While South Africans no longer suffer from persistent loadshedding, they find themselves with a new dilemma. Although access has expanded, the costs of electricity, especially in the sought-after Cape Town CBD, continue to soar. Electricity isn’t the only utility that has seen price increases being implemented, and with the cost of living being on a steady incline across the globe, Capetonians find themselves looking to reduce their energy bills.
Mark Allewell
Fortunately, there are many ways to slash your power bill. The persisting myth is that any kind of investment in energy efficiency is accompanied by prohibitive costs. This is simply not true anymore. Even small changes can make a big difference. Smart technology, automation, and a little planning can equip you with the knowledge to understand your energy habits and, ultimately, cut down significantly on costs.
Start by tracking your energy use
The easiest and most impactful place to start is by tracking your electricity use: data is power. If you understand where and when you are using the most energy, then you will have the insights you need to reduce your costs before a hefty bill arrives. There are modern smart meters and home dashboards that allow you to see exactly what your consumption is. Some of them even show usage in real time. This is a really powerful tool for households and small businesses to reduce their costs significantly – A simple plug-in monitor can reveal exactly how much that rickety old bar fridge is costing you per month.
Upgrade your energy infrastructure
If you really want to save, then you have to upgrade your energy infrastructure. It’s tempting to rule this out as too expensive, but there are very few investments that so clearly show reduced costs further down the line. Efficiency pays in the long run. Unfortunately, many older buildings in the CBD, despite their old-world charm, have archaic energy systems that leak energy. You can cut unnecessary use by retrofitting smart plugs, LED lighting and even motion sensors.
Shared spaces like sectional titles and office blocks can use central energy dashboards to identify problem areas quickly. On the whole, there is an incentive for developers, landlords and tenants in both commercial and residential property to institute some kind of energy efficiency measures. You’re well within your rights to expect this of developers. Infrastructural investment doesn’t have to be massively complicated, though. One of the easiest ways to upgrade your energy stack is to blend solar and storage for resilience.
Harness the power of the sun
The African sun burns bright, and rooftops across the Cape Town CBD are an untapped opportunity for solar panels. By combining solar with smart battery systems, you give yourself the option to store cheap or surplus energy. The scourge of loadshedding in the past has led to a proliferation of excellent energy solutions in the South African market, and many hybrid inverter systems offer seamless automation, making solar energy usable 24/7. The cost of solar has come down significantly in this period, and there are plug-and-play solutions that (even with a small system) can contribute to massive savings in monthly costs. Not to mention that if loadshedding ever does come back, then you are armed with grid stability.
Tackle high-consumption devices
If you don’t want to find yourself in hot water with an astronomical energy bill, then you need to rid yourself of high-consumption devices. Geysers can account for up to 40% of household electricity consumption, often running unnecessarily. A smart geyser controller allows users to schedule heating cycles, manage temperature, and even switch off during peak hours, greatly reducing the amount of energy that is used. Don’t confuse this with a smart plug. That only allows you to switch the geyser on and off. A geyser controller also allows you to control the geyser temperature. For property owners, upgrading geysers is one of the quickest and most measurable ways to cut electricity bills.
Audit, adjust, and stay accountable
Lastly, it’s important to run an annual energy audit. A short audit can reveal inefficiencies or opportunities for further savings. So take stock of what’s changed in terms of appliance age, usage habits and whether or not the settings you last enabled are still appropriate. There’s no harm in checking more often, though. Energy usage changes with the seasons, and it’s important to make sure your consumption matches your needs. The good news is that some insurance and utility providers now offer free or discounted energy assessments for clients. Take advantage of these to understand your situation. If you’re a business owner, then you can make use of the free audits that Eskom provides.
These are a few of the ways to keep your costs down, but don’t stop there. South Africans are incredibly resourceful, and so there is so much encouraging innovation happening in this space. Stay informed, the future of energy management is awareness. Thanks to a combination of a number of factors, global and local, Cape Town’s energy landscape is changing rapidly, but households and businesses that adapt will see meaningful financial and environmental rewards. By managing risk and building up your energy efficiency levels, you’re future-proofing your home and reducing future costs.
Remember: you can’t manage what you don’t measure. With the right combination of insight, timing, and technology, Capetonians can stay powered up without burning through their budgets.
