POWER SYSTEMS
Energy efficiency starts with consumption Having a clearer understanding of current and future power demand trends provides power utilities, independent power producers and municipalities with a more coherent roadmap. Within the mix is the need to lower climate change impacts.
A D-rating would typically indicate basic compliance with the energyefficiency component of the national building regulations
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he South African National Energy Development Institute (Sanedi), together with the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), and the University of Cape Town, recently completed a study on the impact of energy-efficient appliance usage within South Africa’s residential sector. “During peak periods, the residential sector can account for up to 35% of national electricity demand,” says Teslim Yusuf, project manager: Data and Knowledge Management at Sanedi. He adds that, according to the International Energy Agency, the global residential sector consumes a fifth of the world’s energy. The joint Sanedi study found that South Africa’s Standards and Labelling Programme (which displays a product’s rated energy efficiency) has been effective in achieving meaningful savings in appliance energy consumption between 2015 and 2020. The highest energy savings were seen in refrigeration, by a hefty margin, especially in low- and middle-income homes. “From the research sample, 98.1% of households reported owning at least
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one fridge, and 24% of households reported owning more than one. It stands to reason that massive energy savings can be gained from these appliances,” comments Yusuf. In high-income homes, savings in water heating were dominant, but were closely followed by refrigeration. Overall, the programme saw a reduction in energy intensity of 4.1% in 2020. With regard to lighting efficiency, the study highlighted that very few households used LEDs in 2020. LEDs are more energy efficient than incandescent light bulbs and compact florescent lights. “The VC9109 draft lighting regulation, once adopted, aims to remove less-efficient lamps from the market,” explains Yusuf.
Building energy efficiency compliance New requirements are also in the pipeline for buildings. This follows the gazetting of ‘Regulations for the Mandatory Display and Submission of Energy Performance Certificates for Buildings’ in December 2020.
As an agency of the DMRE, Sanedi has been tasked with developing, hosting and maintaining a national Building Energy Performance Certificate Register in terms of these regulations. Among the requirements, certain classes of buildings need to have their energy performance assessed by a Sanas-accredited inspection body. The latter will then issue an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), rating the building from A to G. “To be compliant, the EPC must be displayed at the building entrance, and a D-rating would typically indicate basic compliance with the energy-efficiency component of the national building regulations,” explains Barry Bredenkamp, GM: Energy Efficiency and Corporate Communications at Sanedi. “This first assessment will form the benchmark for the building and give the owner an idea of what needs to be done to improve the rating in the future. Everyone should aim for an A-rating in the longer term,” says Bredenkamp. EPCs will need to be renewed every five years. The current regulations apply to four different classes of buildings defined in the national Building Standard. These comprise entertainment and public assembly facilities, theatrical and indoor sports facilities, places of instruction, and offices with a net floor area of at least 2 000 m2 in the private sector, and 1 000 m2 for buildings owned, operated or occupied by an organ of the state. These buildings must be compliant by 8 December 2022.
