I have two solar geysers providing sun-heated water at my house in Mpumalanga, “the place where the sun rises”.
Forget high heels, a new car, whatever, these things are made for satisfaction. One geyser supplies bath water and cost R10 000 in 2006; the other serves a separate shower and cost R7 000 last year. They were made in the Free State, so were a lot cheaper than the up to R35 000 imported models can cost.
I did not apply for a government rebate because the manufacturer was not one of Eskom’s 150 accredited suppliers that qualify for a subsidy. But my units are based on Swiss engineering and are real value for money. For the past five years I have not had to pay a single cent for electricity to heat water. The deal gets even better in light of the projected doubling of electricity tariffs over the next three years.
According to the Sustainable Energy Society of Southern Africa, installing a solar geyser can translate into a 50% saving on the electricity bill.
I think installing traditional electric geysers at my house would have cost a greater percentage, relative to my overall electricity consumption. My units are powered purely by sunlight, without the fall-back switch to conventional electricity many units have.
However, I do have a second, gas-powered shower for those few days in the year when the sun is shy, as well as gas to heat water for the kitchen sink. If all the sun-heated water in my solar geysers is used up before an overcast day, the gas back-up is necessary for a hot shower. But that’s not often: this summer, a single 9kg gas canister has been enough to supply the difference — for a household of two and several visitors.
The Sustainable Energy Society says the average household geyser accounts for about 4.5 tons of CO2 emissions a year. By that estimate, my contribution to climate change is 13.5 tons lighter each year.
South Africa is ranked 14th highest in the world in terms of its per capita CO2 emissions, yet it experiences some of the highest levels of solar radiation — between 4.5 kWh/m2 and 6.5 kWh/m2, against only 2.5 kWh/m2 in parts of Europe. And this solar energy is free. It makes sense, then, that the local solar geyser market recorded phenomenal growth over the past four years.
Research published by global consultants Frost & Sullivan last month showed an expansion from less than 20 solar geyser suppliers in 1997 to more than 400 by the beginning of this year. And the South African market is preparing for a second, higher growth phase, driven by the proposed introduction of building codes that will require all new buildings or those being refurbished to generate at least 50% of their hot water by energy efficient products.
“The demand pressure this will place on the market to manufacture and install these products is exciting,” said Africa energy and power research analyst Dominic Goncalves. The consultancy identified installation as a key challenge facing the development of the market.
“Solar geysers require a mix of plumbing and electrical skills, as well as specialised solar installation skills, which must be learned,” said Goncalves. While this may be true for various models, the installation of my units was problem-free. The first was put up by the manufacturer, the second by a local plumber.
Goncalves said the plumbing industry was currently operating at full capacity, and the current pool of 3 000 skilled plumbers would need to be bolstered by an extra 8 000 if the market was to cope with mass demand for solar water heaters in the next four to six years.
“The transformation of skills from conventional plumbing to energy-efficient plumbing also requires a different set of skills. These skills are similar to those required for air-conditioning and refrigeration technology,” he said. This is what the emerging green economy is about.
The trade and industry department’s new industrial policy action plan (Ipap), released in early April, envisages the renewable energy sector creating 43 000 direct jobs and 86 000 indirect jobs between 2011 and 2014.
Eskom’s decision to lower the rebate for solar geysers installed from this month may put a damper on that expectation, but some experts in the field argue that the rebate has done its job of stimulating the market and the lower subsidy will help to cut down on imported units. More than 40% of the solar geysers installed in South Africa so far have been imported.
“As shown by countries such as Australia and Israel, successful domestic solar water heater promotion programmes can lead to the establishment of an internationally competitive solar water heater manufacturing industry that can become a global supplier,” according to Ipap.
The Frost & Sullivan research showed that the growth in the South African market between 2007 and 2010 was plagued by malfunctioning products, fly-by-night companies, and incorrect installation and application of the products. Nevertheless, market growth continued, albeit slower than expected, as many suppliers experienced a hush after this initial boom.
“This was caused by the negative reputation that solar water heaters were receiving, due to conflicting information and incorrect product application, as well as initial challenges in the development of the rebate programme,” said Goncalves.
The market began to stabilise during the second half of 2010, with about 35 000 solar water heaters installed. Many fly-by-night companies selling cheap, imported Chinese products out-the-box left the market or changed their strategy, while established companies with good word-of-mouth reputations formed efficient distribution networks, franchises and partnerships.
“As these suppliers and installers began to grasp the intricacies of South African climactic conditions, such as solar irradiation and the myriad different applications of installing a solar water heater, market development has proceeded in a more ordered manner,” Goncalves said.
The department of energy wants to ramp up installations to 250 000 a year in the next three years, and has set an ambitious target for one million solar geysers to be installed by 2014.
This article originally appeared in the Mail & Guardian newspaper as an advertorial