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Dead Battery? Solar-charge It!

Dead Battery? Solar-charge It!

With the country’s power grid severely constrained,  students  from DUT’s Green Campus Initiative (GCI) worked towards the installment of solar charging systems for cellphones which can be seen at various DUT campuses.

The solar charging systems were donated by Full Nine Yards, a company that sells sponsorship.

Mark Zeeman , Full Nine Yards owner, said: “We came up with this concept because mobile devices are a way of life for anyone, not just students. So with power shortages and constant load shedding, these solar chargers make it easy for everyone in those times.”

Currently, 11 solar charging systems have been installed in the University’s Durban Centre, five being at the Steve Biko Campus, three at Ritson Campus, two at ML Sultan Campus and one at City Campus. Plans are afoot to install two at the Midlands Centre’s Indumiso Campus and two at Riverside Campus.

Solar charging systems use renewable energy which is collected using solar panels where radiant heat is converted to produce electricity.

Siyanda Dube, DUT GCI Chairman, said the solar chargers will help the University reduce its power usage. “We want to bring a much greener way of doing things at the University and solar charging systems is one way of doing that. Our aim is for DUT to be the greenest university in the country ,” he said.

– Noxolo Memela

Pictured: Sandy Binda, a DUT student, makes use of one of the solar charging panels which were recently installed at the University to charge cellphones.

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