Geysers, how much do you really know about how it effects your utility bill?

IT’S A FACT! 17% of electricity use in SA is residential, rising to 35% during peak periods (07:00-10:00 and v18:00-21:00).

The geyser accounts for 40-50% of total household consumption, contributing significantly to morning and evening peak demand periods. Switching your geyser off during peak periods reduces the demand on the national grid, helping to avoid load shedding. IT’S A FACT! 17% of electricity use in SA is residential, rising to 35% during peak periods (07:00-10:00 and v18:00-21:00).

Let’s talk about geysers – the facts and figures.

Residential geysers are available in five sizes, rising in increments of 50 litres – starting at 50 L and going up to 250 L. The industry standard and most popular model is the 150L.

DID YOU KNOW? It takes a 3kW 150L geyser element roughly 2h40mins to heat the water from 20ºC to 65ºC, consuming 8kWh of power, which amounts to R14.64 at an average cost of R1.83c/kWh.

Contrary to popular belief, changing the size of the element does not reduce energy consumption. It simply heats water faster.To heat 150L of water by 45ºC (from 20ºC to 65ºC) with a 9kW element will cost the same as with a 3kW element, but the 9kW element will take a third of the time as the 3kW element.

Lowering the temperature of your hot water can make a big difference.

– Lowering the temperature from 70°C – 60°C reduces the cost of supplying hot water by roughly 4.8%.
– Installing an additional layer of insulation (50mm insulation for example) around the geyser and pipes can further reduce heat loss by between 20% and 50%

Myth busted: Switching the geyser on and off does not consume more energy. Heat loss 24 hours after turning off the geyser is only around 10°C, so you’re reheating warm water, not cold.

Control your geyser and start saving.

Take the guesswork out of consumption reduction by measuring water and energy usage, along with the ability to remotely control your heating schedule.

– By turning your geyser off during peak periods, you can help to distribute demand for electricity more evenly through the day. If more people cared about this, load shedding might not be such a frequent visitor in our households.

A 200-litre electric geyser uses on average 14kWh of electricity per day in a household of four people. Over a month, that’s 420kWh, and at an average of R2/kWh, that’s a cost of R840 per month for water heating alone.

– By switching your geyser on and off according to your hot water requirements you can reduce the energy consumption of your geyser by between 8 – 18%, which is a saving of up to R150 based on the example above. This kind of saving multiplied over 12 months adds up!

-Changing consumption behaviour (using less hot water in the home) can have the biggest savings impact – up to 30%! Based on the example above, you could save over R240 per month, which adds up to over R2900 for the year. That’s worth the effort!

So how do you take control over your geyser and schedule your hot water requirements?  Make your geyser a smart geyser!

Water heaters are responsible for 40 – 50% of your electricity bill.

Smart Savings: Use up to 30% less energy heating water and track savings in real-time.

Personalised control: Schedule your hot water needs and control your geyser from anywhere. A typical geyser bursts every 5 – 10 years due to undetected issues.

Real-time protection: Monitor geyser performance, detect leaks and prevent damage to your home.

How do I make my geyser a Smart Geyser and what can it do to save you electricity?

To make your geyser a Smart Geyser, we add a small smart energy device powered by artificial intelligence that…
– Connects to any existing under-roof electric geyser
– Gives you control from anywhere via an app
– Turns your geyser off and on, smartly

Benefits:
– Hot water only when you need it, money and energy saved when you don’t.
– Detects leaks and sends real time alerts for better home protection.

If all Smart Geysers got together we could fix South Africa’s load shedding problems, simply by shifting electricity usage away from the times when our electricity grid is under the most strain.

How do I get a Smart Geyser?

Install: Pick a convenient time for an accredited plumber to install your Smart Geyser.

Personalise: Set the times when you want hot water through the Plentify app – and let the Smart Geyser do the rest.

Save: Track your savings and adjust or override the system at any time.How do I get a Smart Geyser?

Myth busted: Switching the geyser on and off does not consume more energy. Heat loss 24 hours after turning off the geyser is only around 10°C, so you’re reheating warm water, not cold.