The GBCSA (Green Building Council of South Africa) is a recently established organization with a serious goal.They aim to encourage developers in all sectors to go Green.This means they want to bring South Africa up to the standard of the rest of the world when it comes to building in an energy efficient,environmentally friendly manner.
Claims have been made that if their practices are followed the developments will a see a 50% decline in their energy consumption.This far exceeds Eskom’s proposed 10% reduction.
GBCSA’s main focus seems to be to promote energy and resource efficient,environmentally responsible building practices.The way to do this is for developers to maximise natural light and air circulation and reduce heat loads.They should also incorporate recycled materials,renewable resources and minimise the ecological impact of the actual development,among other things.
Currently the commercial sector of the building indusrty is more focused on these ideals than the residential sector but that won’t last for long.Apparently there are new regulations in the pipeline that will affect everyone.However going Green in your own home could be to your advantage,not only will you reduce your energy consumption but you will most likely increase the value of your home.
As the new regulations come to pass that focus on being energy efficient,homes that have already been made compliant will probably be in demand.Examples of energy saving devices are solar water heaters,energy efficient lightbulbs and insulating your home so that you don’t need an airconditioner.
Nobody said it would be cheap though.A solar water heater can cost anything between R10 000 and R30 000.But if you do decide to become energy efficient according to most experts you will then see an estimated 50% reduction in your water and electricity bill.
At some point we probably won’t have a choice and we will have to comply with energy efficient regulations but hopefully it becomes alot more affordable.
