Page 13 - Blue Valley_Issue 2_2022

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summer. But in winter, this could go up to 45%.
With a smart controller, you can heat water as
and when you need it, whether you are at home
or not.”
Translating this consumption to cost savings,
Fritz explains that when the geyser’s thermostat
is not switched off, it could use around 72kWh/
day. “This could cost around R179.99 per day and
roughly R5 399.70 for 30 days. If you are able to
monitor, schedule and control the thermostat,
you can easily bring this cost down.”
Ignatius Kitching, director at Khanyile Kitching
Electrical, agrees that smart devices can help
users save a great deal of money every month.
“By putting the control in their hands, they have
the power to drive their consumption and can
actually see which appliances are adding the
most to their monthly bill.”
Commenting on these points, Dr Dickson says
these are just a few ways that smart devices can
save homeowners money and improve their
energy consumption.
In support of this drive to reduce household
expenses, in 2021, the brand launched
its smart IoT (Internet of Things) home
automation range, called the Astute Range. It is
a range of energy monitoring, scheduling and
control devices with load management and
automation capabilities. The CBI Home App
he cost of living in South Africa is well as to monitor equipment and switch it on enables the user to configure these devices
skyrocketing, with this in mind, it or off when I am away from home. I have also to react to current, voltage, time, power and
Tis vital for South Africans to save connected my freezer to a smart plug which many other variables. All that’s required is
money where they can and become turns on during the day. In the evening, it then 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi with an internet connection and
more energy efficient, to minimise the switches off and the freezer runs off batteries a smartphone or tablet.
depletion of their finances. There’s no better which are charged via solar power.”
place to do this than in the home. “With the cost of living set to increase
Fritz believes that if you can measure something, throughout the year, now is the time for South
Putting forward the case for investing in smart you can manage it. “When it comes to energy Africans to put the power in their hands and
devices, engineering executive at CBI-electric: efficiency, my geyser, for example, would save in areas that they can control,” Dr Dickson
low voltage, Dr Andrew Dickson explains, use 27% to 30% of my total consumption in concludes.
“Smart home devices were developed to
make people’s lives easier by allowing them
to automate various processes in the home
via an app. But these devices can also be used
to reduce energy bills and help homeowners
become more energy efficient. For example,
geysers, pool pumps and heating use
enormous amounts of energy if they are on for
long periods of time. With smart devices such
as smart plugs, controllers and isolators, users
can monitor and control these appliances as
well as schedule them to turn on and off at
specific times and on particular days.”
“Smart devices also allow people to schedule
activities such as watering the garden using
an irrigation system, which can be automated
to operate at selected times. If the app is
integrated with weather services and it detects
a rainy day, the system will not switch on.
This not only saves electricity, but water too,
thereby lowering your total municipal bill.”

Here are two testimonials from people who
are using smart devices to minimise costs:
Daniel Fritz, a technician at PEC Utility
Management in Cape Town, says he mostly runs
his house off the grid. “I use a smart controller
to connect and disconnect from the grid as

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