Buyers are looking for smarter, greener homes and managing utilities is one of the priorities for property developers.
At the heart of any new smart and less grid-dependent home is the ability to measure and manage utilities, says Michael Franze, managing director of Citiq Prepaid.
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The South African Green Building Council says Green Star buildings enjoy energy savings of between 25% and 50% compared to older structures. It also notes that the payback period of energy and water-saving practices has dropped, especially as costs of green building technologies decline and utility costs continue to rise.
In South Africa the move towards being independent of the grid is rapidly gaining momentum, but while many banks are willing to offer finance to install facilities like solar energy, the cost for individual home owners can still be prohibitive.
“However, some local solar companies are now offering their own form of private power purchase agreements (PPAs), which mirror the way Eskom deals with independent power producers (IPPs), only for body corporates,” Franze says.