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Why have you chosen to start a company in the Energy Efficiency Arena? We have returned to South Africa after spending 8 years abroad and were looking for a new challenge, and we have found an enormous challenge in reducing electricity consumption in a cost efficient manner. My back ground as an Industrial Engineer has equipped me with the skill to quantify and optimise. What do you believe is the biggest challenge facing the energy efficiency sector? My opinion is that the underlying parameters determine what the efficiency equation is. The rising energy cost has placed more emphases on investing in newer and more efficient equipment. You have to invest first and then reap the benefits. Our customers are very sceptical in the current climate to invest for saving. There is a huge drive to save, but not to invest. We also offer to finance the installation and equipment, but people are very reluctant to take on new dept. A deadlock situation that needs to be overcome. The Eskom Solar Water Heating program is playing a huge role in moving out of the deadlock position. I have heard the Eskom rebate program is going to end? Electricity increases will take over the role as the incentive for Solar Water Heating from the rebate program. The program is going to be in place for the remainder of 2011 and hopefully the funds will last well into 2012. What is the most common reaction when you meet a potential buyer? Wow it is expensive! Why should I spend R20 000 on a Solar Water Heater? What is your reply? It is more expensive to stay with an electrical geyser and certainly much more expensive to go for an inefficient solar heater with a short life expectancy. You need to invest in a system that outlives the payback period 5 fold, then you save a great deal! If you have to choose between a system that costs you R15 000 and one that costs you R20 000 where the latter saves you R100 000 over the life cycle and the cheaper only R10 000, which one do you prefer? Hot water is not a cheap privilege anymore! With the abundance sun in South Africa you can significantly reduce the cost of heating your water. Really R100 000? If you are a family of 4x using 200L of hot water per day, it will cost you 10 units to heat your water per day. If your Solar lasts 25 years, you will save 75% or 7.5 units per day x 365 x 25 x R1.50 = R102 000. The more water you need to heat, the better the saving. A family of 5x saves more than a couple. In general the larger the hot water demand, the shorter is the payback period. I think it is fair to say that the average NPV of electricity over the next 25 years will be more than R1.50. What is your preferred way to heat water? The application and situation can be vastly different. Therefore the solution needs to be tailored. It makes the task challenging and my preferred way of heating water is to find the best fit for the requirement, does not matter what the heat source is. Key is to find the best solution for the job. We are utilising solar collectors and air to water heat pumps as energy source. Is there major new developments in the world that might revolutionise the hot water industry? I am keeping a wide eye open and if you know of one, please let me know! Heating water with the sun, is an old concept, we just need to continuously improve the quality and drive the cost down. Cost is not necessarily only the cost of the equipment or the installation, but also the cost of the solution. The latter requires experience and skill. Do you think the Solar Water Heating as a fletch ling industry is going to survive this time around? We are facing a lot of challenges and as long as the demand is rising we have the funds and energy to resolve them. In the beginning of the 80’s the momentum was lost with South Africa’s cheap electricity after a surplus of electricity. Cheap electricity will not return to South Africa soon, therefore the incentive is longer lasting and the momentum will be kept. Changes in building regulations should be prioritised to change the way we build houses in the first place. What is your largest challenge within oneSolar? We are a knowledge based enterprise and rolling out skills and knowledge is a slow and painful process. We have made great strides towards equipping our consultants and installers with the correct tools, knowledge and skill to do the job and my challenge is to grow and improve the knowledge and competence of oneSolar participants. It is a long term investment which needs to be funded by operations and we need the support of our customers to achieve our goal so that we can together contribute towards a better world.
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