A smart geyser system may ease the burden of load-shedding in South Africa.

There are seven million geysers in the country, that can – if managed – reduce the load on Eskom by at least 942,000 kWh per hour. That is roughly equivalent to one stage of load-shedding (1,000 MWh), said Sensor Networks CEO Mark Allewell. 

Load-shedding has become the norm and has left the country in a dire state. Allewell said data collected by the company confirmed a reduction in the set-point temperature of seven million geysers in the country can reduce the load on Eskom by at least 942,000 kWh.

“The average geyser's set-point temperature rests at around 60 °C. Lowering this set-point using smart-geyser technology has now been proven to reduce the energy usage of individual households and business precincts, with the potential to significantly impact South Africa’s energy usage at a national level.”  

An example of what the app looks like for the smart geyser controllers.

A sample of 6 346 geysers with a set-point temperature of 51 °C–70 °C used energy of about 0.492 kWh. Allewell said a modified geyser with a set-point temperature of 50 °C included 463 geysers with an average geyser energy usage of 0.357 kWh.

“The average energy savings from a single geyser across this particular sample set was measured at 0.135 kWh. If we apply those savings to the more than seven million electric geysers already in use across the country, we could secure a total energy saving of around 942,000 kWh.”

He said the case study has proved a reduction in geyser set-point temperature can offer members of the public and private sector a direct pathway to improve South Africa’s energy conservation and efficiency, without any of the usual compromises. Despite all this, figures can constantly change due to real-world factors such as the weather, load-shedding, and the time of year.

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