POWER Residential electricity consumption in SA

RESIDENTIAL ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION IN SA

DMRE, SANEDI and UCT recently published a ground-breaking report on residential energy use. The study assesses the impact of energy efficient appliances on electrical energy consumption in South Africa.

On a global basis, the residential sector consumes one fifth of the world’s energy (IEA 2018:2) and has a large untapped potential to benefit from the multiple positive economic and social impacts of energy efficiency. These benefits include increased disposable income, poverty alleviation, improved health and wellbeing, better energy security and macro-economic benefits.

Improved energy efficiency means that less energy is used while maintaining the same level of service or increasing service levels while maintaining energy use. In the residential context, efficiency improvements may be affected both by investments in technical interventions and by changes in behaviour.

According to StatsSA, the residential sector in South Africa comprised of approximately 16.9-million households in 2016, of which about 86% were electrified. Electrified households consume roughly 17% of the country’s total grid electrical energy to provide energy services (DOE 2018:47), the most significant of which is resistive water heating. During peak periods, the residential sector accounts for up to 35% of national electricity demand.

South African households are heterogeneous, and electricity use is not well characterised by averages. Appliance ownership, age, utilisation patterns and monthly spend on electricity all varies with household income. Poverty remains high and limits household electricity and appliance purchases. Almost 55.5% of the population were living below the Upper-Bound Poverty Line.

The study found that South Africa’s Standards and Labelling (S&L) Programme was effective in achieving meaningful savings in appliance energy consumption between 2015 and 2020. The S&L Programme provides information about an appliance’s energy efficiency with an easy-to-read label displayed on the front of the appliance.

The initiative will continue to provide energy savings into the future as appliances reach their end of life, and consumers purchase newer, more modern and energy efficient appliances. The highest energy savings were seen in refrigeration by a hefty margin, especially in low- and middleincome homes.

In 2018, Berkeley Lab developed the South Africa Energy Demand Resource (EDR) model in The Low Emissions Analysis Platform (LEAP), in collaboration with the DMRE, SANEDI and the UNDP. The EDR provides a comprehensive forecast of the energy savings and emissions reductions that could result from the implementation of minimum energy performance standards.

DEBATE BUSTERS

• While dishwashers are likely to be more energy efficient than handwashing, this is only true for a fully-loaded dishwasher. • Induction stoves often consume large amounts of standby power and ultimately may consume more energy than an equivalent thermal plate. • A washing machine’s energy efficiency is typically measured based on energy used during its longer cycles, which is rarely used in practice.

The more popular shorter and convenient cycle times tend to be less energy efficient.

[ECO]NOMIC THOUGHT

READ REPORT

greeneconomy/the upshot

RESIDENTIAL ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION IN SOUTH AFRICA

Research Project Report by SANEDI, DMRE and UCT [May 2021]

In this study the electrical energy consumption of low-, middle- and high-income households is characterised within a South African Residential Sector LEAP model. Within each of these income groups, appliance penetration rates together with appliance average annual energy consumption estimates are used to approximate the national annual electricity consumption of the sector. The disaggregation of energy services and appliances within the model, expands upon those of the EDR model, and includes lighting, cooking, refrigeration, dishwashers, washing machines, tumble dryers, water heating, space heating, televisions, pool pumps, air conditioning and other plug loads.

Survey findings

LEAP model structure09 28 61 Assessment of the S&L programme 63 Key recommendations