Off-grid alternatives power up in SA’s darkest corners We built our corrugated house from scratch and went off the grid from the start
● Phillip and Hennie Fourie are among a select group of South Africans who never have to worry about rising electricity costs or load-shedding.
While most homeowners are reeling at this week's news that the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) has approved a massive energy tariff increase, the Philipstown, Karoo, couple have not been dependent on Eskom since they built their dream corrugated-iron home five years ago.
The Fouries, who relocated to their new spot from Upington, injected thousands of rands into keeping their house completely off the grid with the installation of invertors, solar panels and batteries.
Though the initial outlay of about R40,000 for the solar panels was costly, the couple have no regrets.
They are among a growing number of South Africans who are either shunning municipal utilities completely or going partially off the grid.
The constant threat of load-shedding and water shortages is changing the way South Africans are investing in property, with the demand for energy- and resource-efficient homes becoming more appealing to prospective homeowners, property experts say.
Earlier this year, Eskom dipped into stage 4 load-shedding, and Nersa this week announced that South Africans will pay 9.41% more for electricity in 2019/2020, 8.1% for 2020/2021 and 5.22% for 2021/2022. Eskom is more than R400bn in debt and struggling to keep the lights on.
Depending on the needs of the household, the cost of installing a solar-panel system can run up to R600,000.
The Fouries are content with their offthe-grid lifestyle. “We paid off all our debt and decided five years ago we don’t want to owe anybody anything. We built our corrugated house from scratch and went off the grid from the start,” said Phillip. “With our system there are no electricity costs.” A recent Pam Golding Properties survey found that agents are “experiencing heightened interest from buyers in the green properties of a home”.
Anthony Stroebel, Pam Golding Properties’ head of strategy and a director of the Green Building Council of SA, said going off the grid in SA was becoming an “increasing imperative, apart from being both a lifestyle and property investment”.
“And there is no shortage when it comes to options.”
A R33m Cape Town mansion in the exclusive Barontency Estate boasts a borehole
Phillip Fourie
and 52 solar panels that generate 13kW/h, which saves between R2,000 and R4,000 in electricity costs a month.
The geysers also run off heat pumps.
“The question on everyone’s mind is around the cost and time it takes to amortise an off-the-grid investment,” said Stroebel. “As a trend that is growing in influence, pressure is beginning to build for banks to come up with more creative lending solutions.”
Maryanne Coates of Jawitz Properties said homes featuring energy alternatives are in great demand, especially in the Cape Peninsula. “We recently sold a six-bedroom home in Noordhoek for close to R10m that offered buyers several off-the-grid options, such as a backup generator, borehole and hi-tech water-purification system that supplied water to the entire property,” she said.
Samuel Seeff, chairman of the Seeff Property Group, said off-the-grid features were often more prevalent in upper-income areas due to their high costs.
“Solar panels can for example easily cost R600,000, which would be prohibitive for low- to middle-income earners.”
Julienne du Toit, co-author of the book Moving to the Platteland, said that in her home town of Cradock, going without electricity and water was common because of ageing infrastructure. “The local supermarket has full-on solar panels in the parking lot, there is a farm nearby that is totally powered by hydropower from the irrigation canals, and a little country hotel that is part powered by solar,” said Du Toit.