African Petrochemicals- 16.1 2019

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ACHIEVING GREATER ENERGY EFFICIENCY WITH THERMAL SOLAR Our country’s climate is blessed to have some of the best sunlight in the world. With the current energy situation and the ever-increasing electricity costs, we are forced to evaluate our energy consumption and implement more efficient and cost-effective solutions. By Nicole Viljoen, project manager at Energas Technologies. 6 There are two common ways to collect energy from the sun. One is through a thermal solar collector, to gather the sun’s heat and the other is a photovoltaic (PV) solar system, which converts the sun’s energy into electricity. In the case of solar thermal, the conversion efficiency is much higher than PV. Another advantage is that solar thermal panels only cost a small fraction of what PV panels cost per square meter. On the other hand, PV is more expensive and less efficient but the electricity generated from PV can be used for more than just heating up water. Into detail A thermal solar system can provide approximately 60% of the energy required each year for heating domestic hot water (DHW). The key element of a thermal system is the solar thermal collector, which absorbs solar radiation from the sunlight. The purpose of the collector is to efficiently convert the sunlight into heat. The heat is transmitted to a fluid, which transports the heat to the heat exchanger via pumps with minimum heat loss. The exchanger transfers the heat into the geyser. The distance between the collector and the geyser should be as short as possible to minimise heat loss. There are two main types of solar thermal collectors available. The first, an evacuatedtube collector is made of parallel glass tubes. Each tube contains two glass tubes, between the two glass tubes there is a vacuum which allows small heat loss. The absorber is included in a tube. The second type is the flatplate collector which comprises an insulated box with a glass or plastic cover on the top and a solar absorber located at the bottom. In comparison, evacuated-tube collectors are more expensive than flat-plate collectors. However, they can achieve higher efficiencies. Achieving optimum heat yield The integration of solar thermal systems requires precisely matched individual components to achieve optimum heat yield and to keep costs under control. This must be supported by the right system engineering. Solar water heating systems almost always require a backup system for cloudy days and times of increased demand and therefore most solar water heaters require a well-insulated storage tank or DHW cylinder. Dual mode DHW cylinders work to heat the DHW with separate indirect coils that are connected directly to the solar thermal system. DHW is also heated by a boiler via an indirect coil arranged in the upper section of the cylinder. The demand for hot water varies considerably from household to household. The number of occupants has to be taken into account, as well as their bathing and showering habits. For example, if three members of a family set off for work and school at the same time, lots of hot water needs to be continuously available for the shower in a short space of time. Those who prefer a bath will also want to have enough hot water to fill the tub. The DHW cylinder should also be able to provide sufficient water if hot water is drawn from more than one outlet at the same time, in apartment blocks for example. Vitocell DHW cylinders fulfil these requirements in every respect and can also meet every aspiration where equipment levels are concerned. In all instances, the installation of a solar thermal system is recommended to save energy and heat the water without cost. Energas’ Thermal range Energas offers Viessmann’s Solar Thermal range. Installers and end-users are urged to recognise the role of hot water storage in optimising environmentally-friendly installations. Viessmann has introduced two new floor-standing Vitocell 300-V DHW cylinders, with capacities of 160 and 200 litres, and are twice as energy efficient in terms of standby losses as the industry norm. Both new versions of the Vitocell 300-V replace the previous A rated models, and both are suitable for domestic installations with boiler outputs up to 80 kW. Higher DHW demands can be accommodated by combining several Vitocell 300-V cylinders into cylinder banks with common headers. The 300-V’s exceptional heat retention is made possible by using a highly-effective vacuum panel insulation as well as the very efficient Polyurethane hard foam. Heat losses are merely 0,7 kWh per 24 hours for the 160-litre model and 0,75 kWh per 24 hours for the 200-litre model. The new 300-V combines unmatched energy efficiency with high performance. The indirect heating coil is larger than in most common cylinders and drawn all the way down to the cylinder floor to heat the entire water content. Heat-up time from 10 to 60 degrees is just 20 minutes for the 160-litre cylinder and 24 minutes for the 200-litre cylinder. The low pressure-drop of the heating coil, at only 15 millibars, is approximately 35% lower than a typical competitor cylinder. This negates the requirement for oversizing the circulating pump; specifying a smaller pump will save electricity. Maximum hot water flow rates are 24 and 34 litres per minute respectively. The 300-V’s insulation package can be removed for easy handling. Transportation and installation are also made easy by the 300-V’s low weight and compact dimensions. Both 300-Vs are 581 mm long and 605 mm wide, with the smaller-capacity model measuring 1189 mm in height and the largercapacity model 1 409 mm. Regardless of the size of your home, how many people live there and how much hot water they use, our Vitocell range will have the right cylinder for your DHW heating system. Energas Technologies contact: Laetitia Jansen van Vuuren Tel: +27 (0)11 397 6809 Email: laetitia@energas.co.za Web: www.energas.co.za https://www.viessmann-us.com/en/press/vitosol_fm.html References: https://www.viessmann.co.uk/products/domestic-hotwater-cylinders https://www.viessmann.co.uk/press/current-topics/newvitocell-300-v https://www.viessmann-us.com/en/press.html
AFROX ADVANCES CYLINDER TRACKING Leading gases supplier Afrox has completed the national roll-out of its state-of-the-art digital cylinder tracking service. Cylinder deliveries are now being replaced with an advanced software solution to offer customers improved account management, accurate customer cylinder records, and the ability to track individual cylinder movements and recall cylinders accurately if required. “This fully integrated solution will hugely benefit customers through greater reliability and accuracy of cylinder holding details, ensuring Afrox can handle customer enquiries more effectively,” says AJ Keith, Cylinder Tracking Programme Manager at Afrox. He explains that all industrial, special and medical gas cylinders now carry a unique barcode, which is scanned during delivery and return actions using a state-of-the-art hand-held device, creating an immediate electronic record of the transaction. “The scans record on the cylinder tracking system that the individual cylinder is located at a specific customer. This system generates absolutely accurate customer cylinder records, something our customers have wanted for many years,” enthuses Keith. Every cylinder supplied by Afrox will be scanned and automatically allocated to a customer’s account, and conversely every cylinder returned to or collected by Afrox will be scanned and automatically removed from the customer’s account. A delivery advice note is created after all cylinders have been scanned, which lists the barcode numbers of all tracked gas cylinders supplied and returned. “With this system, we can now provide our customers with a record of all individually tracked cylinders supplied and returned on their rental account,” says Keith. He notes that customers should be aware that if they have swapped or inadvertently changed cylinders with another Afrox customer, any returned cylinders will be deducted from the original customer account supplied, not from the returning account. Customers are therefore advised to notify Afrox of any such “off-system” movements to enable Afrox to correct the holdings before any potentially incorrect billing occurs. Keith adds that all Afrox retail outlets, including official Afrox agents, will be scanning cylinders supplied to and returned from customers. The cylinder tracking system is fully integrated and, therefore, all transactions are updated and cylinder records adjusted automatically, irrespective of how and where the cylinder was supplied and returned. For smaller customers, Afrox cylinders can be returned to any Gas & Gear store or Afrox agent where they will be scanned and automatically removed from the account on which they were originally supplied. “From a safety and quality perspective, the new cylinder tracking system adds immense value to our customers. We now have an electronic system that ensures only those cylinders that have passed their pre-fill inspection and are within their statutory test period can be refilled,” says Keith. He explains further that any reported faulty cylinders are also blocked in the system at collection and cannot be refilled until corrective action has been taken. Furthermore, in the unlikely event that a batch of cylinders needs to be recalled, the system is able to identify the current location of each and every cylinder in that batch by barcode and location, be it internally or at a customer. This is the first time any gas company in South Africa has been able to offer a recall at this level of detail and accuracy. He emphasises that the introduction of the electronic cylinder tracking system at each customer has had minimal direct impact and there has been no significant difference in the time taken to complete deliveries. “A special mention must go to the Afrox drivers, regional transport, inventory, retail staff and their respective supervisors, as well as the IS, Commercial and Sales teams that have all contributed to the successful roll-out of one of the biggest recent changes to the way we do business,” concludes Keith. 7
Page 1 and 2: Quarterly Edition 16.1 IN THIS EDIT
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Page 5: FRONT COVER STORY SKYRIDERS ELIOS S
Page 10 and 11: NEW SENSORS AND LANGUAGES FOR VENTI
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