Zimbabwe's richest man, Strive Masiyiwa, is venturing into solar energy, according to a report in New Zimbabwe.
Masiyiwa, 50, is the founder and executive chairman of Econet Wireless, a publicly-listed mobile telecoms company with operations in Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Burundi and Rwanda.
The company's subsidiary, Econet Solar, recently launched a solar power device intended to help light up rural areas in Zimbabwe and other areas across rest of Africa which are beset by an erratic supply of electricity.
The device, called the Econet Home Power Station, will allow individuals and families across Africa to light up their homes, charge their mobile phones and generally utilize energy at a relatively inexpensive cost compared to current solar energy devices currently available in Africa. In a press statement, Masiyiwa said that the Home Power Station will allow individuals to pay for their energy on a pre-paid basis, in much the same way airtime is purchased for mobile phones in much of Africa.
While the retail price of the Home Power Station has not yet been revealed, officials of Econet Solar have promised that the device will be sold at a "small cost" to allow accessibility to low-income earners across Africa. Customers will only be charged for electricity in proportion to how they use it.
In a statement to the media, Masiyiwa said that "whilst there are already well-intentioned solar powered lighting systems on the market, the reality is that they are just too expensive for people to afford."
"We are launching the Home Power Station to change all that," he said.
The device will contain a typical Econet mobile SIM card that will enable the device to link up with the cellular network, thereby making it possible for the customer to pre-pay for energy usage, in the same way mobile phone users currently pay for airtime on their cell phone.
"It has been designed to supply, on a pre-paid basis, affordable lighting for small homes and cell phone charging," Masiyiwa said, while expressing his optimism that the product will help light up the "70 percent of Africa that does not already have access to electricity."
If Masiyiwa and the Econet Solar team play their cards right, the Home Power Station device could easily and quickly become immensely popular in various parts of the African continent, considering that several African countries, especially Nigeria, have to contend with severe electricity outages every day.
In Nigeria citizens have to depend heavily on imported generators to produce their own electricity. The droning reverberations of fuel-guzzling generating sets have become the soundtrack of urban life in the West African country. It's become an extremely burdensome, expensive and environmentally risky affair for the Nigerian citizen, but the incumbent president, Goodluck Jonathan, has done nothing to remedy the situation. If the Econet Solar device is as inexpensive as the manufacturers claim it will be, the Home Power Station could be a runaway success in Nigeria.
Showing posts with label flashlight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flashlight. Show all posts
Monday, 5 December 2011
Sunday, 27 November 2011
My Place: Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home has the classic hallmarks
The house incorporates most of the familiar Wright features: a carport rather than a garage, an open living plan with the dining area flowing into the living room, indirect lighting, built-in cabinets and bookshelves, small bedrooms and baths. The house has modular cast-concrete tile walls, inside and out, above-ground 4-by-4-foot-square concrete slab floors, embedded with hot water pipes that produce radiant heat. Much of the furniture is built in to fit the house, and wide windows offer views of the landscape.
The roof is suspended over interior walls by clerestory windows. Corner windows are mitered glass, and the ceiling continues in an unbroken line from the inside of the house to the exterior.
Wright made some design concessions for the Browns. He designed the living room to accommodate Ann Brown's two small grand pianos; Ann taught piano, and used one piano for herself and one for her students.
The 19-foot-long galley-type kitchen is larger than most in Wright homes. Wright gave Ann a choice of having kitchen windows or more cabinets, and Ann chose cabinets. She also wanted space for a washer and dryer in the kitchen area.
Lengthening his usual compact Usonian design to 130 feet, the architect also added a bedroom and bath for Ann's father on the end opposite the carport. The room's elaborately designed ceiling has a chapel-like quality, perhaps intentional because Ann's father was a minister.
When Wright added the father's room and bath, he also added a maid's room and tiny half-bath. The Browns used the maid's room as quarters for a college student, who provided baby-sitting and household help in exchange for room and supper. Curtis and Kathy use it now as a small guest room.
The maid's room is the only one in the house with a flat roof. It also is the only room that does not look out over the lake.
Wright designed one spacious room for the Browns' three sons to use for sleeping, playing and studying instead of the three small bedrooms he originally planned. Two sets of bunk beds were installed in one corner of the room, which the Browns called the playroom. The Curtis-Smiths stored the beds, and Curtis uses this space as his office.
Curtis and Kathy brought a china cabinet, antique marbletop table, Javanese table and a grand piano into the house. Most of the other furniture — including the dining room table, coffee table, modular couches and hassocks — was designed by Wright and came with the house.
The couple was delighted with the house and its spaciousness, but there was work to be done. The house was 50 years old and little had changed.
Major renovations included a new roof, furnace and boiler. Lighting was upgraded throughout. They installed a skylight in the kitchen and LED lights above the kitchen counter and brought in a new refrigerator, double-drawer dishwasher, four-burner gas stove, microwave oven and washer and dryer.
"Yes, the remodeling and appliances were expensive, and there were unique challenges, but that's par for the course for Wright houses. And we think it is worth it," Kathy said.
An 86-foot-long hallway with 48 feet of closets along the walls is one unique feature of the house. Curtis pointed out piano hinges on doors and other cupboards throughout the house.
The roof is suspended over interior walls by clerestory windows. Corner windows are mitered glass, and the ceiling continues in an unbroken line from the inside of the house to the exterior.
Wright made some design concessions for the Browns. He designed the living room to accommodate Ann Brown's two small grand pianos; Ann taught piano, and used one piano for herself and one for her students.
The 19-foot-long galley-type kitchen is larger than most in Wright homes. Wright gave Ann a choice of having kitchen windows or more cabinets, and Ann chose cabinets. She also wanted space for a washer and dryer in the kitchen area.
Lengthening his usual compact Usonian design to 130 feet, the architect also added a bedroom and bath for Ann's father on the end opposite the carport. The room's elaborately designed ceiling has a chapel-like quality, perhaps intentional because Ann's father was a minister.
When Wright added the father's room and bath, he also added a maid's room and tiny half-bath. The Browns used the maid's room as quarters for a college student, who provided baby-sitting and household help in exchange for room and supper. Curtis and Kathy use it now as a small guest room.
The maid's room is the only one in the house with a flat roof. It also is the only room that does not look out over the lake.
Wright designed one spacious room for the Browns' three sons to use for sleeping, playing and studying instead of the three small bedrooms he originally planned. Two sets of bunk beds were installed in one corner of the room, which the Browns called the playroom. The Curtis-Smiths stored the beds, and Curtis uses this space as his office.
Curtis and Kathy brought a china cabinet, antique marbletop table, Javanese table and a grand piano into the house. Most of the other furniture — including the dining room table, coffee table, modular couches and hassocks — was designed by Wright and came with the house.
The couple was delighted with the house and its spaciousness, but there was work to be done. The house was 50 years old and little had changed.
Major renovations included a new roof, furnace and boiler. Lighting was upgraded throughout. They installed a skylight in the kitchen and LED lights above the kitchen counter and brought in a new refrigerator, double-drawer dishwasher, four-burner gas stove, microwave oven and washer and dryer.
"Yes, the remodeling and appliances were expensive, and there were unique challenges, but that's par for the course for Wright houses. And we think it is worth it," Kathy said.
An 86-foot-long hallway with 48 feet of closets along the walls is one unique feature of the house. Curtis pointed out piano hinges on doors and other cupboards throughout the house.
Monday, 21 November 2011
Looming concerns
A recent research report from the Guoyuan Securities Co. Ltd. said China's LED industry is getting into full swing, and LEDs are widely used in cell phones and liquid crystal television. But they are yet to be widely accepted as a general lighting source, it said.
"The biggest problem is high costs—its manufacturing cost is 50-60 times that of incandescent lamps," said the report.
"Without government subsidies, it would be difficult to promote LEDs as general lighting, but elimination of incandescent lamps has provided a powerful catalyst for the promotion of LEDs," it added.
In 2008, the NDRC and MOF launched a lighting program and distributed more than 400 million energy-efficient lamps to consumers. But the program encountered many problems, hindering further promotion of those lamps.
Energy-efficient lamps contain mercury, a neurotoxin that can pose a serious threat to environmental health. The amount is tiny—China, as well as the European Union, allows each fluorescent lamp to contain no more than 5 milligrams of mercury—but that is enough to cause acute environmental damage and has sparked worries over the disposal of those lamps.
Hua Shuming, Director of the National Lighting Test Center, said the service life of a qualified energy-efficient lamp is more than 6,000 hours, six times that of an incandescent bulb. A 13-watt energy-efficient lamp can produce illumination comparable to that of a 60-watt incandescent lamp, and it is able to reduce electricity consumption by 60-80 percent.
Energy-efficient lighting products are being recognized by global consumers. Data from the NDRC showed that Chinese energy-efficient lamps controlled 85 percent of global markets, up from only 20 percent in 1996.
Fluorescent lamps use electricity to stimulate mercury vapor. The mercury atoms produce short-wave ultraviolet light that then causes a phosphor to fluoresce, producing visible light.
Some people suggested manufacturers recycle the lamps, but that was less feasible given the high costs.
"Indeed, it is difficult to establish a nationwide recycling system in such a big country," said Xie. "What we are doing is further improving technologies to decrease the mercury content of such lamps."
Moreover, the high prices of energy-efficient lamps are also impeding the consumer acceptance.
In China, an LED lamp costs nearly 100 yuan ($15.75), compared with less than 10 yuan ($1.57) for an incandescent bulb. That is also why most Chinese LED manufacturers have focused on exports, instead of the home market.
Chinese LED firms still have a long way to go to sharpen their competitive edge. Chinese companies are good at assembly production, but one cause for concern is a lack of core chip technologies. U.S. and Japanese companies have dominated chip technologies, leaving Chinese firms in a weak position to compete.
Worse still, domestically made LED lamps suffer from the problem of a short battery life. As a result, it would be critical for domestic enterprises to strengthen efficiency and extend the service life of batteries so as to make their LED products more market competitive.
"The biggest problem is high costs—its manufacturing cost is 50-60 times that of incandescent lamps," said the report.
"Without government subsidies, it would be difficult to promote LEDs as general lighting, but elimination of incandescent lamps has provided a powerful catalyst for the promotion of LEDs," it added.
In 2008, the NDRC and MOF launched a lighting program and distributed more than 400 million energy-efficient lamps to consumers. But the program encountered many problems, hindering further promotion of those lamps.
Energy-efficient lamps contain mercury, a neurotoxin that can pose a serious threat to environmental health. The amount is tiny—China, as well as the European Union, allows each fluorescent lamp to contain no more than 5 milligrams of mercury—but that is enough to cause acute environmental damage and has sparked worries over the disposal of those lamps.
Hua Shuming, Director of the National Lighting Test Center, said the service life of a qualified energy-efficient lamp is more than 6,000 hours, six times that of an incandescent bulb. A 13-watt energy-efficient lamp can produce illumination comparable to that of a 60-watt incandescent lamp, and it is able to reduce electricity consumption by 60-80 percent.
Energy-efficient lighting products are being recognized by global consumers. Data from the NDRC showed that Chinese energy-efficient lamps controlled 85 percent of global markets, up from only 20 percent in 1996.
Fluorescent lamps use electricity to stimulate mercury vapor. The mercury atoms produce short-wave ultraviolet light that then causes a phosphor to fluoresce, producing visible light.
Some people suggested manufacturers recycle the lamps, but that was less feasible given the high costs.
"Indeed, it is difficult to establish a nationwide recycling system in such a big country," said Xie. "What we are doing is further improving technologies to decrease the mercury content of such lamps."
Moreover, the high prices of energy-efficient lamps are also impeding the consumer acceptance.
In China, an LED lamp costs nearly 100 yuan ($15.75), compared with less than 10 yuan ($1.57) for an incandescent bulb. That is also why most Chinese LED manufacturers have focused on exports, instead of the home market.
Chinese LED firms still have a long way to go to sharpen their competitive edge. Chinese companies are good at assembly production, but one cause for concern is a lack of core chip technologies. U.S. and Japanese companies have dominated chip technologies, leaving Chinese firms in a weak position to compete.
Worse still, domestically made LED lamps suffer from the problem of a short battery life. As a result, it would be critical for domestic enterprises to strengthen efficiency and extend the service life of batteries so as to make their LED products more market competitive.
Thursday, 27 October 2011
Payne Hall Ghost: Spooked by Renovations?
Sandy O’Connell vividly remembers the morning she saw the Payne Hall ghost.
It was about 8 a.m., a gray and overcast day, and she was stepping from the Colonnade into the first-floor hallway of Payne Hall. O’Connell, the administrative assistant to the English Department, was the first person to enter the building that morning—or so she thought.
As O’Connell started to flip on the light, something caught her eye. “Up the stairwell went a figure in a white shirt,” she said. “I’m thinking, this is a student who’s turning in a paper late. Didn’t hear any footsteps, but just saw the white shirt going up the steps.”
O’Connell dashed up the stairs to see what the student wanted. The second-floor hallway was dark—and empty. “Then I went up to the third floor. Dark as it could be up there. The professors hadn’t come in yet. Not a soul up there.” She turned on the lights, then returned to the second floor, even stepping into the men’s bathroom to see if there was anyone in the building. “There was not a soul.”
O’Connell is just one of many people who have reported ghostly encounters in and around Payne Hall. Built in 1830 as the Lyceum, its name was changed to Payne after a 1930s renovation; it now houses the English Department. Purported sightings include a dark presence moving swiftly down the back stairs, a person dressed in black swirling down the Colonnade, and a cape-wearing figure that whisks into the building.
Is there just one Payne Hall ghost? Or several? Or are the stories the stuff of a creative English Department coupled with the imaginations of impressionable students?
In a class a few years ago, Lesley Wheeler, the Henry S. Fox Professor of English, was discussing “The Book of Ephraim,” a poem by James Merrill that he wrote with the help of a Ouija board and séances. Several students asked if they could use a Ouija board to communicate with the spirits in Payne Hall. “I thought that sounded like the most questionable field trip ever,” said Wheeler. “So I said, I’ll do it with you, but it’s got to be really optional.”
About six students gathered on a spring evening in Payne 201, the large, second-floor classroom where Robert E. Lee took his oath of office as W&L’s president in 1865. It was dark outside, but light enough to read the letters on the Ouija board. “I assumed if I was in the room, nothing would happen,” said Wheeler.
The students and Wheeler each placed one finger on the planchette, the pointer that Ouija-board believers say spells out letter-by-letter messages from spirits. The planchette flew across the board.
“I’m not claiming this is real, but we had a series of apparent conversations,” said Wheeler. The group determined that the first spirit to communicate with them was a Civil War veteran. “The questions eventually led us to the idea that he was a guy who died at 40. He was from North Carolina,” said Wheeler, who kept notes about the encounter in an early draft of a poem. The spirit seemed to idolize one of Stonewall Jackson’s daughters. “I vaguely remember that. It was a strange little detail.”
It was about 8 a.m., a gray and overcast day, and she was stepping from the Colonnade into the first-floor hallway of Payne Hall. O’Connell, the administrative assistant to the English Department, was the first person to enter the building that morning—or so she thought.
As O’Connell started to flip on the light, something caught her eye. “Up the stairwell went a figure in a white shirt,” she said. “I’m thinking, this is a student who’s turning in a paper late. Didn’t hear any footsteps, but just saw the white shirt going up the steps.”
O’Connell dashed up the stairs to see what the student wanted. The second-floor hallway was dark—and empty. “Then I went up to the third floor. Dark as it could be up there. The professors hadn’t come in yet. Not a soul up there.” She turned on the lights, then returned to the second floor, even stepping into the men’s bathroom to see if there was anyone in the building. “There was not a soul.”
O’Connell is just one of many people who have reported ghostly encounters in and around Payne Hall. Built in 1830 as the Lyceum, its name was changed to Payne after a 1930s renovation; it now houses the English Department. Purported sightings include a dark presence moving swiftly down the back stairs, a person dressed in black swirling down the Colonnade, and a cape-wearing figure that whisks into the building.
Is there just one Payne Hall ghost? Or several? Or are the stories the stuff of a creative English Department coupled with the imaginations of impressionable students?
In a class a few years ago, Lesley Wheeler, the Henry S. Fox Professor of English, was discussing “The Book of Ephraim,” a poem by James Merrill that he wrote with the help of a Ouija board and séances. Several students asked if they could use a Ouija board to communicate with the spirits in Payne Hall. “I thought that sounded like the most questionable field trip ever,” said Wheeler. “So I said, I’ll do it with you, but it’s got to be really optional.”
About six students gathered on a spring evening in Payne 201, the large, second-floor classroom where Robert E. Lee took his oath of office as W&L’s president in 1865. It was dark outside, but light enough to read the letters on the Ouija board. “I assumed if I was in the room, nothing would happen,” said Wheeler.
The students and Wheeler each placed one finger on the planchette, the pointer that Ouija-board believers say spells out letter-by-letter messages from spirits. The planchette flew across the board.
“I’m not claiming this is real, but we had a series of apparent conversations,” said Wheeler. The group determined that the first spirit to communicate with them was a Civil War veteran. “The questions eventually led us to the idea that he was a guy who died at 40. He was from North Carolina,” said Wheeler, who kept notes about the encounter in an early draft of a poem. The spirit seemed to idolize one of Stonewall Jackson’s daughters. “I vaguely remember that. It was a strange little detail.”
Tuesday, 11 October 2011
Firehouse tour, ‘Love Letters,’ meetings, Haunting Hayrides
A Saturday open house at Cornelius-Lemley Fire & Rescue’s station No. 2 is among the highlights of our area events calendar this week. The North Mecklenburg Republican Women’s annual Pig Pickin’ and Politickin’ is Tuesday afternoon at the NorthStone Club in Huntersville. On Thursday, Alton’s Kitchen and Cocktails in Cornelius’s Jetton Village hosts a jewelry sale and fundraiser for the Lake Norman Lucky Cats, a program aimed at reducing the number of feral cats in the Lake Norman area.
Davidson Community Players’ production of “Love Letters” continues with four shows this weekend. The rotating cast features a new lead couple every weekend. This weekend’s shows feature WFAE-FM’s Mike Collins and Cat Rutledge.
For those in need of a football fix, Hough High hosts Mooresville on Friday night. If you’re interested in astronomy, Fisher Farm Park in Davidson will host a stargazing party Friday night.
Ready for Halloween? Check out the Haunting Hayride Friday and Saturday nights at the Latta Plantation Equestrian Center in Huntersville. The Carolina Renaissance Festival continues off Poplar Tent Road east of Davidson. And don’t forget the Amazing Maize Maze, which has its Friday night flashlight runs at the Rural Hill Farm in Huntersville.
Meetings this week include the Lake Norman Marine Commission on Monday night and the Davidson Town Board on Tuesday night. And while you’re at Davidson Town Hall, don’t miss the exhibit of photography and digital art by six local artists in the rotunda, which is on display weekdays during business hours.
These events and more below, or in our day-by-day calendar at right. Also, at right on this page, see our movie show times listings for Our Town Cinemas.
MONDAY, OCT. 10
Davidson Town Hall Photo Exhibit, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday through Oct. 31, Davidson Town Hall rotunda, 216 S. Main St., Davidson. Group exhibit of photography and digital art by local artists Kevin Childress, Jan Black, Lyndsay Kibiloski, Rachel Goldstein, Steve Marsh and David Boraks on display in the Town Hall rotunda.
TUESDAY, OCT. 11
Davidson Town Hall Photo Exhibit, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday through Oct. 31, Davidson Town Hall rotunda, 216 S. Main St., Davidson. Group exhibit of photography and digital art by local artists Kevin Childress, Jan Black, Lyndsay Kibiloski, Rachel Goldstein, Steve Marsh and David Boraks on display in the Town Hall rotunda.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 12
Davidson Town Hall Photo Exhibit, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday through Oct. 31, Davidson Town Hall rotunda, 216 S. Main St., Davidson. Group exhibit of photography and digital art by local artists Kevin Childress, Jan Black, Lyndsay Kibiloski, Rachel Goldstein, Steve Marsh and David Boraks on display in the Town Hall rotunda.
Davidson Community Players’ production of “Love Letters” continues with four shows this weekend. The rotating cast features a new lead couple every weekend. This weekend’s shows feature WFAE-FM’s Mike Collins and Cat Rutledge.
For those in need of a football fix, Hough High hosts Mooresville on Friday night. If you’re interested in astronomy, Fisher Farm Park in Davidson will host a stargazing party Friday night.
Ready for Halloween? Check out the Haunting Hayride Friday and Saturday nights at the Latta Plantation Equestrian Center in Huntersville. The Carolina Renaissance Festival continues off Poplar Tent Road east of Davidson. And don’t forget the Amazing Maize Maze, which has its Friday night flashlight runs at the Rural Hill Farm in Huntersville.
Meetings this week include the Lake Norman Marine Commission on Monday night and the Davidson Town Board on Tuesday night. And while you’re at Davidson Town Hall, don’t miss the exhibit of photography and digital art by six local artists in the rotunda, which is on display weekdays during business hours.
These events and more below, or in our day-by-day calendar at right. Also, at right on this page, see our movie show times listings for Our Town Cinemas.
MONDAY, OCT. 10
Davidson Town Hall Photo Exhibit, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday through Oct. 31, Davidson Town Hall rotunda, 216 S. Main St., Davidson. Group exhibit of photography and digital art by local artists Kevin Childress, Jan Black, Lyndsay Kibiloski, Rachel Goldstein, Steve Marsh and David Boraks on display in the Town Hall rotunda.
TUESDAY, OCT. 11
Davidson Town Hall Photo Exhibit, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday through Oct. 31, Davidson Town Hall rotunda, 216 S. Main St., Davidson. Group exhibit of photography and digital art by local artists Kevin Childress, Jan Black, Lyndsay Kibiloski, Rachel Goldstein, Steve Marsh and David Boraks on display in the Town Hall rotunda.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 12
Davidson Town Hall Photo Exhibit, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday through Oct. 31, Davidson Town Hall rotunda, 216 S. Main St., Davidson. Group exhibit of photography and digital art by local artists Kevin Childress, Jan Black, Lyndsay Kibiloski, Rachel Goldstein, Steve Marsh and David Boraks on display in the Town Hall rotunda.
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