SA solar water heater market growing

In line with global trends, South Africa’s domestic water heating market is moving away from traditional water heating methods, such as conventional geysers, towards more energy-efficient measures, namely solar water heater.

Such a development may be due to the fact that domestic water heating accounts for approximately 40% of a household’s electricity bill. 18% of South Africa’s national electricity consumption is allocated toward the heating of water, for residential, commercial, and industrial use.

“Eskom’s load-shedding power crisis of 2007-2008 resulted in a raised awareness of solar water heating as the general public demanded hot water during times of load-shedding, and Eskom advocated the saving benefits that this mechanism could provide,” says Dominic Goncalves, Frost & Sullivan’s Energy and Power Research Analyst.

Eskom subsequently developed a demand-side management program, propagating solar water heater as a prime mechanism to conserve energy off the strained national grid. The Eskom Rebate Program was established, and a target set for the installation of one million solar water heaters by 2014. “The rationale was that such demand-side management could relieve up to 578 gigawatt hours of electricity from the grid, the equivalent of building a 2,000 megawatt power station,” explains Goncalves.

Author: Zhejiang Haining Tiange Solar Energy Science Technology Co., Ltd.
website: www.sunnyrainsolar.com
main product: Solar energy,Solar water heater,Solar collectors