LETTER: A better solution than living with load-shedding forever
Smart home technology could help to end load-shedding
04 September 2023 - 18:25
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While our country continues to battle the debilitating effects of load-shedding, one is left to wonder why we haven’t mobilised state resources to decrease the rate at which we use electricity in our homes.
Electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has indicated interest in this opportunity and wants government to turn off our geysers when not in use to decrease the load on Eskom.
This rather bold announcement was met with a lukewarm reception — South Africans do not want to pay the price for the government’s failure to manage our national energy crisis effectively. That said, there is still some value to be extracted from Ramokgopa’s comment — we just need to be smart about it.
The average household geyser operates similarly to any household kettle, heating up repeatedly just to produce one cup of coffee. Unfortunately, this makes geysers extremely inefficient in terms of their energy consumption.
In fact, most of our electricity bills can be attributed to geysers, using up to 45% of total household energy usage. This is why Ramokgopa wants to be able to turn it off for you.
While this has raised the issue of our autonomy as citizens who have dutifully paid for a service that government simply cannot provide, there are some key takeaways we should consider.
Technology and innovation exist to help manage the energy consumption of our geysers more effectively. Why are we talking about turning the geysers off when we could be talking about turning a geyser’s temperature down during high peak periods, in a manner that does not affect customer convenience?
This technology is used worldwide to manage peak energy, so it’s not unique to SA. Yes, we are talking about smart home technology, and yes it may prove costly to roll this out nationally.
However, with government support and subsidies it could be possible. Living with load-shedding in perpetuity is not.
Mark Allewell CEO, Sensor Networks
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
LETTER: A better solution than living with load-shedding forever
Smart home technology could help to end load-shedding
While our country continues to battle the debilitating effects of load-shedding, one is left to wonder why we haven’t mobilised state resources to decrease the rate at which we use electricity in our homes.
Electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has indicated interest in this opportunity and wants government to turn off our geysers when not in use to decrease the load on Eskom.
This rather bold announcement was met with a lukewarm reception — South Africans do not want to pay the price for the government’s failure to manage our national energy crisis effectively. That said, there is still some value to be extracted from Ramokgopa’s comment — we just need to be smart about it.
The average household geyser operates similarly to any household kettle, heating up repeatedly just to produce one cup of coffee. Unfortunately, this makes geysers extremely inefficient in terms of their energy consumption.
In fact, most of our electricity bills can be attributed to geysers, using up to 45% of total household energy usage. This is why Ramokgopa wants to be able to turn it off for you.
While this has raised the issue of our autonomy as citizens who have dutifully paid for a service that government simply cannot provide, there are some key takeaways we should consider.
Technology and innovation exist to help manage the energy consumption of our geysers more effectively. Why are we talking about turning the geysers off when we could be talking about turning a geyser’s temperature down during high peak periods, in a manner that does not affect customer convenience?
This technology is used worldwide to manage peak energy, so it’s not unique to SA. Yes, we are talking about smart home technology, and yes it may prove costly to roll this out nationally.
However, with government support and subsidies it could be possible. Living with load-shedding in perpetuity is not.
Mark Allewell
CEO, Sensor Networks
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
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