The two-week Climate Change Response Expo, held in Durban during the seventeenth Conference of the Parties (COP 17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, used the same amounts of electricity as 24 US households during one year, says smart device research and development company Util Labs.
Util Labs installed its Low Voltage Smart System devices, which host a suite of applications, supported by smart devices that measure, monitor and manage low-voltage electrical networks, at temporary supply points at the expo that stored details of consumption per phase in real time.
"The area and expo were wired such that we measured the different marquees and different loads separately. This gave the organisers the ability to make decisions in line with reducing peak consumption and total consumption, in turn reducing their carbon footprint as a result of electricity use," says Util Labs' Paroshen Naidoo.
The public was given access to these real-time and the historical figures through Util Labs' interfaces, which were accessible through the home- page of the expo.
"The expo venue used 145 649.44 kWh of electricity in those two weeks," says Naidoo.
"Knowledge is key to inspiring the behavioural change that is so crucial for South Africa to achieve its energy savings tar- gets. When people have real-time visibility of their household's energy load, with instant insight into the fluctuations in consumption when appliances are switched on and off, they are not only empowered but also inclined to change their habits to cut consumption," company says.
Util Labs will attend African Utility Week from May 21 to 24, at the Expo Centre, in Johan- nesburg, which will focus on aspects of the energy sector in Africa, including metering, renewables, water, large industry, infrastructure investment, transmission and distribution, smart grids, generation and waste management.