Zintathu Holdings is recognized in the industry as a leader in the marketing of innovative, high quality solar solutions.

In order to achieve this we provide superior products at an affordable price. We aim to form a strategic alliance with various training academies nationwide, who will train distributors and installation staff.

Our company will ensure that at least 30% of all new distributors are from the previously marginalized population.

SOLAR ENERGY

What is Solar Energy?

Solar energy is energy obtained from the sun. This is the most dominant source of energy. One hour's sunlight on the earth could meet the world's energy requirement for a whole year!

The process of using solar energy to generate electricity is called Photovoltaics. Solar panels, which are used to convert sunlight into electricity, are made of photovoltaic material. When sunlight comes in contact with this material, electrons are extracted, causing an electrical current, which can be captured and harnessed. The electricity produced by the solar panel is directed through a solar regulator to a battery or bank of batteries. This acts as a charger. The aim of the regulator is to ascertain that the battery is charged accurately at the proper voltage, ensuring that the battery does not get damaged.

More intricate systems supply electricity to pump water, power communications equipment or highway construction signs, and numerous of other small, off-grid uses. Solar power can provide electricity for small and/or sporadic electricity requirements that are cleaner and more economical to operate than extending a power line or utilizing fossil fuels.

In the evolving world, away from the electric network, rural solar electrification is used to provide much required electricity to substitute or decrease the use of diesel generators, kerosene lamps and wood fires for lighting, refrigeration, communication, etc.

Another way of utilizing the power of the sun is to capture its warmth. This is called solar thermal (heat) energy and is often used for heating water for domestic use (i.e. for washing/cleaning and cooking purposes), adding warmth to water in swimming pools as well as the heating of buildings.

The benefits when using solar electricity over fossil fuel generated power:
• Solar power is a planet-friendly form of energy. When using fossil fuels such as coal and oil, which are burned in order to generate power, carbon is formed which is released in the atmosphere and causes global warming. On the other hand, when using solar power, no carbon dioxide or other pollutants are released into the atmosphere. This indeed is a clean and green form of energy!
• No Power cuts/load-shedding or price increases. When using solar power, you generate your own electricity and therefore you are not subjected to power cuts/load-shedding or price increases.

Solar Water Heating (Solar Geysers)

The heating of water by means of solar heating has been in use around the world for more than 5 decades. Numerous countries insist on a solar water system in every home. Approximately half of the electricity cost used in the average household is from heating water by means of an electric geyser. When using a solar geyser, these expenses can drastically be reduced (estimated at a reduction of approximately 80%).

Benefits of Solar Water Heating.

When installing a Solar Geyser System, you can expect the following benefits:
• Cost-effective/Financial Saving. Electric geysers take up about half of the average household's electricity bill every month. Using a solar geyser system will result in a reduction in your electricity bill. When the solar geyser system has been paid FOR, your hot water is free. The running costs are lower than that of an electric geyser system.
• Asset. The value of your property will increase when installing a solar heating system.
• Ecologically/environmentally Friendly. No toxic waste and no misuse of restricted natural resources. The intensity of pollution is reduced due to less coal/paraffin/wood being burned for the heating of water or the generating of electricity. Solar energy is clean energy!
• Dependability on Supply. Solar water heating systems ensure a consistent supply of hot water even during blackouts and volatile power supply.
• Decrease your demand for electricity. Reducing your demand for electricity by almost half can eradicate a costly upgrade of your supply infrastructure. The dependence on foreign and possibly hostile sources of energy is reduced and less hard earned money is spent on the importing of energy.
• Free hot water. An ordinary winter's day in Africa creates adequate solar energy to supply all your hot water without using electricity.

By converting your existing electric geyser to a solar system, you will be able to save financially and help the environment!

Ways of insuring more energy efficient geysers

Approximately half of the average household's electricity bill every month is taken up by geysers. If this domestic device is made more efficient, this expense can be drastically reduced.

A more energy efficient geyser will not only contribute to a reduced bill every month, but will indeed have an impact on the environment. This is due to the fact that a reduction in electricity results in less carbon being released into the atmosphere from fossil fuel based power plants and therefore the less the contribution towards global warming.

By doing the following, your geyser could be made more energy efficient:
• Make use of a Geyser Blanket. A geyser blanket is an added layer of insulation, designed to be wrapped around the geyser. The majority of geyser blankets usually consist of a 50mm fiberglass layer with a reflective foil cover on one side. A thicker insulation (100 – 150mm) is a better option as it is not that more expensive but definitely more effective. As mentioned before, an electric geyser uses an enormous amount of electricity. This is due to the fact that the geysers' thermostat, on average, turn on and off approximately 24 times per day. It turns off when the water reaches a temperature between 60 and 65ºC and back on again when a lower temperature is reached. A good quality geyser blanket decreases the rate of the cooling of water inside the geyser significantly, therefore permitting it to switch on and off less often. Geyser blankets are relatively affordable and the installation thereof is uncomplicated.
• Make use of a Geyser Timer
  If you want to avoid the burden and responsibility of switching your geyser on and off manually, a geyser timer is what you need! A geyser timer is a mechanism, which substitutes the conventional thermostat with a digital system. It is straightforward and convenient to operate. Most timers are operated via remote control and you control the times at which the geyser is switched on and off.
  
  The device has a memory timer which can be set to turn your geyser on at specific times during the day. The geyser is turned off for the rest of the time, significantly reducing your electricity costs. Geyser timers are relatively affordable and very effective and you save you save YOUR money IN the long-term.
  
  If you keep your geyser switched off for the most part of the day, and turn it on only an hour or so before bathing, you will save money. Switch it off again just before turning on the hot tap for the bath (to avoid the geyser from filling up with cold water, diluting your hot water supply).
  
  Energy Saving Lighting
  
  

Advantages when switching from incandescent bulbs to CFLs:
• A decrease in your monthly electricity bill.
• A drastic reduction in running costs.
• Although CFL's are initially more expensive, it lasts four times longer than incandescent bulbs.
• CFL's are more convenient. No more replacing and recycling broken light bulbs.
• The lifespan of CFL's are much longer than Incandescent bulbs. On average, you save approximately an estimate of R68/per light over the lifespan of an incandescent light when switching to a CFL. And that is only for one light!
• Due to the fact that less electricity is used by CFL's, significantly less carbon dioxide will be released into the atmosphere. Good news for our environment! According to calculations done, it is suggested that 181,91kg of carbon dioxide can be saved by substituting one incandescent bulb for a CFL.

Worm Farming

Worm farming, also known as vermin culture, entails keeping worms in a specifically designed container, feeding them waste from the kitchen and garden (excluding meat or dairy products) and then gathering their waste, or castings. These castings are used for making a potent and natural liquid fertilizer/compost for the garden. The castings furthermore have the additional advantage of acting as a natural pesticide and insect repellent.

Benefits of worm farming
• Worm farming is an economical and effortless way to transform all your food waste into the most remarkable plant food. The castings of the worms provide a natural liquid fertilizer extremely rich in the organisms that also repels insects and pests and prevents plant disease!
• A worm farm needn't be spacious. People have worm farms inside their homes or even offices. Most worm farms are designed to be completely enclosed causing it to be dirt-free and odorless.
• More hygienic rubbish bins. Filling your rubbish bin with fruit and vegetable leftovers not only causes a stench, but also attracts pests like flies and rodents. By depositing your waste in a worm farm and reprocessing other items, you decrease the odor and can also avoid unattractive, overflowing rubbish bins.
• You can contribute in the prevention of the earth's diminishing topsoil.
  All over the world, topsoil is vanishing much faster than it is formed. Healthy topsoil forms habitat to billions of valuable micro-organisms that are vital to healthy plant life and is crucial for producing from agriculture. Topsoil however, forms very slowly, at a speed of only an inch or two per several hundred years. On average, the earth is covered with only three feet of topsoil. The compost produced from vermin culture, nurtures our increasingly exhausted soil and gives it an opportunity to generate more vegetation (which in turn goes back into the soil, improving it further).
• Less waste is sent to landfills. By reprocessing most of your food leftovers, you can reduce some of the pressure on our already overloaded waste disposal sites whilst at the same time nurturing and enhancing your environment by means of the scraps.

Rainwater Harvesting

The harvesting of rainwater refers to the capturing and storage of rainwater for future use. In semi-dry and dry areas such as South Africa, water supply is restricted and can be expensive. Droughts and inconsistent rainfall can lead to restricted access to good quality water for consumption (for humans as well as animals), agriculture and food preparation. Collecting rainwater within a system can enhance the water supply required on your property. The amount of water you can capture depends on the rainfall of your area and the capacity of your capturing system.

Benefits of Rainwater Harvesting:
• Due to the fact that you don't pay for rainwater in South Africa, you save on your water bill.
• By making use of harvested rainwater, you monitor your own water supply, and are therefore not subjected to pipeline interruption or problems with external water sources.
• You have power over the quality of the water you use.
• Capturing rainwater decreases overflow and erosion.
• Rainwater is free of pesticides, chlorine and its by-products and other man-made contaminants.
• Rainwater is naturally soft (it contains no dissolved minerals).
• Harvesting rainwater lessens the need for the pumping of water, the energy use, contamination and CO2 discharge coupled to it.

How Rainwater is Harvested:

Rainwater can be collected by means of capturing systems. These systems are designed to meet specific needs and therefore vary in their complexity. The most ordinary way of harvesting rainwater is by collecting and storing rainwater from the roofs of houses, schools and other buildings. A lot of water can be collected from a small roof during light rain. Water is usually canalled from the roof into a gutter and then channeled into a water storage tank.

Rainwater Harvesting Systems

A rainwater harvesting system usually consists of the following six basic components:
• Catchments: roof surface to collect the rain
• Conveyance: canals or pipelines from the catchment's area to the storage area
• Roof washing: diverter system to filter and eliminate pollutants
• Storage: reservoirs or tanks where collected rainwater is securely stored
• Purification: includes filtration, ozone or ultraviolet light to purify the collected rainwater for household purposes such as cooking, drinking and bathing.
• Distribution: system that conveys the rainwater, usually including a small pump and pressure tank.

WIND TURBINES

How do Wind Turbines Work
• Wind is a type of solar energy.
• The uneven heating of the atmosphere by the sun, the irregularities of the earth's surface, and rotation of the earth, cause winds.
• The pattern in which the wind flows is modified by the earth's landscape, bodies of water, and plant life.
• This wind flow, or motion energy, can be used for various purposes i.e. water sports, kite flying and most importantly for creating electricity.
• The process of creating mechanical power or electricity by means of wind is called wind energy or wind power. Wind turbines transform the kinetic energy in the wind into mechanical power. This mechanical power can be used for particular tasks e.g. pumping water or grinding grain. Alternatively a generator can be used to transform this mechanical power into electricity.
• Electrical fans use electricity to create wind. Wind turbines on the other hand use wind to produce electricity. This is done by the wind turning the blades, which in turn spin a shaft. This is connected to a generator, which creates electricity.

Sizes of Wind Turbines

Motorwind starts turning at 1ms and has no shutdown speed. Energy output is intrinsically linked to regional wind distribution, topology, and altitude, as well as installation site. Potential energy harvest is estimated using an average wind speed in order to tailor the most suitable scalable Motorwind array to your electrical need.

Small turbines, less than 100 kilowatts, are used for homes, telecommunications dishes, or water pumping. It is often used in conjunction with diesel generators, batteries, and photovoltaic systems. These systems are called hybrid wind systems and are generally used in isolated, off-grid areas, where a connection to the utility grid is not available.

Utility-scale turbines vary in size from 100 kilowatts to as large as several megawatts. Larger turbines are grouped together into wind farms, which supply mass power to the electrical grid.