SA Affordable Housing March / April 2018 // Issue: 69 | Page 22

FEATURES
Efficiency – a reality or
merely a trendy buzzword?
Sustainability, efficiency and savings are words we use everyday.
By Benjamin Brits
A new build solution for cavity walls called DriTherm.
A
s we look at the dire situation in the Western Cape
with the drought and the words everyone has
already heard so many times – Day Zero – and we
hear of a potential collapse of the state-owned enterprise
responsible to deliver our electricity (followed by a
R5-billion bailout), we really need to turn our attention to
efficiency on all levels – and not on a superficial level.
Surely the reality of South Africa – of no potable
water or conventional electricity – should get everyone
hot under the collar and urge us into finding ways
and solutions to mitigate these risks through
lateral innovations?
Clearly South Africa has strained resources of the two
major components needed to continue solving our housing
backlog – water and electricity. There has already been
warning of water scarcity spreading rapidly across other
provinces and it is estimated that the economic hub of the
country will face a similar fate to the Western Cape as soon
as 2025 – a mere eight years away.
I’m sure many of us have faced the situation of water
cuts or having been left in the dark because of an
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SA HOUSING
electricity outage, not having access to hot water or lights
or the means to cook, but the reality is that we take on very
little responsibility ourselves. We sit back and have the
expectation that someone else needs to fix the problem
and however educate ourselves, putting anything into
practice is a real challenge, and it is so with the general
population. The change of mindset is the biggest challenge
that needs to be addressed.
Suppliers and manufacturers, and ultimately developers
and contractors, are left to implement strategies to
manage or contain efficiency, especially related to the
amended building standards. There are also so many new
products on the market catering for efficiency from water
regulators and metering to alternative energy sources in
early development such as photovoltaic paints.
Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (EDGE) is a
green building certification system that empowers the
South African real estate market to build sustainably. An
innovation of the International Finance Corporation (IFC),
EDGE makes it faster, easier and more affordable than ever
before to build and brand green. The Green Building