Watts to water: Tips for sustainability at home

Although it is very much needs-based in South Africa, worldwide trends suggest green homes are on the rise.

But, is sustainability just about water and lights? Or is it more?

We spoke to Claudia Thompson, Sustainability Solutions product owner at Investec, Anastasia Dellis, Soly representative responsible for global partnerships, and Mzwakhe Mntambo, Burgess Plumbing, to find out more about this growing necessity
 

Sustainability as a concept can be pretty intimidating for most people. Over and above just water and energy needs, it applies to the way we live our lives, what we wear, what we eat, how we drive, what we do in our spare time.”

Claudia recommends starting at home and to start small. “Are you being as efficient as you should be? Do you know how much you're spending on electricity? Do your appliances have a good energy efficiency rating? Are you using your LED light bulbs?"

In general, the first step is to make yourself as efficient as possible and get to grips with understanding how much you need today. And, also how much you'll need in the future. “Once you have a good idea of those aspects, you can make yourself as efficient as possible, which naturally increases your cost saving. Then you can start looking at solving those needs with things like solar and back-up water while having a good handle of what you actually need.”

Mzwakhe says that people are enquiring more about water that's going down the drain, particularly grey water, which is water coming from your bath and shower. “What we could do there is design a system where that water is separated and goes into a different tank. You can treat it and use it quite quickly, for example in the garden for irrigation.” He adds that low-flush toilets or dual flush toilets and efficient shower heads are quite simple things to implement in the home.

Responsible recycling is also a way to be more sustainable. Anastasia shares that in Europe, there's already specific taxes that encourage and enforce recycling. “In South Africa, we don't have those policies or regulations in place just yet. It's good to choose providers that work with distributors or manufacturers that focus on circularity. The providers dismantle the raw materials from solar or batteries and re-use it back in production again.” In Europe, organisations find a second life or a second home for solar batteries in developing markets as well. “These countries are already nudging homeowners in the right direction - if they make certain behavioural changes, they will reap the rewards.”
 

Anastasia remarks that there is a significant worldwide commitment to renewable energy. “Both Europe and South Africa have made significant commitments to transitioning towards renewable energy sources. “This has been evident with numerous international policies.” South Africa has an integrated resource plan, which outlines the growing role for renewables.

“There is also technological advancement, she adds. “There is a rapid advancement in renewables, specifically towards solar and wind power. Both are the most cost effective and key drivers within the energy transition. Both Europe and South Africa face challenges with the integration of renewable energy in the existing grids.” This includes managing intermittent energy supply, ensuring grid stability and upgrading infrastructure to manage all of these new forms of energy.
 

Investec is focusing on individuals looking for sustainability solutions for their homes.

Claudia comments that the ebb and flow of demand follows the loadshedding schedule, specifically for solar solutions. “More clients are starting to take advantage of the cost benefits of making these kinds of choices. A lot of our clients are not looking at solar solutions in isolation, but in conjunction with their water needs. For example, your water heating alone makes up about 35% of your energy usage and costs.”
 

This optimisation means that clients can effectively solve for sustainability needs more broadly. In terms of potential buyers and tenants for properties, it’s becoming essential features. “It's far easier to find a buyer or a tenant for a property that's protected from loadshedding, has minimised electricity costs and has that sort of sustainability of supply,” she adds.

In the last year especially, watershedding has been an area of concern for individuals and businesses. “In general, people are worried about water shortages and water cuts, but the quality of the water also is coming into question a lot,” Mzwakhe comments. “When there's a lack of supply, our phones just ring off the hook. In the last five years, year on year, we've seen at least a 15% increase in the calls for back-up water systems, like boreholes and also water heating. People want to find easier ways of heating their water through solar and also through heat pumps.”
 

Claudia reiterates that it is good to start this process by really understanding what your current and future needs look like, specifically with respect to water and solar. Then you can start looking for solutions and suppliers.

“It can be quite difficult to navigate the options, because what does a good manufacturer look like? What should I be paying? What are the manufacturing warranties? 10 years on batteries and inverters and 20 years on panels? People often end up with two or three quotes for exactly the same thing with major cost variances and they don't know where to start. What Investec has done for our clients is we've partnered with third parties, such as Soly and Burgess to put offers together for our clients.”

She elaborates, “This gives clients a really good understanding of what sort of products and options to look for. We've vetted and qualified installation networks for the solutions. Your certificate of compliance post these installations is also key.”
 

It's also research, research, research for Mzwakhe. “It’s all about research and finding the companies with the right accreditations that make you feel comfortable. There’s just so many’ fly by night’ companies trying to do what the experts are doing. Burgess has been around for 46 years and there are even things that we need to learn and adapt to.”

“Back-up and renewable energy features are becoming hygiene for potential buyers and tenants - not only because they make the property more marketable and friendly to the environment, but also because of those ongoing cost savings and that sustainability of supply, which allows people to live their lives and run their businesses,” states Claudia.

As utility costs increase, the renovation and upgrade of existing property solutions becomes increasingly attractive. The payback periods are shortening. “These solutions continue to deliver benefits long after it has been paid off. The majority of the facilities are about 60 months. The lifecycle of a battery is 10 years, or at least the warranty period. You can still get successful usage out of these post that. The time to make a change is now.”

For Mzwakhe it's about adding value. “These systems aren't cheap and it definitely pays itself off over time. It's a big selling point to say that you're independent or off the grid and that’s attractive to future buyers.”

Anastasia adds, “For homeowners, future-proofing your home should be top of mind. Individuals that are investing in their homes want to ensure energy independence from the ‘get go’ as well.”
 

In terms of benefits, Claudia stresses the benefit of saving energy. “Even if you're not going solar, just making yourself more efficient should be saving you money on electricity. If you do introduce a solar solution, you're generating electricity yourself and saving. You would normally be buying electricity from the grid.”

She continues, “The second benefit is of increasing your self-sufficiency. Your sustainability of supply means that you can continue to live your life and run your business the way you need to, without any supply inconsistency.”

Although not a direct financial gain, the last benefit is being more environmentally sustainable. “Being conscious and minimising your environmental impact is important too. Reducing your carbon footprint and contributing to the environmental sustainability of the world can align to your personal and business values.”

Mzwakhe agrees. “What is especially important is the client's quality of life and peace of mind. People want to be able to prepare food, bathe kids and have drinking water that’s not polluted. They want to know that when the tap opens, that it's at the temperature and the pressure they want. They can have beautiful gardens irrigated by borehole water.”
 

Most people leverage their home loans to fund sustainability solutions. This interest rate is probably the best you have available. Depending on your circumstances, you can use the available facility, depending on the equity available against your property.

Claudia states that, “The Investec Private Home Loan offers clients the ability to access their repaid funds in their mortgages once a year for the first five years. So the difference between what you've repaid and what you were approved for. Clients can use this for sustainable purposes as well as sort of renovations.”

Other options clients have available is a freestanding facility. “Investec has a standalone secured product called Sustainability Finance, which we designed specifically for this purpose. Clients can access funding very easily through us.”

She adds, “What's key to remember about funding options is to have a look at the terms and conditions, your rate and the energy you're going save over the term. If it's a solar solution, you can factor those into your payback and return on investment calculations.”
 

Anastasia says that homeowners must look at investing in sustainability more as a necessity and to be socially responsible and accountable, while reaping the benefits of cost savings. “Investing in a smart energy management system, like Soly, is key. Its app can track a consumer’s energy profile. Over time, we gather insights to encourage energy efficient behaviour to help consumers become more energy independent and save costs.”

She envisions the same infiltration of solar in South Africa as in Europe. “Imagine you've already installed solar, combine it with a home battery for storage and add an electric vehicle charger for the cleanest, cheapest source of energy. Now you have all of the ingredients of a power plant.”

You can also add an intelligent home energy management technology that will connect all of the various standalone assets in an intelligent manner. “This will help balance the grid and you will become more self-sufficient. If you visualise every home with all these various assets, and bundle these, you create an energy community. Based on forecasting, the technology could predict energy production and consumption and start to trade energy among households, essentially building a virtual power plant.”

This is something that already in place in the Netherlands and in 15 to 20 years from now, the same will be true for Africa, specifically in South Africa.

For Mzwakhe, water is a precious resource and everyone should play their part to save it. “Potable water should not be used for flushing toilets or for irrigation. Rainwater should be harvested and used in an eco-friendly way. Technology is also going to play a big part in integrating different systems, giving you information at your fingertips.” It will also pick up trends and make adaptions in real time.

Claudia concludes by saying that Investec will adapt as clients’ needs change. “Our sustainable finance offering is available for more than just water and solar. As we see other sustainable assets arise, we will find a solution to enable our clients’ access.”