Power to new technology
Industrial Award
Winner: I&J with Energy Partners
Old technology combined withrecent electricity tariff increases at I&J’s icemaking plant in Cape Town began to impact the business negatively, so they looked to Energy Partners for solutions to optimise their energy use.
Energy Partners implemented various technological energy solutions to the plant’s compressors, refrigeration systems, icemakers and overall control system.
Ambient temperature instead of refrigerants are now used to cool oil in the compressors and an intermediate pressure (-10 degrees Celsius) feed was installed to pre-cool the water fed to icemakers. The plant’s control system was re-programmed to reduce energy required for compression and new motor control gears were installed for better power distribution.
These technological interventions meant I&J avoided the capital expenditure on a brand new plant, reduced their energy consumption by 52% and is saving more than R1.1- million a year on electricity costs.
Gas byproduct turns the process
Industrial Award
Special Award: Tronox Mineral Sands
It’s been almost eight years in the making, but today Tronox South Africa are successfully operating a cogeneration project to reduce their consumption of energy from the grid. Tronox mines and processes minerals and manufactures compounds such as titanium dioxide.
As a byproduct of the smelting process (they smelt ilmenite to produce titanium dioxide), Tronox was producing a flammable gas that was a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. It was burnt off in the atmosphere in the form of large flares, visible at night as bright blue flames.
In 2006 the company began prefeasibility on an idea to feed this into gas engine technology instead, producing power to partially run the smelting process itself. Construction was completed in 2012 and the plant has been up and running since January 2014, generating more than 70 gigawatt hours a year. This is equivalent to the annual consumption of about 6 000 households.
“It is the most efficient way to use this gas byproduct,” says engineer Peter Haley, “reducing our total consumption companywide by 10% annually.”
Greening-edge home design
Innovation Award
Winner: ERA Architects
Ken Stucke lives and breathes green architectural principles. He grew up on a self-sufficient farm in the United Kingdom and studied permaculture. He wanted to employ these and other techniques in his architecture but found instruction in this was lacking, so he set about teaching himself the science and skills of green building.
House Jones is a commercial project for a private client that Stucke and his company ERA Architects designed and project-managed. This house and garden, on a 600m2 stand in Hurlingham, is virtually completely self-sufficient and places minimal demands on council services.
It utilises resources very efficiently, collecting rainwater, harnessing solar power, and employing a waste-water treatment system. The house is designed to emulate a forest, keeping itself temperate throughout the year using shading and plant cover, and employs an intelligent system to shut down non-essential devices when there is a power cut. The house is exceptionally well insulated and draft proofed.
A remarkable 74% energy saving has been demonstrated. Water consumption monitoring is the next step for House Jones, and Stucke is confident that significant savings will also be demonstrated there.
Green house in name and style
Energy Savings in Households Award
Joint winner: Emmett & Kim Green
“Can you have an electricity bill of R0?” The question led to Emmett Green taking up the task of turning his home into “the Green house” in more ways than one.
When he and his wife Kim moved into their Johannesburg home in mid-2012, they grew increasingly frustrated with the regular power cuts and rising electricity costs. They decided to retrofit and renovate their home by installing energy-saving appliances and other fittings.
The Greens replaced all windows and doors with insulated glass, all lights with LEDs, installed a wood-burning stove and solar panels, removed their under floor heating and geyser and installed a 1.1kWh heat pump with a timer. These and many other adjustments cut their electricity consumption from 40.33kWh to an average of 5.5kWh per day.
All this was and continues to be done with the aim of getting off the national grid and turning it into a completely self-sufficient and energy-efficient home, without having to compromise their lifestyle.
Living carbon dioxide-free
Energy Savings in Households Award
Joint winner: Jay van Deventer
Jay van Deventer’s home in George is so energy efficient that it produces excess electricity. Shared with Nicci Ovendale, it is a “net positive home” that has the infrastructure to supply energy to their community when legislation allows.
Using technology, the couple have been able to turn it into a smart home that only uses 8kWh of electricity a day in summer and 12kWh in winter.
Van Deventer applied his engineering expertise and understanding of the structural, thermodynamic and hydraulic aspects of buildings to create a carbon dioxide-free home.
The house is insulated, is designed for passive heating and cooling, and uses solar energy that can be stored. The couple also recycle their grey and black water.
The family that saw the light
Energy-efficiency Awareness Award
Winner: My Green Home
The Green Building Council’s My Green Home programme tracked a South African family on their journey to becoming an energy-saving, eco-friendly household. The aim was to inspire other South Africans to become green and guide them through the process.
The programme followed the Ngewana family and how they progressed through different phases to make their home green and more environmentally friendly.
The Green Building Council realised many people want to go green but don’t know how. The programme was a demonstration project that targeted mid- to high-income consumers to show them how they can be more energy efficient.
The 10-episode series offered viewers advice on “no cost”, “low cost” and “invest to save” options when tackling a home greening project. It received more than R7-million in publicity and coverage, and the Ngewana family cut their energy consumption by 53%.
Waste fuels smoke-free stoves
Community Award
Joint winner: Tongaview Primary School
Zodwa Lubisi, principal at Tongaview Primary in Mpumalanga, was set on creating energy-efficient, smoke-free kitchens for the three cooks who run the school’s feeding programme for 883 pupils.
Since February 2014, Zodwa has trained both pupils and members of the community to create their own biofuel products, using waste, old boxes and cardboard, and repurpos- ing this as briquettes.
In addition, the school worked with the Wildlife & Environment Society of South Africa to create a new stove, which eliminates hazardous smoke during the cooking process.
The cooking unit, with holes around the circumference of the base, serves as a built-in “smoke extractor” for these energy-efficient and smoke-free stoves.
To date, Tongaview has reflected a monthly energy saving of 58%.
Energy-efficient hub of learning
Community Award
Joint winner: TSiBA Education NPC
The Tertiary School in Business Administration (TSiBA) is living the principles of responsible and conscious living by turning their campus into an energy-efficient hub of learning.
TSiBA staff engage in rigorous recycling, use environmentally friendly cleaning products and maintain an organic vegetable garden. Solar panels are used for water heating, as well as energy-efficient cooking methods such as a solar oven and cooker, cooker bags (heat retention cookers) and a fuel-efficient clay oven for the campus’ large catering needs.
These interventions have drastically reduced electricity usage, costs and gas emissions at TSiBA’s Cape Town campus, with the average student using only 3kWh of electricity a day. TSiBA is saving 1 386kWh of electricity and 2 100 hours of gas per year.