordinator of the programme, Professor Dieter Holm. In opening, Holm emphasized the value of the hands-on approach to the course under the guidance of a number of eminent experts in the field. The delegates represented a balanced mix from industry and academia.
    Photo: Omnibus Engineering

  • South Africa: New Collector Factory commissioned-

    Factory floor at Ikhwezi” South African company Ikhwezi Solar (Pty) Ltd announced in mid-July that its new solar thermal flat plate manufacturing plant has become fully operational. The factory's annual production capacity is 22,000 collectors, which are manufactured on a single shift basis. Before starting its own collector production, the company based in East London, at the southeast coast of South Africa, had specialised in supplying and installing solar thermal collectors for both South Africa's commercial and domestic market. “We decided to capitalise on the momentum created in South Africa, with the focus having moved much to renewable energy,” Executive Director of Ikhwezi Solar, Pieter Bosch, explains.
    Photo: Ikhwezi Solar

  • South Africa: Unit Standards and the Need for Training-

    South Africa training centre WaterSmith” When it comes to installing solar thermal systems, skilled workers are still rare in South Africa – a fact that the training centre WaterSmith tries to change. The training facility is offering its first solar water heater courses.
    Photo: Zingaro

  • South Africa: Rebates up to 30 %- 90 % of South Africa’s electricity is generated by coal-fired power stations. The fourth quarter of 2007, however, started with massive power cuts as electricity supply fell behind demand. Eskom, the largest electricity supplier in Africa, the South African Government and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), began to implement alternative and renewable energy programmes a year later. Among these is a rebate programme for solar water heaters.
  • South Africa: Workshop Discusses Market Barriers- Solar water heaters possess a huge potential in South Africa. “Some 100,000 houses are built every year, 30,000 homes are renovated, and about 400,000 electric geysers are replaced,” Thulani Gcabashe, head of Head of Energy Building Africa Holding, explained at the national solar water heating workshop in Midrand, South Africa, this February.