Solar Geyser
Top Three South Africa Solar Geyser List
The solar geyser market in South Africa has experienced huge growth in recent years, expanding from a base of 20 suppliers in 1997 to more than 400 by the beginning of 2011 (Source: Frost & Sullivan). Currently there are about 250 suppliers active in the major metropolitan areas.
This has the potential to cause problems if you are planning on getting one for your household, because it's difficult to find the cream of the crop when there are so many options available.
But you can cut out a lot of the confusion and make the right choice by using this list of the Top Three South African solar geyser manufacturers/companies that I've compiled (more about me).
It's based on the performance efficiency of each system as tested and certified by the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS). To be eligible for a rebate from Eskom, each unit undergoes rigorous testing by the SABS to determine their "Q-factor", which indicates the kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity the system is expected to save on a typical day and the units ability to produce hot water.
This factor in turn determines the rebate amount awarded by Eskom, so the solar geysers that have the highest rebates are the ones that are measured to be the most efficient. There are over 400 solar heaters that qualify, so I sifted through them all and found the top three in each category.
All the systems on the list have a current SABS mark of approval, are ranked from highest to lowest according to their Eskom solar geyser rebate amount divided by the average cost to install them, and placed in categories according to the capacity of the systems water storage tank.
You will also have to opportunity to request a quote so that you can get information, prices and rebate amounts for each system directly from the solar geyser installers/manufacturers who are situated in your area.
Complete the form below so that I can e-mail the South African top three solar geysers list to you...
The Right Size Tank
It's important do choose the right size storage tank for your situation. Too small and you will run out of hot water, too big and you will be paying for hot water that you don't use or need.
To roughly work out the correct size, multiply the number of people using hot water in your household by 50 litres, then add another 50 litres to that amount. That's the capacity of tank you should be looking at on the top three solar geyser list above.
Top Three Heat Pump Water Heater List
Another way to cost effectively and efficiently heat water at your home is to use an air to water heat pump. It works by extracting heat from the air and moving it to the water in your current storage tank, making it hot.
The air-water heat pump will use about a third of the electricity that your existing geyser uses to heat water, and it's cheaper and easier to install than a solar geyser.
A disadvantage of a system like this is that you will be without hot water when there is an extended blackout, which unfortunately occurs pretty often in South Africa currently.
Anyway, they are definitely worth investigating so I've compiled a hot water heat pump top three list for you to take a look at. Hope that it's going to be useful to you.
If you have any questions about the performance and efficiency of solar heating systems and heat pump water heaters, please feel free to ask me and I will try and answer them.