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Feature states that system performance can drop by up to 40 % when installation doesn ' t follow best practices. The issue, globally and in South Africa, often boils down to education and incentives – or the lack thereof.
South Africa’ s commercial property sector is ripe for disruption. As electricity prices rise and Eskom struggles to meet demand, heat pumps present a cost-saving, energy-efficient alternative to traditional HVAC and water heating systems.
Fawcett is optimistic, though pragmatic:“ If we could get consulting engineers to specify based on operating cost over 20 years instead of just upfront cost, we’ d transform this industry overnight.”
As international pressure builds for greener buildings, and the economics of energy efficiency become harder to ignore, commercial heat pumps look set to play a defining role in the country’ s HVAC future. RACA
SOURCES 1. International Energy Agency( 2023). The Future of Heat Pumps. 2. ASHRAE Journal( 2022). Heat Pump System Efficiency and
Design Practices. 3. Interview with Roger Fawcett, Mr. Heat Pump and Michael
Carter, wet engineer: AI Hot Water Company, August 2025. 4. HVACinformed. com
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“ Hybridised systems – serving both air conditioning and hot water from the same infrastructure – maximise efficiency, particularly in highoccupancy buildings.”
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