Turning Energy Savings in London into Solar for Africa

We all know that energy conservation is good. And it is clear that solar can be a life saver in developing countries, as well as a great catalyst for improved school performance. But what if turning off the lights in your home or office could help someone in Africa turn theirs on? An innovative new program is aiming to do just that—turning the energy and money saved from conservation efforts into funding for renewable energy in the developing world.

Developed as a partnership between UK communications agency Wieden Kennedy London, and solar development charity Solar Aid, the Off-On program encourages employees to save energy, and it funnels the resulting savings into funding for a solar installation at a children’s home in Nairobi, Kenya:

“Screensavers and LED floor displays will show Wieden + Kennedy employees how much energy they’re using in real time and relate what they’re turning off in London, to what they’re turning on in Nairobi.

In a ground-breaking partnership with NGO SolarAid, the creative agency hopes to make a significant difference to students and teachers at the children’s home. By reducing their office’s energy consumption by just 10% over the year, Wieden + Kennedy will save enough money to light up 4 classrooms and a kitchen with solar panels.”

But the idea is much bigger than one agency, and one children’s home, with plans to expand the project beyond the agency’s network. Once the pilot phase of the project is done, Off-On will create open-source software designed to work with all makes of energy monitors—empowering businesses and schools across the nation to turn off their own power and turn on a light on the other side of the world in the process.

Source: treehugger

This is a great incentive for more affluent communities to save energy- if saving money and the environment is not enough.  Solar power is ideal for remote areas where main grid electricity is either unavailable or unreliable due to decaying infrastructure.  Solar energy installations are also low maintenance and relatively simple to install.

Water Rhapsody specializes in water conservation systems that include rainwater harvesting systems , rainwater tanks and gray water recycling systems (see the benefits of Water Rhapsody’s systems).  Our water systems can be adapted to small households or to large office blocks, hotels and schools. Should you have questions about our water systems, see rainwater FAQ and  grey water FAQ. Our merge with Yes Solar Mpumalanga enables us to offer high quality, German-made Solsquare solar water heating systems (why buy a solar water heater?).  Yes Solar is an official Solsquare distributor in Mpumalanga (White River / Nelspruit areas).  Solar energy is a great renewable energy source for sunny South Africa.  Solsquare solar geysers are Eskom- and SABS-approved and and are installed by qualified solar installers (our solar water heaters are eligible for substantial Eskom solar geyser rebates).

Contact us for a free quote on a solar geyser, water system or JoJo water tank or water tank stand (we are authorized dealers for JoJo Tanks in South Africa and also supply high quality Atlas Plastics water tanks to the Mpumalanga and Limpopo Lowveld).