Cape Town South Africa Eliminates Upfront Costs of Installing Solar Hot Water Heating to Residents

By Bekezela Phakathi, 04 November 2013.  CAPE Town has embarked on an aggressive drive to roll out solar-water heaters that will see "creditworthy residents" being offered finance for the installation of the heaters. Speaking at the launch of the city’s residential solar water heater accreditation programme on Monday, mayor Patricia de Lille said accredited suppliers’ had entered into a formal partnership with financial institutions to offer installation finance to residents.  "This will eliminate the upfront costs of purchasing a solar water heater, which has often been an obstacle for many residents in the past," Ms de Lille said.  The city aims to install between 60,000 and 150,000 high-pressure solar water heaters in the next five years.  It says the heaters cost between R12,000 and R20,000. According to the city, there are about 220,000 electric hot-water cylinders in private properties across Cape Town that would benefit from replacement with solar water heaters.  The solar heaters could significantly reduce the amount of money households spend on electricity. They are also seen as vital in the drive to introduce renewable energy and in attempts to ease pressure on South Africa’s electricity grid. Solar heaters could also contribute up to 23% to the government’s target of renewable energy, contributing 100,00GWh of final energy consumption by the end of 2013.
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