I have installed many CCTV systems mostly entry level HDCVI stuff with the odd top end system in factories and a few commercial. I took the leap up to the mid range and recently completed a couple full IP systems with cameras that are not even available in the country (there were until I purchased all of them), boy did I bump my head. Nothing like getting dropped in the deep end and just giving it your all in an attempt to keep your head above water. With the solar stuff I spent at least a year doing research, by the time I started my first install I had a pretty good idea of what to expect ..read more

Help me understand. One can, with a special meter, and the right setup, feed excess power generated by your panels, back into the grid. Your inverter however must stop feeding back into the grid, should the Supply Authority switch off the grid for maintenance purposes. How will your inverter know when to stop exporting if there are multiple inverters exporting simultaneously ? How does your inverter distinguish between grid power and power exported into the grid from other inverters ..read more

It's 2024, CBI no longer dominates the small circuit breaker industry (they have priced themselves out the market), we no longer bother with SABS standards, and so long as the product has some form of certification done in any small lab around its good to go. So the question now, when are we going to start wiring the breaker correctly ? If you think in the top and out the bottom, well best you look closely at the breaker. Hager, ABB and other decent quality products used around the world are designed to be wired in the line in the bottom and load out he top. After 40 years working in this ..read more

Ok. Never before had this problem. Connect supply live and neutral to earth leakage. Press test button and it trips. Cool. Connect load live to bottom of unit. Press test button and it trips. Cool. Connect load neutral to bottom of unit and press test button. Does not trip. Not so cool. When I connect the load neutral to the unit, it does not trip. Come now, my brothers, I need some more brains here ..read more

This something that is not discussed enough. As we all know, the almighty budget controls most businesses, which at times will lead to people making bad decisions, especially with regards to safe working environments. As an electrical contractor I have been put in situations where I have had to make decisions, which align with my ethics and standards, do you bow down to budget pressure and drop your ethics and standard to get the work or do you walk away. This challenge just gets more difficult when doing work for friends or family, for some reason they seem to expect you to risk a lot more ..read more

I am getting a lot of calls from customers who want to replace their UPS with an Inverter.... NOT the same thing. UPS - uninterrupted power supply, which means the unit is always online or can switch fast enough that it shouldn't loose power to any connected equipment (just beware of the cheap UPS units) An inverter might indicate that it has a pure sinewave, but is not an uninterrupted power supply". For example if you have a server in an office, linked to a bunch of computers, I would highly recommend you fit a good quality online "UPS" with a stabilized power supply and surge protection ..read more

What's the required amps for a stove breaker switch? I'm buying an apartment and an electrician said by law he has to replace the switch from 25 amps to 40 or 50 (don't recall which). Sellers decided to send another electrician coz the first quote was too high. And this one says 25 amps is fine. So which is which ..read more

Hi, I'm a new member. Came across this forum by chance and it seems to be a very interesting forum indeed. I own a small holiday flat in a building that has a 3 phase Stiebel Eltron instant hot water heater. Works well enough. Except during load shedding. My guests complain about not being able to shower when there's load shedding. I'm thinking about installing an 8kwh inverter/battery system and replacing the Stiebel Eltron heater with an Ariston 30L oversink heater (single phase and 1500w consumption). I'm not at all technically minded – this has been suggested to me – but I'd like to hear f ..read more

I have a solar system installed on my house, do I have to register the system with eThekwini? Who is responsible for registering my system? Me the customer or the installer or the electrician who signed the COC? (Lets face it everyone is doing installation and getting people to sign them off, so lets not waste time going there, this thread is about registering the system) Let me start by saying, there have been a lot of changes to the eThekwini website with regards to solar power since I last checked the site. I would suggest you visit the website and catchup. There is now an energy sectio ..read more

Guys, what would cause a City Power breaker to trip randomly? It goes for several hours and trips around twice a day at different times. Single phase 80A breaker. Amps pulled way way under spec - 34A. House DB not tripping. Customer is postpaid. Have disconnected the feed cable from CP and the DB and Meggered it - all good. No cable fault. CP was in attendance but didn't have an insulation tester. Any ideas ..read more