Assessing the Feasibility and the Potential of Implementing Solar Water Heaters in Dimbaza, a Township in Eastern Cape, South Africa

Sinethemba Peter, Njabulo Kambule, Stephen Tangwe and Kowiyou Yessoufou
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Sinethemba Peter: Department of Geography, Environmental Management and Energy Studies, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, Johannesburg 2006, South Africa
Njabulo Kambule: Department of Geography, Environmental Management and Energy Studies, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, Johannesburg 2006, South Africa
Stephen Tangwe: Department of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology, Central University of Technology, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa
Kowiyou Yessoufou: Department of Geography, Environmental Management and Energy Studies, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, Johannesburg 2006, South Africa

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 19, 1-19

Abstract: The level of income of the inhabitants in a township has an impact on the potential to have adequate access to electricity. The bulk of the domestic energy sources needed in the residential buildings is derived from electrical energy. In South Africa, the base load electricity is derived from coal thermal power plants. However, the environmental impact associated with the combustion of coal in the thermal power plants is a cause for concern. This study was designed to identify the common mode of sanitary hot-water heating in Dimbaza and the potential economic and environmental advantages of replacing the electric water heaters with solar water heaters (SWH) coupled with auxiliary electric heaters. The secondary data on the weather conditions, walk-through audits of selected buildings, and the energy consumption of a residence were analysed. The results depicted that the average annual day temperature and the global solar radiations of Dimbaza were 25 °C and 4.95 kWh/m 2 /day, respectively. The qualitative data recovered from the survey questionnaires of the sample household representatives revealed the level of awareness of the impact of climate change owing to the electricity generated from the Eskom national grid as 69%. The simple payback period of the projected SWH based on energy consumed by an electric water heater in a specific residence was 5.02 years using the energy analysis method. The implementation of SWHs in the households of Dimbaza would be techno-economically and environmentally viable due to the potential energy savings and the greenhouse gas reduction.

Keywords: solar water heater; techno-economic viability; simple payback period; walk-through energy audits; secondary and historical data; energy saving (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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