South Africa: The Poor Fly Under the Solar Water Heating Radar

Earlier this year, IPS reported that the South African coastal city of Cape Town was debating a “first of a kind” bylaw that would make solar water heating compulsory for relatively costly new buildings, and certain renovations. This got us thinking: what of solar water heating for less expensive structures — especially homes being built under the country’s extensive low cost housing programme…Are any initiatives on the drawing board in this regard?

Since coming to power in 1994, the African National Congress government has spearheaded the building of low cost, subsidised houses to overcome the homelessness created by apartheid. However, many of these structures are what is termed “core houses”, meaning they lack flooring, geysers and other amenities.
Solar water heaters (SWHs) can be somewhat expensive to install; but this cost is normally recovered within a few years through energy savings that continue long after the units are paid for. The heaters can provide an environmentally friendly source of hot water for low income housing residents, and cut their household water heating bills in the long run — good news all round, surely, especially if financial aid were provided to help people get a foot on the SWH ladder.

Not necessarily, it seems.

AllAfrica