SA Affordable Housing January - February 2020 // ISSUE: 80 | Page 19

FEATURE
A Geyserwise timer and heating controller is essential. Hot
water storage volumes need to be at a minimum equal to the
daily household usage. The amendment of SANS10252 Table 5
to provide storage volumes for solar water heaters has been
stalled in the SABS for near on four years. Why?
“The solar thermal (ST) systems provide hot water and the
solar photovoltaic (PV) systems generate electricity for the
household. Both systems are coming down in costs and
payback period (on average, five to seven years), so
homeowners should include these systems into the financing
at construction stage, rather than as an add-on.
“From an environmentally conscious point of view it’s the
way the world is going because it reduces carbon emissions
completely, whereas heat pumps reduce it by about half.” The
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downside of solar heating, also mentioned in The Parks project
in this issue [page 22], is that the panels are exposed on the
roof and consequently open to vandalism in estates.”
“Otherwise, if you have a SANS-compliant quality product you
won’t have to worry about it for at least ten years, and in addition
all go through stringent hail-resistant testing. Developers must
ensure they buy only from reputable importers, as unapproved
versions are pouring across the borders,” says Bredenkamp.
“In comparison to other regions of the world, the use of
solar thermal energy is still very low in South Africa, even
though solar radiation is one of the highest worldwide.”
“ST systems are well-known in the South African low cost
housing market. The majority of the installed systems are
thermosyphon systems, relatively small in scale and not
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