Bye, bye Barbet

This morning the juvenile Crested Barbet in the nesting log
in our garden said "Goodbye".
Not only to us, but to its parents as well...
I saw this departure as analogy for parents,
both human and animal who have to bid their
offspring "Farewell" at some point.

I have been watching the youngster for the past few days,
and I was hoping that I would be there to see it leave.
As a parent, I thought of when my daughter left home.
First to go and study in Paris, France
and then to go and live and work in Cape Town.
Was this Barbet ready to spread its wings?
I waited with baited breath

There was a lot of uncertainty as to how it might play out.
It appeared and disappeared back into the log more than once.
As if trying to make up it's mind.

Each time it came to the entrance,
it would "expose" more of itself.

Much like a diver stepping up to the edge of the high board
in preparation for the launch

Almost out...
But not quite ready to go yet.

The last image that I have of parent and offspring.

My final image of the youngster,
just before it launched.
I was expecting it to hop onto a nearby branch,
however this was not to be.
Once out of the hole, it flew off immediately...

The parent arrived back with food,
to try to tempt junior out,
but it had already gone...

The Crested Barbet, 

(Trachyphonus vaillantii) 

('trachys'=rough, 'phone'=voice, sound') 

is a sub-Saharan bird in the Lybiidae family. 

Its specific name commemorates François Levaillant, 

a famed French naturalist.

A look inside confirmed that no-one was home...

A final meal that had not been eaten.
The parent birds returned from time to time "post departure"
seemingly distressed by the fact that their "baby" had gone.
I know that the human analogy is not quite the same.
Yes, our children leave home, but we as parents
hope that they will stay in contact.
In the wild, once the youngsters are gone,
the parents move on to the next brood.

The nesting log is now vacant,
but I can still hear the adult Barbets calling...
I do hope that they will continue to use this log
for further generations.
And that the youngster will have a happy and fulfilling life.

Size is not everything...

Load shedding is no longer a laughing matter.

Especially for the older citizens of our country

for whom sitting in the darkness 

can be a daunting, if not downright scary, experience.

If you currently have electricity, then make yourself a cuppa

 while I share a story with you.

And in these times of doom and gloom, especially the latter,

given the current load shedding crisis,

one that has a happy ending.

To paraphrase Sophia (from the Golden Girls);

"Picture this, Johannesburg, 2020"...

Despite the promise to our President.

Eskom started with their planned/unplanned

load shedding/power outages/rolling blackouts earlier than expected.

But why were we surprised when the grid crashed almost as soon

as the New Year started.

You also have to wonder what will be disclosed following the sudden

resignation of the Eskom chairperson, Jabu Mabuza.

Add to that the fact that once AGAIN the government is looking

to constitute a new board!

And in the midst of all this, our erstwhile Minister of WTF,

Pravin Gordhan ( actually he is the Minister of Public Enterprises) 

says that all should be well

with the utility in the next year or two...

REALLY!!!

 For those who cannot afford the expense of a full solar system,

there is a more affordable alternative available.

A low-frequency pure sine wave inverter like this will power necessary equipment

in your house so that you won't have to sit in darkness.

This sort of set up will usually power a couple of lights,

a socket outlet for a phone charger as well as a TV. 

This 1kw system was recently installed by Solco Solar for a family member

for whom a full solar installation was not an option.

Installed in a few hours, it will give them peace of mind when the

power dies in their suburb.

Like most electronic equipment,

the inverter has a digital readout and should be mounted

in such a way that this can be easily accessed.

I think that the new owners are secretly waiting for load-shedding

to put their system to the test.

This particular system is paired with a 200amp deep cycle gel battery.

 which should offer about 6 hours, depending on the loading.

(i.e a TV and decoder would draw approximately 250w)

The battery normally takes about 4 hours to fully recharge.

Are YOU tired of living with this "will they, won't they"

type of statements on a daily basis?

Would you like to take back some control

 as to how much Eskom disrupts YOUR life?

Time to reclaim our power...

To quote William Johnsen;

"If it is to be,

it is up to me"

For more information on this type of installation.

contact Bernard Ridge and request a quote:

bernard@solcosolar.co.za

Visit the website:

https://solcosolar.co.za/

or have a look at their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/Solco-Solar-811551572577224/

Power from the sun! Solar saves the day...

"Here comes the sun".

This lyric from a Beatles song seems, to sum up, 

an underrated renewable energy source available to all.

It was time for us at Chez Batz to kiss( a not so fond) goodbye

 to City Power and by extension, ESKOM.

Well, much of it anyway!

After the recent load shedding that we endured in our suburb,

which was followed by a 40-hour outage due to a blown fuse

on the phase that feeds our house(together with several others in our street),

we decided that it was time to put all my recent research to good use and

install solar panels, batteries and a 5kW inverter.

I had worked on this project for more than a year

as our first quote made our eyes water and the bank manager cringe.

But, having done due diligence, and chatting to friends in similar situations,

I finally came up with a company and a price that suited our budget.

Upfront, I have to say that an installation like this is not cheap,

but given an unstable electrical grid as well as the

constant tariff increases, this route is virtually the only option left

to homeowners. It would be great if there were tax incentives for systems

that 'free' up grid electricity for other users, but currently that is not an option.

This quote from ESKOM seems to sum up their status for the foreseeable future:

"We, however, remind customers that, as the system continues to be vulnerable and unpredictable, the possibility of load shedding remains."

Standing tall!

Dumas wiring up the panels on the roof above our front door.

At present, the total system consists of 9 panels.

Some might see them as an ugly addition to a home,

but luckily we were able to split them so that they were not too intrusive.

The system that has been installed is modular, 

and extra components can be added as required.

The other 6 panels are on the side of the roof that faces 

the driveway of the pan-handle property behind our house.

They are not visible from the front of our house at all.

These are Tier 1 panels that meet all the relevant safety standards. 

Other than a clean once a year, the panels need no other maintenance.

Battery technology has come along in leaps and bounds.

The deep-cycle batteries that used to power these systems,

were large, heavy and needed LOTS of space.

The new lithium batteries are about the size of a DVD 

player and are electronically controlled.

The lights on the front panel give you instant information as to the state of the charge.

Being the heart of the system, these can also be the most

 expensive part of the installation.

Those who are considering which batteries 

to use should also take into account the longevity of the battery.

Deep cycle batteries will last up to 8 years,

while the lithium counterparts are good for 15-20 years.

The batteries still need to be enclosed in a cabinet,

which the suppliers had run out of stock.

That part of the project will be completed in early January,

when to supplier gets his first stock contingent of 2020

UPDATE...

Not only do we have our battery box installed,

we also have invested in another battery...

During this initial phase, we discovered that there was a period

between midnight and about 03h00 when the system 

was drawing from the City Power grid. 

We have installed the extra battery to get us through that period

and make us almost totally non-dependant on grid power. 

The final installation of the inverter and its hardware was neatly done.

The installation is well protected from the weather and is situated 

on an outside wall that has a small roof to add further protection from the elements.

In the modern digital age, all the required information is at your fingertips.

You can change the settings from this panel as well.

If there are issues with the batteries,

this fuse switch can disconnect them quickly and efficiently.

And THIS switch cuts the panels out,

should that be required.

Meantime, inside, there is a switch like this,

should you wish to isolate the system for any reason.

Currently ( pun intended) I switch off the main switch during the day,

thus cutting our mains power and running our household

 off the 'free' electricity supplied by the sun.

Even on the overcast days that we have had since the installation,

there has been enough power stored in the batteries

 to run the system well after dark.

The A-Team.

From L to R, the team...

Dumas, Petros and Gibson.

This was probably the most irritating/problematic part of the whole installation.

Trying to get the connectivity between the App, my home network

and my phone to work...

It took SEVERAL installation attempts to finally get 

the App to load and connect with the device 

that was attached to the inverter.

That being said, once it connected, it worked seamlessly.

I am able to check the system from anywhere,

without having to physically look at the installation.

The system is designed to run our entire household, 

with the exception of the geyser and the oven.

We have a Geyser Wise control fitted to our geyser

 to regulate the temperature efficiently.

We also have a gas hob installed, so we can cook...

This is the company that installed our system. 

Under the supervision of Bernard Ridge,

his team worked quickly and efficiently to have

 the complete system running within 3 days.

Why choose Solco?

1] My initial contact with the company was dealt with promptly.

2] Appointments that were scheduled were kept. If there was going to be a delay,

this was conveyed via What's App.

3] We were offered two quote options, with and without panels, 

both of which were professionally completed.

4] We were also offered the option of replacing our current geyser with a solar one. 

We chose not to go that route at present.

5] The job was completed within the specified time frame...give or take a couple of hours.

UPDATE!!!

And just like that, load shedding returned!

But at Chez Batz, we were waiting in eager anticipation to see

if our installation was going to work as promised by the installer.

I installed this light  to tell me when City Power had restored electricity

after previous load shedding events.

To test the new solar installation, I used it to tell me when City Power

cut the supply...

When it went out, the solar system kicked in so seamlessly

that I did not even notice a dip in power.

In fact, it took me a moment or two to realize that the light had gone out.

Chez Batz continued as if nothing had occurred.

The switchover from City Power to our solar installation was seamless!

In fact, I had to look out of a window to confirm that the power had gone off.

The batteries lasted for the entire duration of the outage

( and still had charge post the shedding)

and we, as a household, were not inconvenienced at all!

Well done to all concerned with this installation.

Happy 1st birthday Valet-V

The ringing of my gate intercom signalled the arrival or the team from Valet-V. Booked for 08h45, they arrived at...08h45! Something that I have come to expect from this highly professional company and by extension, the staff. I have used their services on two previous occasions and it is usually Franck (furthest from the camera) who comes to valet my car. This time he brought Jean Jacques with him.

As soon as they had unpacked, it was time to tackle my rather grubby car. Travelling to the bush as I do on a regular basis is not good for the exterior of this 13-year old...the car, not me! But, as it turned out, most of the dirt was surface and washed off with relative ease.

It is very difficult trying to take non-reflective pictures of the car, so I focussed on the condition of the wheels and tires for this BEFORE...

 And AFTER image. The difference is easy to see and bring out the quality of the valet.

 Parts of the vehicle, like the inside of the doors that are often overlooked, are given a thorough clean.

Trying to convey how clean the car is post the valet is not easy as the reflections cause a major distraction.

Side by side, Franck and Jean Jacques work at getting the car to an almost show quality finish...

Before the valet, this badge was hidden under a lot of road dirt. Afterwards, it was once again proudly gleaming in the early morning sun.

Given the current threat of load-shedding, I was informed that although they might not be able to use the high-pressure hose or the vacuum cleaner, suitable alternatives are in place. The team, if the power goes off once started, can revert to the 'rinseless' method or if the client insists,'waterless' although the latter is not recommended for extremely dirty vehicles. The staff can wield brushes and dustpans as effectively as a vacuum cleaner! And the one thing that does not change is the genuine enthusiasm and professionalism of the guys who do the work. Rain is a whole different matter and unless the car is undercover or in a garage, the valet would have to be terminated or postponed.

My wife was so impressed by what she had seen, that she immediately went on-line and booked a valet for her vehicle! A few clicks and a swipe or two and she had received a confirmation SMS.

In next to no time, her vehicle was a sparkling clean as mine was. Showroom quality for both cars.

The teams are able to get around Johannesburg quickly but relying on motorbikes rather than cars and everything that they need to clean a vehicle can be packed into the purpose-built carrier on the back of the bike.Log onto their App to book your choice of Valet-V service today.