Energy specialist Schneider Electric has introduced an online educational community to generate awareness of energy management.
According to the company, 'Energy University' provides a series of courses to help users implement successful energy-efficient solutions.
"There has never been a more critical time for South African companies and individuals to become more aware of energy consumption, particularly in light of Eskom's recent 31.3% tariff hike," says Schneider Electric SA MD, Patrick Gaonach.
Electricity increase
He claims the country can expect to see another hike of about 25% over the next two years. Gaonach points out that training and education around energy efficiency is generally lacking and stresses that there's a need for greater expertise regarding the best approach to using energy efficiently.
"Through Energy University, we expect to enable anyone to better understand and act on these opportunities, so they can do more with less. Energy University will reduce complexity and raise awareness by providing global users free, easy access to practical education on all aspects of energy management.
“By providing users with commercial-free knowledge and expertise of various topics, Schneider Electric is assisting both businesses and people in understanding and embracing the basic principals and concepts of energy efficiency, enabling them to implement sustainable energy-efficient solutions that are both good for the environment and for their bottom line."
Going green
Experts from Schneider Electric have collaborated in the development of the courses. Energy University will incorporate additional courses in the programme as the demand for new technologies and knowledge increases, says the company.
Currently, Schneider Electric offers 11 foundational courses. Some of the topics include energy efficiency fundamentals, going green with leadership in energy and environmental design, alternative power generation technologies, and data centre efficiency.
Schneider Electric says each course can be completed in less than an hour and bringing the courses onto the Web makes the self-paced learning convenient. At the end of the course, the user will have to write an exam. The certification verifies that the user has a comprehensive understanding of energy management and is able to independently handle situations related to energy awareness, problem-solving and solutions design.
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