/ 6 December 2013

Residential rollout

Karebo Systems won the residential category for their rollout programme that saw 180 000 homes receive energy efficient installations.
Karebo Systems won the residential category for their rollout programme that saw 180 000 homes receive energy efficient installations.

Winner: Karebo Systems 
Karebo Systems, which is part of the Karebo Group that provides professional services and products to the energy sector, was tasked by Eskom with reducing energy usage in the residential sector.

The objective of this mass rollout was to reduce 80MW worth of peak load through the installation of CFL lighting and LED down lighters, geyser and pool pump timers, flow restrictors and low-flow showerheads in the medium to higher LSM groups.

Since mass rollouts are dynamic in nature and project data changes on a daily basis, Karebo developed a cloud-based software system to manage the process and to keep track of all the data points.

The system integrates a customer relationship management function to automate registrations, appointments and customer notifications through email and SMS.

Karebo exceeded Eskom’s expectations and achieved a 86MW reduction in peak energy demand.

Runner-up: 4D and A Architects: New Jerusalem Children’s Home
When 4D and A Architects were asked to build additional rooms for the New Jerusalem Children’s Home in Midrand, they had one aim in mind: to go green.

Architects Adam Kalkin, Sean Wall and Mia Anfield decided to create the rooms from 28 recycled containers to reduce construction costs and stick to the “reduce, reuse, recycle” mantra.

Since the new rooms were built, the children’s home has been able to halve electricity consumption and by April 2013 had achieved savings of 20 181kWh.

The building is now powered by solar panels to keep maintenance and running costs down. New Jerusalem, which has housed 24 children since 2012, is one of the first orphanages to go green in South Africa. An added bonus of the green theme is that it is used as an educational tool on renewable energy.

Runner-up: Holms and Friends
Holms and Friends, a solar energy consultancy, was contracted to develop and install a comprehensive solar system at the University of Pretoria’s Onderstepoort residences.

The passive design is the largest solar water heating system in South Africa, with a 672m2 collector surface and 40kL storage for 550 students.

The installation was prompted by the university’s water and energy efficiency strategy, which aims to cut down consumption and reduce running costs.

The installation included a renewable energy system, combined with water reduction technology.

Bathrooms were designed to be warmer, low-flow showerheads and taps as well as timed taps were installed. Extra insulation was added for hot water circulation and students were educated on ways to reduce water consumption.

The result was a 55% drop in hot water consumption per student, from 162 litres a day to 72.7 litres a day. The new solar collector system has also seen impressive results, with 599 200 kWh generated a year.

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