Load-shedding is currently hovering between stages 4 to 6, but what does this mean to us as consumers?

Stage 6 load-shedding means that the power utility requires at least 6000MW worth of demand to be removed from the gird, which can run in your area over four hours at a time, and 2 to 3 times daily.  This has a disastrous impact on the economy and this is most prevalent in small to medium businesses that cannot afford large, off-gird solutions, or the continuous running of diesel or petrol generators. 

As a leading distributor for the ICT industry, we are continuously testing new products and solutions and we are happy to announce that we have partnered with Luminous to offer cost-effective and robust backup power solutions for homes, small to medium businesses, high-sites and other networking requirements. 

About Luminous:

Luminous is an International manufacturer of Inverters and Battery Energy Storage Solutions.  The Luminous Inverter range works best with their Tall Tubular batteries, that is not only cost-effective, but also offers additional benefits such as:

• Up to 80% Depth-of-Discharge (DoD) when compared to conventional Lead Acid battery technology and 
• up to 1500 cycles, which refers to how many times the battery can be discharged and charged.  

Luminous inverters are all pure sine wave inverters with a built-in isolation transformer.  The isolation transformer ensures that the voltage going to the connected devices is regulated down, in the event that grid input returns and spikes the input voltage.

Luminous inverters also offer two modes of operation, namely ECO-Mode and UPS-Mode. 

In Eco-Mode, the mains are directly flowing to your appliances and the battery bank is in a ready state to take over only when the voltage from the grid input fails.  This mode offers a 2 to 5% saving on energy when compared to UPS mode. Eco-Mode is best when connecting devices such as lamps and fans. 

In UPS-Mode, the AC power from mains is converted to DC then used to charge the battery bank and then re-converted to AC to power up the connected devices.  This does consume a bit more power, but sensitive appliances such as TVs, Routers, etc. remain safe without witnessing fluctuations or power losses. 

What do you need to take into consideration when planning a backup power solution?

• Power Consumption of your connected devices:  This is always the best starting point. Get the maximum Wattage per connected device.  Then simply add all these Wattage values together to get your maximum Wattage load.  For example, you will be powering up a Smart TV that has a maximum Wattage of 100W.  A Sound Bar that has a maximum Wattage of 60W and a home router that has a maximum Wattage of 15W.  Your load requirement is 175W.  
• Duration:  As we mentioned in the beginning of the article, the duration of Stage 6 load shedding can be up to 4 hours or more.  You want an inverter system and battery bank that can provide at least 6 hours of backup.  For example, the Eco Volt Neo 1100VA system can be run with either a 150Ah or 200Ah battery.  The capacity of the system can then be either 12V x 150Ah = 1800Wh (1440Wh at 80% DoD) or 12V x 200Ah = 2400Wh (1920Wh at 80% DoD).  To calculate the duration of how long the system will work you simply take the usable capacity divided by the Load (in Watts).  1440Wh / 175W = 8.22hrs or 1920Wh / 175W = 10.97hrs. 
• Installation: Installation will depend on how complicated you want the system to be.  In our example of powering up a TV, Soundbar, and a home router, you want a DIY solution that simply uses standard AC is connected via an outlet, and has an AC out where a multiplug can be connected.  For systems that require more than 2kVA or 2000W, a solution that is connected to your Distribution Board would be highly recommended, such as the iCruze 48V, 4000VA inverter, and battery bank. 
• Cost: A LiFePO4 solution with Inverter, Installation and CoC can set you back anything from R70,000 and more, depending on the kWh capacity you opt for.  Lithium does offer higher life cycles, and longer warranties, however, from a cost perspective, this is simply out of reach for most South Africans.  A Luminous solution which consists of an Inverter and a connected battery bank can be less than a third of a similar Lithium kWh solution. 
  
  

We believe that our partnership with Luminous will offer clients an alternative backup energy solution that is affordable and robust. Should you need more information on the Luminous Range of Inverters and batteries, get in touch with us on sales@miro.co.za or alternatively, check out the products below.