New building regulations promote green energy adoption
9 November 2011
News
The Sustainable Energy Society of Southern Africa (SESSA) has applauded new building standards which will be gazetted on 9 November this year requiring that at least 50% of the annual average hot water requirement of all new buildings must be met by sustainable or energy efficient technologies, as opposed to electrical resistance heating technology.
SANS 10400-XA, Energy Usage, as the new standard is known, is to be implemented in tandem with the revised SANS 20 National Building Regulations. SESSA welcomed the promulgation of SANS 10400-XA, saying it paved the way for the country to begin realising meaningful energy savings.
Until now, the deployment of sustainable or energy efficient technologies to provide hot water to domestic, commercial and industrial buildings has been driven in the main by environmental arguments, as the country’s relatively cheap electricity charges have made the utilisation of carbon-based energy sources highly cost-effective.
Recent hikes in electricity prices have prompted an upswing in the number of sustainable and energy efficient installations, but not nearly enough to make a dramatic impact on the country’s energy usage. At COP15 in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2009, President Zuma committed South Africa to reducing its emissions growth path from a ‘business as usual’ track by 34% by 2020 and 42% by 2025. The adoption of energy efficient building standards and regulations could ensure that these targets are met.
For more information contact SESSA, +27 (0)11 513 4071, [email protected], www.sessa.org.za
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