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Download the Solar Water Heater chapter
Overview of Solar Water Heaters
The residential sector in South Africa consumes 17% of the country’s electricity. The largest electricity consuming appliance in our houses is usually the electric geyser. It makes up typically 30% of the total electricity used in many households which translates to around 5% of the country’s energy consumption. A solar water heater may reduce this energy consumption figure by more than half.
From a city and national perspective this reduction will have the following benefits:
 The reduction in residential power use will improve the energy security of a city as it needs to draw down less power from the grid supply.
The reduction in demand (during peak times in particular) from the residential sector means that fewer power stations need to be planned for in the future. Eskom has recognized that solar water heaters will play a major role in its demand side management (DSM) programme. This also holds a positive impact on City electricity departments who often pay Eskom more for electricity over these periods.
Jobs will be created in the solar water heater industry – both in manufacturing and system installation. Employment creation is a huge national and city priority.
As water is heated mostly by the sun, a solar water heater will reduce a city’s CO2 emissions by about 2 tons per household per year (Eskom).
For households, a solar water heater (SWH) also has several benefits:
Water heating costs for a mid-high income household can be typically reduced by 60% with a SWH (CEF 50 study). This amounts to about a 25 to 30% saving on an average monthly electricity bill. With the price of electricity increasing sharply in the next few years, the financial case for SWHs is very strong. Under current conditions a bonded SWH will immediately be more financially beneficial to the end user when compared to a bonded electric geyser.
From an environmental perspective, water will be heated mostly by the sun reducing a household’s CO2 emissions by about 2 tons per year (Eskom). A useful comparison is if an average family car drives 7800km, it will produce the same amount of CO2.
Improved quality of life and a reduction in electricity costs can be expected in a low income household, where energy costs are often a large component of household expenditure and the SWH may replace the use of “dirtier” fuels, such as paraffin, for water heating.
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