With an increase in power outages and the regular occurrence of loadshedding, which has caused a great disturbance to the daily routines of the elderly at Jeffreysrus Retirement Village, the centre has finally made the move to install a solar energy system and now has electricity around the clock.
Ernie Blignault, chairman of the home’s board, said that before the centre’s oldest resident, Bettie Kruger, officially turned on the switch of their newly-installed solar energy system on Thursday, June 22, the diesel used to power the generator during loadshedding cost the home R70 000 per month.
He said that since the generator was used to power only essential appliances, the home’s motor operated gate was off, which meant that they could not enter or exit the premises.
More concerning, Blignault said that while they waited for the generator to start up during loadshedding, the oxygen-dependent residents in the frail care centre were without oxygen.
“It is always a risk for the frail care residents to be without oxygen,” said Blignault.
He said that the elderly were used to a certain way of life, where they had a predictable schedule each day.
“A lot of the old people were stressed because of loadshedding. They like having a set schedule for the day and loadshedding disrupted their routine,” said Blignault.
He said that a decision had to be made to deal with regular loadshedding, which resulted in the home embarking on a multi-million rand project to install a solar energy system which includes solar panels and a battery system.
Through the solar energy system, the centre, which has 52 homes and 300 people on the premises, now has around-the-clock electricity which has allowed them to be partially off the electricity grid.
“The solar energy system provides electricity to the entire centre during loadshedding,” said Blignault.
He said that they are now able to run the centre properly with no issues, and the residents are happy and always smiling since they made the switch to using a solar energy system.
“The residents are so happy that we have constant power with no disturbance to their routines. They can now have their tea at their preferred time, and they can cook and bake at any time,” said Blignault.
