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Central Technical Supplies (Pty) Ltd. – Geiger Engineering (CTS) was approached by Farmers Meat Market Mariental to design, supply and install a solar water heating system with the aim to reduce the monthly diesel consumption as two diesel boilers are operated to heat water up to 82 deg. C for production purposes.

The water requirements of the abattoir are as follows:

1. 2,000 liter/hour @ 45 C°
2. 3,000 liter/hour @ 60 C°
3. 500 liter/hour @ 82 C°

This adds up to a total daily water requirement at 60 deg. C of roughly 25,000 liter.

The system is design such as to preheat water from 18 deg. C to between 50 deg. C and 60 deg. C before supplying the diesel boiler system, thus reducing runtime and diesel consumption of the diesel boilers. A 20,000L stainless steel tank (non pressure tank) manufactured locally according to CTS design, acts as the buffer tank for the daily water requirement. A total of 120 flat plate collectors supplied by Solsquare Namibia with a total surface area of 300 m2 are connected by means of a 450kW Alfa Laval flat plate heat exchanger to the water tank.

A set of two Calpeda circulation pumps connected to Danfoss variable speed drives and a timer circuit guarantees at all times that the heat from the collectors is effectively transported to the water tank. Flow as well as temperature monitoring on all four ports of the heat exchanger make it possible to determine the instantaneous as well as accumulated kWh produced from the collector field.

Furthermore additional heating energy is obtained from the ammonia refrigeration plant. A heat exchanger is installed on the ammonia discharge side before the existing cooling towers to be able to heat the water during night time as well, as this is the time when the refrigeration plant runs at full capacity to cool down the newly slaughtered meat in the cold rooms. Again flow control and temperature monitoring on the hot water side of the heat exchanger accurately indicate heating energy obtained from the refrigeration plant.
A total of four pump sets have been installed and pumps are cycled on a 24 hour basis in automatic mode. Should at any given time a pump fail, the system can be switched to manual mode to be able to repair the pump without system down time and a resulting increase in diesel consumption.

All systems components are sized such as to allow for future heating capacity upgrades should it be required.

After a year of operation, the plant is performing better than expected and the client is able to safe nearly N$ 60,000 per month on diesel costs, bringing the payback period of the entire system down to below two years. This clearly shows that solar energy, be it for heating or for electricity production, surely is the way forward for a cleaner and greener future for generations to come. CTS is proud to be part of making Namibia and the world a better place for our grandchildren to live in.

Central Technical Supplies was once again awarded the tender to electrify 4 remote localities in the Otjozondjupa Region of Namibia. Custom build containers where installed on site with SMA Sunny Island 8.0 inverter installed. In addition the offered lead acid battery technology has been replaced by state of the art lithium batteries reducing system maintenance. The use of AC coupled technology did allow for the SunnyBoy solar inverter to be in installed inside relevant buildings on which PV modules are mounted. All components are interlinked by means of wireless technology to allow for remote monitoring where GSM signal is of sufficient strength. System sizes vary form 3kW, 12kW, 15kW to 20kW of PV power while inverters are as much as 3 in a single phase cluster.

Sites that were electrified are:

• Nhoma
• Aasvoel Nes
• Kanovlei
• Grashoek

In early 2017 Stier Vente Chartered Accountant did take the decision to move to renewable energy. A 17kW grid feed system was installed on the roof of the office building to reduce the monthly electricity bill.

A total of 67 260W PV modules and a SMA SunnyTripower 17kW inverter was installed. Remote monitoring allows CTS to advise the client on possible faults and recommended actions to be taken.

CTS was instructed to supply, deliver, install, test and commission laundry equipment for Lady Pohamba Private Hospital in 2015. Situated in Windhoek’s Kleine Kuppe area, this new and stunning 134-bed hospital caters for a wide variety of patients.

When it comes to Hospital textiles, cleanliness and perfect hygiene is of the essence. The challenge is to safely wash large quantities of used and soiled fabrics, while ensuring consistent, hygienic cleaning, maximum longevity and shortened wash times. As Namibia is facing a water crisis, special attention needs to be given to using as little water as possible. Our solution was Miele.

Miele offers a wide range of machines with cutting edge technology and specialized wash programs. With their patented stainless steel Honeycomb Drum, the specially designed drum ribs allow the water to saturate the laundry very quickly, reducing washing times. The high spin speeds with a G-factor of up to 500 make for optimum water extraction. There are also connections for detergent dispensers, ensuring that the same amount of detergent is used for each wash. A water recovery unit saves up to 30% of the water consumption. The tumble dryers are equipped with a heat-pump system, with results in a reduction of 60% of energy consumption.

Thanks to the residual moisture level of approximately 50% achieved by Miele’s washer-extractors, bed linen does not need to be dried any further before it is fed into a rotary ironer with a high heat output. Miele’s technology guarantees economy and quality, and actively contribute towards protecting our health and environment.

CTS was approached by a senior resident of Klein Windhoek to install a grid-tied photovoltaic system with the aim to cut back on the monthly electricity bill. The system included:

• 42x 130W photovoltaic modules and mounting structure
• 1x 6kW grid tied inverter

The system is designed such as to generate an estimated 900kWh per month.

Pionieerspark Medical Centre can call themselves a proud owner of a 38kW photovoltaic grid feed system. Considerable savings on the monthly electricity bill are achieved as most of the electricity requirements are produced directly at the customer. Excess energy is fed back into the grid and credited on the monthly electricity bill by City of Windhoek.

The system consists of 144 265W PV modules mounted flat on the roof of the building with 2 Fronius three phase grid feed inverters and remote monitoring via the Fronius App on the cell phone. Remote monitoring allows CTS to advise the client on possible faults and recommended actions to be taken.