Options to never-ending domestic utility problems

By Caroline Ariba

Utilities are a very essential part of our daily lives and as a result, we are slaves to them. Well, it's about time we sought other alternatives that will end this enslavement.

Solar is the definite alternative available for the constant power blackouts. However, at the mere mention of it, many people run. It has for so long been passed off as one of those high profile things that are only for the wealthy.

Electricity

According to Iphraim Wainana of Davis and Shirtliff, it is estimated that the cost of using electric water heaters accounts for over 33% of the average household electricity bill.

As a result, thermo hot water heaters are steadily becoming the alternative for many Ugandans today.

"The thermo water heater is installed on your roof and the water in your tank is subjected to heating and then later channeled through the normal water passage systems for easy accessibility," Wainana explains.

Rita Ndebesa, an accountant at Children's Voices Uganda, can't begin to fathom how much the thermo water heater helped her when she had a baby.

"My baby's skin was very sensitive, the doctors said I not only had to disinfect all the clothes but I also had to sock and rinse them with hot water until he was well over a year.”

The first month Ndebesa’s electricity bill was well over 100,000!

She had to wash on a daily basis and couldn't have imagined what she would have done if her friend hadn't told her about the solar water heater.

"Solar is very reliable because the only time it might black out is when the sun doesn't shine in two days, which is highly unlikely" explains Wainana.

He believes that solar is the way to go if the average Ugandan is ever going to find a solution to these consistent power blackouts.

"One can choose to put solar on standby, just in case there is a hydro-electric black out.”

Water saving

Meanwhile, water, just like electricity, is a utility whose necessity has rendered many slaves to the company that provides it.

However, the solution lies in water harvesting – which can be conveniently done by storing water in drums.

These drums cost from as low as 30,000 to over sh1m depending on each individual's respective demand.

Abdulla Lule, who sells water drums in Nakasero, insists that the only solution to water shortages lies in Ugandans getting into the habit of harvesting whatever clean water is available.

"Why should anyone pay for water during the rainy season for example?" he wonders.

“Any medium-size drum can be turned into a water harvesting tank. All one needs is to get is a pipe connected to the main water circulation of the house and put a small tap that can be turned on when the need arises.” ​