3 ways the Ngewana family reduced their numbers
Brakpan can get infamously hot in summer, and you can find yourself taking more showers during the day than you usually would. Instead of spending that hard-saved cash on renovating the house, as many do at the end of the year, it’s worth spending on swapping your ordinary bulbs for LED ones, installing a solar water heater or merely finding ways to minimise your waste to landfill amount. Whether on a large or small budget, various options are available to turn your home into a greener household. A number of families are already making the switch, and so can you.
The Ngewanas have done it! They have cut electricity costs by more than half over a six-month period.
Six months ago, the family was selected by the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) to participate in the My Green Home challenge. The GBCSA established a consumption baseline for the family’s home in March 2014 and provided expert advice and helped the family set their goals to reduce their electricity, water and waste to landfill.
Their goals:
Reduce their water use by 20 percent and,
Reduce waste to landfill by 75 percent.
They also set their sights on a lower electricity tariff by aiming to reduce their monthly usage to less than 600 kilowatt hours (kWh). By doing this, their cost of electricity is automatically reduced by 18 percent.
To achieve these targets, the Ngewana family committed to many changes in the way they live. Through persistent effort, constant reminders and having their sights firmly set on their goals they achieved every one of their targets, and by a significant margin. On October 15, the family announced that electricity at their home has now fallen by 53 percent, water use by 44 percent and waste to landfill by 81 percent.
Their September electricity consumption was just 436 kWh, well below the 600 kWh/month tariff step.
When using the energy rating calculator on www.49M.co.za this means that based on their consumption in March 2014 their homes energy rating was 79. This takes into account seasonal fluctuations. In September, their energy rating calculation is down to 26. This is a significant reduction and means that they moved from an original C category to a B category based on the international rating scale.
The 3 key interventions the GBCSA helped the Ngewana Family introduce for My Green Home to achieve this reduction in their energy rating were:
No-cost interventions (behaviour change) e.g.:
Shortening their showers.
Reducing the time that the pools pump was running from over 10 hours, to just three hours for the winter months.
Switching off lights and appliances when not being used.
Low-Cost interventions e.g.:
Insulated the roof and all water pipes.
Installed low-flow shower heads.
Invest-to-save options e.g.:
Replaced all the lighting in their house with LED lights.
Installed a Solar Water Heater.
Installed a closed-combustion heating system fuelled by renewable wood pellets.
Installed a variable speed pool pump.
A more comprehensive list can be found at www.mygreenhome.org.za
My Green Home addressed every area of the family’s life that involves energy, water and waste. But a few categories of consumption stand out for the dramatic savings achieved. Lighting consumption fell by 74 percent, through a combination of the family’s efforts to keep the lights on only where they are needed, and a complete switch to LED globes by Eurolux, both inside and outside the house.
The geyser had the home’s largest appetite for kilowatts in March, using 12.7 kWh per day. In September, the new Solartech solar hot water heater was using only 5,2 kWh. Shorter showers and Hansgrohe low-flow shower heads also contributed to those savings.
The Ngewanas also slashed their electricity costs at the pool pump by reducing its running time to just 3 hours in the winter, and a couple more than that, as swimming season approaches, and by installing a Speck Eco Touch variable-speed pool pump, which is much more efficient. Over the coming year, they can expect to save R3 500 at the pool pump alone.
Further savings will be effected as summer’s warm sun returns and their solar water heater reaches its full potential.
My Green Home is led by the Green Building Council of South Africa, with main co-funding from the German government through the South African-German Energy Programme (SAGEN). It’s also supported by the 49M campaign, Karebo Systems, the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI) and a range of product sponsors and partner organisations.
*About 49M: The 49M campaign was launched in March 2011 as a response to the country’s constrained power system. The campaign encourages individuals and corporates to lead energy smart lifestyles thereby saving the planet and their pockets. South Africans are encouraged to join the campaign by visiting www.49m.co.za to pledge their support. Go to the 49M Facebook page or tweet @49m_Co_Za
