Zimbabwe – Pressure Geyser Solar Water Heating

In mid-September 2021, Zimbabwe’s power utility company imposed further load shedding schedules lasting up to 12 hours.

The Zimbabwe Electricity Distribution Company (ZETDC), without revealing when the situation will be normalised, cited a combination of limited generation capacity and repairs to power infrastructure as the cause of the load shedding. Zimbabwe heavily relies on its only hydropower plant, the Kariba South Power Station, which is the biggest power generation plant in the country, with a total generation capacity of 1050 megawatts (MW).

Power generation at these stations is often reduced due to the maintenance of ageing equipment. Zimbabwe needs an average power demand of about 1735MW, but the power utility company’s total power supply currently ranges from 1240MW to 1600MW, according to ZETDC. The country also has four thermal power stations including Hwange Power Station, the largest coal-fired power station with a capacity of 920MW.

This means the power average deficit is 145-500MW depending on imports availability and local generation performance. Zimbabwe imports power from South Africa’s power utility Escom and Mozambique’s Hydro Cahora Bassa (HCB). In 2020, the country imported at least 30% of its power requirements, according to the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA). Zimbabwe has since engaged power utilities from its neighbours, Zambia and Mozambique “for a possible supply of 280MW beginning in October 2021” in a bid to reduce the load shedding schedules.

Load shedding or power cuts as it is better known can and do upset the daily routine of family life. If common sense governed the World, solar water heating would be installed on every home providing clean free energy.

Why pay for your energy when you can have it for FREE. Chile is a great example in recent years, with over 100,000 geyser systems deployed on homes. In Zimbabwe most families could cover almost 100% of their heating needs from solar water heating geyser systems. A simple 160 L or 300 L geyser system can easily provide the daily hot water needs of a family. We also fitted a buffer feed tank at the property which can deal efficiently with borehole and municipality issues.