[sagher]

As per my knowledge the only way is to use alternate like solar panel sources and store it in dry batteries.

The EESI (environmental and Energy Study Institute) also release an article in 2019 on it. i share link here for detail study .

EESI

Now many of 3rd world countries now also step forward to reserve energy by using multiple sources like solar grid stations and from air. but i still not hear about storage of AC (alternate current) electricity storage plan. DC (direct Current) electricity storage is possible with different kind of batteries.

[tryp4vps]

As per my knowledge the only way is to use alternate like solar panel sources and store it in dry batteries......

But we do not know if the sunlight condition in the living area of OP is good enough or not. If it is lacking of sunlight regularly, solar panel is probably of no use for him.

Of course, now making use of solar energy at home is much more cheaper than before, and I believe OP should be able to afford it.

[Sn1F3rt]

As per my knowledge the only way is to use alternate like solar panel sources and store it in dry batteries.

The EESI (environmental and Energy Study Institute) also release an article in 2019 on it. i share link here for detail study .

EESI

Now many of 3rd world countries now also step forward to reserve energy by using multiple sources like solar grid stations and from air. but i still not hear about storage of AC (alternate current) electricity storage plan. DC (direct Current) electricity storage is possible with different kind of batteries.

AC is what actually reaches your home as commercial electricity, DC is what is provided by these cells and batteries thereby much easier to store.

What you say about renewable sources of energy is appreciable. Though it has its pros and cons. With solar energy it's possible to store chunks of energy at once.

However the initial setup is very expensive. And I mean "very". Saying it's cheaper in the long run doesn't suffice if you don't have the money to invest at the beginning. So yeah, the bigger UPSes (inverters as they are called) still remain the most viable option.

[ikk157]

 Thanks for this valuable feedback @ikk157  I'll take this down from my to do list.  You're right of course.  Even though it was a really great Toshiba, maybe still is - i7 with a fast processor, it's dated technology.  

I'm on the HDMI wavelength - in fact my TV is connected to an old tape recorder in that way - those hard disk LG DVD recorders that were discontinued a long time ago - I like to record movies with it.  The TV is also dated - a very good LG of its time - 2008 model, with only 1 HDMI slot but with a brilliant quality screen - albeit only 22 inches.  I did get an HDMI adapter that allows for 3 inputs, but have been too lazy so far, and during load shedding times it's useless anyway.  I'm also using my computer more for TV these days than my TV since reception via the Internet is much better than through cable and the monitor image much more improved on my Dell monitor.  I have a feeling that one day cable will be completely phased out.  Which would make my TV redundant anyway.  Hence why I haven't replaced it.  It's a non-essential outgoing piece of equipment.  I find the current large screen digital TVs are much too expensive and taking up too much space.

Haha .... looks like I then left just in time.  The beginning of VAT just started to happen when I departed.  I must have lived there during the good times.

 This is a very true observation.  But mostly due to the state of the South African currency and ridiculous customs charges for importing products.  Like totally unreal.  Problem is those charges are based on rates of years ago when the currency differences were much much less, so on a sliding scale one is already in huge customs charge brackets for cheap products.  So there is that - the currency difference, then on top of it the very inefficient customs charges - so you don't find brand products in the same way as in the UAE and then of course huge shipping charges.  Also, South Africa is situated very far from your big name suppliers of the world and some of them don't like to do business with South Africans because of the customs issues (products get stuck there because people can't afford some of the charges) and crime issue - digital fraud.  On the positive side however, there are some top IT guys in South Africa who are designing and manufacturing their own products.  The products are expensive, but quality wise better quality than imported versions of the same price.  So that's an interesting learning curve as well.  One thing about South Africans is their ability to adapt and design their way out of problems with plenty of can-do enthusiasm and a sense of humour.  I'm waiting for plenty of products to design us out of the current load shedding dilemma given that the people have given up load shedding is ever going to stop one day - in fact is in all probability going to get much worse than it already is.  

BTW - what is your suggestion for a really good laptop when there are regular electricity downtime issues?  Haha ... let me guess what you are going to recommend.  Apple? MacBook Air?

A question sparked into my mind when reading the part of your post stating that you’d like to stick with a desktop for TV over the internet. How is it that a desktop is better than a laptop in that case? They both are essentially made of the same components and both run windows. So how would a laptop not be able to be used for TV? I’m a bit confused.

The customs charges on imported material surely does explain why everything is so expensive there in South Africa. When i order things online, the extra customs charges drive me nuts! Specially when the item goes through the customs of several countries before reaching me. So I could only imagine how much more expensive it would be to order stuff and get it shipped to South Africa.

As for a laptop recommendation, no, I actually do not recommend a MacBook Air at all. Sure it has great battery life and the MacOS ecosystem, but from experience MacBook Airs tend to end up with all sorts of hardware issues after a few years of usage. The MacBook pro is the ideal choice in that case, the MacBook Air is a straight up waste of money.

HOWEVER, I also DO NOT recommend any Macs for you. I suggest you go with a Windows laptop. No offense or anything, but from what I can see, I dont think a Mac would suite you. (Again, no offense). I hate it when people have this impression of me that I’m an apple sheep. I dont buy products because of the company that makes them, i only buy them if they suite my needs and are within my budget. And everyone should do the same. 

This is why I recommend that you go by a Windows laptop. As for specific laptops that I’d recommend, it’s quite hard for me to make a proper recommendation because I’m not familiar with what you have available in South Africa, i dont want to recommend laptops that aren’t available there. 

And also, my recommendations would be solely based on research rather than experience (since I haven’t gotten to own enough laptops, let alone modern ones, to really be able to confidently tell which is the best). And honestly in that case, you are also able to do some research which makes my recommendations useless.

So my bit of advice: look at what laptops are available for you in South Africa, compile a list, remove the ones that dont meet your requirements spec-wise, then remove the ones that dont meet your budget, and finally compare the battery lives of the remaining ones on your list. That’s an almost “bullet proof” way of choosing an ideal laptop!

[deanhills]

Thx @ikk157.  And apologies to @Littlemaster as looks as though we're moving off topic now.

@Littlemaster  Regarding electricity storage.  I guess the best source of storage is the sun.  If you could get some students together who have an aptitude for engineering they could study this on the Internet.  You could then put some panels together, hook them up with batteries, and have your own power source.  Could be an exciting learning curve for every one.  Here's a good start, but if you Google it you may be able to find better tutorials.  This tutorial gives you the basics of how it is done.  The more electricity you want to generate, of course the bigger the panels and batteries.