Ravenswood the first to receive EDGE Design Certification

At the EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) stand at the Green Building Council South Africa’s (GBCSA) Green Building Convention in Cape Town were, from left; Rusmir Music of the International Finance Corporation (IFC); Graham Cruickshanks, EDGE Technical Manager; Prashant Kapoor, IFC’s Principal Green Building Industry Specialist and the entrepreneur who invented EDGE; and, Myles Kritzinger, Dealmaker at International Housing Solutions, which is rolling out a number of residential developments in South Africa that will be EDGE certified.

The development is led by affordable housing fund, International Housing Solutions (IHS), who are rolling out a number of residential developments in South Africa that will be EDGE certified.

Created by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group that focuses on the private sector, EDGE was brought to South Africa a year ago by GBCSA.

Significant milestone

"Awarding the first EDGE pilot rating in the country is a significant milestone, not just for the GBCSA and its partners in the programme, but for the South African residential property sector and its journey toward going green and becoming more sustainable. We appeal to the residential property industry to join the movement to change the way homes are built in SA," Wilkinson comments.

"The Ravenswood development is officially the first residential project to secure an EDGE rating as part of the GBCSA's piloting of the residential green building tool in SA, but two other projects have also since secured EDGE certification too. Following this pilot phase, the GBCSA is now ready for a full roll-out of EDGE to residential development across SA.

"IHS, the Ravenswood owners, will work with the GBCSA to achieve EDGE As-Built Certification for this development, which is the second and final stage in the process. According to IHS, the Ravenswood development is predicted to realise a saving of almost R600,000 a year by applying EDGE certified energy efficiency measures. This would translate into an anticipated saving of approximately R3,200 in utility costs for each unit," Graham Cruickshanks, EDGE technical manager, explains.

Annual savings

"Total savings annually of 250,000kWH of electricity and more than 10,000Kl of water has been demonstrated in the EDGE design rating of the Ravenswood project. EDGE helped us crunch the numbers to reveal the most affordable path to building green," explains IHS Dealmaker, Myles Kritzinger.

Efficient energy usage is set to be maximised at Ravenswood through the use of solar hot water collectors and efficient water usage through the installation of smart meters and low-flow bathroom and kitchen fittings. Reduced window-to-wall ratios and roof insulation will also ensure optimal energy efficiency. The EDGE certification process involves two steps - preliminary design certification of the design, followed by as-built certification.