South African solar water heater market - target of 1 million installations by 2014

DUBLIN, IRELAND: Research and Markets has announced the addition of Frost & Sullivan's new report "South African Solar Water Heater Market" to its offering.

Target of 1 million Installations by 2014 to help the Solar Water Heater Market Sizzle

Due to South Africa's current electricity crisis, solar water heaters have been proposed as a means of mitigating energy consumption and promoting energy efficiency. Phenomenal interest in this market since 2007, has poised it on the path of more growth, following the rebate system initiated to catalyse mass interest, and the potential release of mandatory building codes that will stipulate the installation of solar water heaters on new buildings.

Growth within the solar water heater market is caused by a combination of factors, notes the analyst of this research. Namely, the increase in electricity price that is lowering the payback period of the product; the looming electricity crisis which will see load-shedding and thus a lack of domestic hot water supply in particular; environmental awareness; and the subsidisation of solar water heater products which are lowering their previously dauntingly high initial costs.

The rebate system developed by Eskom has provided the initial steps toward a government-supportive framework to rollout solar water heaters on a mass scale nationwide. Although teething problems have been experienced, the rebate programme is one of several mechanisms that will help propel the target set in 2007 to install one million solar water heaters nationwide by 2014.

Research indicates that 18 percent of national electricity usage can be attributed to domestic water heating. Most of this domestic water heating occurs during the peak times at which Eskom struggles to supply electricity due to the extra strain on the power supply. Solar water heaters have been adopted internationally as a method to curb energy usage on the grid during peak times, as well as mitigate carbon emissions, remarks the analyst.

Over 21 countries currently have incentivising policies to encourage solar water heaters, and Eskom's Demand-side Management programme is set to encourage the rollout of a million solar water heaters to be installed in South Africa by 2014, which would be the equivalent of building a 2,000 MW power station.