Delving into SA’s residential power use

Amid ongoing electricity supply concerns in South Africa, the results of a groundbreaking study on residential energy use have been released.

he South African National Energy

TDevelopment Institute (Sanedi) – together with the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) and the University of Cape Town (UCT) – has completed a study to assess the impact of energy-efficient appliances on electrical energy consumption in the residential sector in South Africa, while looking at possible future energy impacts for the sector.

The global residential sector consumes one fifth of the world’s energy, according to the International Energy Agency. During peak periods in South Africa, the residential sector can account for up to 35% of national electricity demand.

Richard Larmour, research officer: Advanced Machines & Energy Systems Research Group at UCT’s Department of Electrical Engineering, explains that it was important to embark on this study seeing as the sector remains relatively understudied.

“There is an enormous amount that still needs to be learnt about how electricity is consumed by appliances in different income groups.

“It is also important to identify the areas in the sector that have achieved the greatest savings and those that still have savings potential. In particular, there was a need to quantify the electricity savings that have resulted from the South African appliance Standards & Labelling (S&L) programme over the past five years, as well as what savings may be expected moving into the future,” Larmour explains.

Ensuring current data

Theo Covary, PhD – an energy efficiency expert contracted by Sanedi – agrees, saying that, to his knowledge, the last detailed study on the residential sector was done by Eskom in the 1990s.

“Much has changed since then – politically, economically and technologically. It is important to understand the household sector market as it is a high-growth one, in contrast to other sectors that dominated in the past such as mining. The number of households grows every year, with many more electricity applications – i.e. the number of TVs, laptops, phones, appliance penetration, etc. and products of the future, such as electric cars.”

Covary asserts that sector surveys like these should be done every two to three years. The data can be used to: inform national policy (in this instance, how the S&L programme is performing); report on climate change (Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment); assist Eskom and

municipalities with planning; and provide data for research (universities).

“Finally, accurate data can help identify longterm solutions,” says Covary.

Barry Bredenkamp, GM: Energy Efficiency at Sanedi, notes that with the ever-increasing probability of more people working from home in the future and using more smart and digitally connected technologies and innovative tools to do their daily work, there will likely be a large shift in energy consumption from the traditional commercial (office) sector to the residential sector. “We need to accurately monitor this transition, for planning purposes,” he states.

Some interesting findings

The study found that South Africa’s S&L programme 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 one fridge, with 24% owning more than one. It stands to reason that massive energy savings can be gained from these appliances.

With regard to lighting efficiency, the study highlights that very few households used LEDs in 2020. LEDs are more energy efficient than incandescent light bulbs and compact florescent lights. “This indicates a large potential for improving the energy efficiency of lighting. The VC9109 draft lighting regulation, once adopted, aims to remove less-efficient lamps from the market,” explains Teslim Yusuf, project manager: Data and Knowledge Management, Sanedi.

Changing behaviour

However, in the short term, and in order to change lamp purchasing behaviour towards LEDs, the study has recommended that, along with power, luminous efficacy becomes a primary performance indicator on lamp packaging. This should be supported by long-term, in-store information campaigns.

“Once again, consumer education is a clear priority. There is no doubt that energy efficiency must be considered at the individual level, if we are to achieve our country’s energy-efficiency targets,” Yusuf comments.

In line with this, the study recommends that a few, simple, quantifiable behavioural changes can reduce energy use just as much as technical interventions. The study states: “A sound long-term strategy for improving residential energy efficiency in a sustainable manner will likely involve a blend of technical and behavioural interventions.”

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