For Haslop & Mason ‘business as usual’ means ‘caring as usual’
Reaching out a helping hand to the community has always been part of the Haslop & Mason way, so when sales account manager Eon van Vuuren and managing member Kevin Dersley heard about the plight of Westering Primary School, they knew they could come up with a solution.
Ryno Hamilton, deputy principal of Westering Primary, explains the problem they encountered: “Continuous load-shedding and power outages have led to an inability on our part to be productive.” He adds: “The classroom environment can still largely function without the use of electricity, but we were experiencing many technical issues in our admin block, which needs constant power.
“I was put into contact with Eon van Vuuren at Haslop & Mason. We spoke about the challenges we were facing, and that the school was looking for an alternative power source or backup system.
“Eon contacted Michael Botha at Eaton, who indicated that they had a system they would be willing to donate to the school. Haslop & Mason also secured a discounted rate for us with an electrical company in town for the installation of the system.”
Eon explains: “The Eaton xStorage Home system consists of an inverter, a lithium-ion battery, an energy meter, and a cover. It allows photovoltaic generation to support both the critical and non-critical loads when mains are available and critical loads in the absence of mains supply.”
“When the mains are lost, the inverter will support critical loads connected to the battery from the inverter, and when the sun is shining, the battery will charge and the surplus energy from the sun will support the load. It’s ideal for home or office use.
“The system is connected via the Wi-Fi router to be managed by the client and by Eaton’s technical team. The user can control how much battery to use after hours in order to limit its use of Eskom supply. This can reduce your energy bill drastically.”
Michael says: “Eaton tries, where possible, to assist the community. The idea of supporting a school that is shaping the future for our children fits into Eaton’s goals, one of which is to make our communities stronger.”
Mr Hamilton adds: “A few weeks later the system was installed and we are enjoying the benefits. Our admin block functions independently during power outages. We hope soon to add solar panels to maximise the use of the inverter.
“We are extremely grateful that we met with Eon from Haslop & Mason and Michael from Eaton. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the owners of the companies they represent. Thank you so much for blessing Westering Primary School and the community it serves.”