Browsing by Subject "Energy consumption"

Now showing 1 - 10 of 10
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    Analysis of new electrification schemes in the Western Cape (Phase 2)
    (1993) Thorne, Steve; Theron, Paul
    The objective of this project is to examine electricity use in newly-electrified, poor urban settlements in the Western Cape, by monitoring and analysing household energy-consumption data and relevant socio-economic information. An important aim is to understand factors which affect the movement from multiple fuel use to greater electricity consumption. The intention is also to provide useful information for electrification planners.
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    Determinants of electricity demand for newly electrified low-income African households
    (Elsevier, 2008) Louw, Kate; Howells, Mark; Dekenah, Marcus; Conradie, Beatrice
    Access to clean, affordable and appropriate energy is an important enabler of development. Energy allows households to meet their most basic subsistence needs; it is a central feature of all the millennium development goals (MDGs) and, while a lack of access to energy may not be a cause of poverty, addressing the energy needs of the impoverished lets them access services which in turn address the causes of poverty. While much is known about the factors affecting the decisions made when choosing between fuel types within a household, few quantitative studies have been carried out in South Africa to determine the extent to which these factors affect energy choice decisions. It is assumed that the factors traditionally included in economic demand such as price and income of the household affect choice; tastes and preferences as well as external factors such as distance to fuel suppliers are expected to influence preferences. This study follows two typical low-income rural sites in South Africa, Antioch and Garagapola, where the Electricity Basic Services Support Tariff (EBSST) was piloted in 2002. The EBSST is set at 50 kWh/ month per household for low domestic consumers; this is worth approximately R201 (7US$3). This subsidy is a lifeline tariff, where households receive the set amount of units per month, free of charge irrespective of whether more units are purchased. These data (collected in 2001 and 2002), recently collated with detailed electricity consumption data, allow us to determine the drivers of electricity consumption within these households. The sample analysed is taken from the initial phase of the study, when no FBE had been introduced to the households. This enabled the study presented here to make use of the well-populated datasets to assess what affects the electricity use decision in these households. This paper attempts to assess which factors affected the decision-making process for electricity consumption within these households. A brief history of the electricity industry and the electrification is provided and the theoretical background for the electricity consumption model is provided. It was found that income, woodfuel usage, iron ownership and credit obtained were significant in determining consumption levels within these households. Price and cross-price elasticities were difficult to assess due to lack of data within the sample. The results have many possible implications for policy, including the effect that easily obtained credit has for low-income households.
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    Energy futures modelling for African cities: selecting a modelling tool for the SAMSET project
    (Energy Research Centre, University of Cape Town., 2014) Tait, Louise; McCall, Bryce; Stone, Adrian
    Urbanisation is occurring fastest in developing countries, with the least developed countries expected to have the highest population growth rates between 2010 and 2050 (Madlener and Sunak, 2011). Cities in these countries are going to increasingly be important sites of energy demand and associated emissions. Much of the literature about sustainable urban energy transitions has to date focussed on developed country contexts; as the current sources of greatest emissions, this makes sense. In looking forward, however, if the energy demand and emissions of developing country cities increase to that equivalent of many western cities today, we may be unable to avoid catastrophic climate change. Transitioning energy infrastructures and associated urban systems is a long-term process. In the absence of forward planning, developing country cities run risks of infrastructural and urban planning lock-in to systems that are unsustainable (Olazabal and Pascual, 2013).
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    Energy profile: Lesotho
    (1991) Gielink, M I; Dutkiewicz, R K
    This report is one of a series summarizing the energy situation in sub-equatorial Africa. The purpose of the series is to analyze the energy position for those organizations trading or intending to trade with those countries, or for organizations entering into joint ventures with those countries. It is also the intention to use the individual reports to determine the possibility for energy interchange in the region and the potential for energy supply and demand in the region.
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    Generating low-cost national energy benchmarks: a case study in commercial buildings in Cape Town, South Africa
    (Elsevier, 2013) Martin, Caroline
    National benchmarks are a valuable tool for assessing and monitoring energy consumption in existing building stocks worldwide, but can be time consuming and expensive to generate. I explore a low-cost alternative by coordinating building related data collected by municipalities in South Africa for billing and rates purposes, to create energy use intensities (EUI) for the existing building stock. For a sample of commercial buildings in Cape Town, I link electricity data supplied by the municipality billing department with gross floor area data from the municipality valuation (rates) department, to establish EUIs. From these I calculate benchmarks that represent typical annual electricity usage for retail and office buildings in Cape Town. In addition I identify a number of improvements to data quality and access that would enable South Africa to realise the current opportunities that exist in the structure of its building data collection. In doing so South Africa can potentially leapfrog many other countries in the development of performance-based benchmarks and rating tools for a range of building activities, positioning it at the forefront of building energy-data collection.
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    Promoting public benefit energy-efficiency investment in new power contexts in South Africa (Final Draft)
    (2000) Clark, Alix; Mavhungu, Justice
    This research project has comprised various different outputs and activities. Firstly. we undertook a review and analysis of the impact that power sector restructuring has had on investments in DSM in selected countries around the world (namely, United States, New Zealand, England and Wales. Norway, Chile and Argentina, Brazil, Thailand, and Ghana). This review also investigated how these different countries have (or have not) supported investment in public benefit energy efficiency as more competition has been introduced into power industries. Secondly, we investigated barriers inhibiting investment in DSM in South Africa. We undertook this analysis from the perspectives of utilities' residential, commercial and industrial customers, Eskom, municipal distributors, and government. Thereafter, we undertook a scenario analysis to get a sense of what might happen to DSM investment as the power industry in South Africa was reformed. We looked at DSM investment in the context of the structure and ownership patterns of (i) the current structure of the power industry; (ii) when the electricity distribution industry (ED!) has been rationalised into a small number of regional electricity distributors (REDs), (iii) when competition has been introduced into the wholesale electricity market; and (iv) when retail competition is in effect. This report comprises the fourth, and last, research output for this project. It makes recommendations to the government, the National Electricity Regulator (NER), Eskom, and municipal distributors on how to ensure that public benefit energy-efficiency investment is well placed in new power sector contexts in South Africa.
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    Quantifying the energy needs of the transport sector for South Africa: a bottom-up model
    (Energy Research Centre, University of Cape Town., 2012) Merven, Bruno; Stone, Adrian; Hughes, Alison; Cohen, Brett
    Transport is a large consumer of energy in South Africa and vital for economic development. Currently the transport sector consumes 28% of final energy, the bulk of which, 97%, is in the form of liquid fuels. As the population grows and becomes wealthier, so the demand for passenger transport and private vehicles increases; similarly, rising GDP drives the demand for freight transport. Supply interruptions are costly to the economy and careful long‐term planning is required to ensure that there is sufficient infrastructure to support the efficient functioning and growth of the transport sector in the future.
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    Spend, save and splurge - the rebound effect of energy efficiency initiatives
    (University of Cape Town, 2008) Davis, S J
    Energy Efficiency (EE) and Demand Side Management (DSM) programs are being implemented throughout the world’s energy sectors, with the intention of managing the demand for energy services, improving energy security and reducing the externalities of electricity production. However, the rebound effect has meant that the actual savings in energy demand are often less than expected making these costly programs ineffective, or worse raising consumption. In this paper, we define the rebound effect of EE and DSM initiatives in the electricity sector, summarise the literature, and provide the foundation for investigating the extent and causes of rebound in the South African residential sector.
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    The testing of gel fuels, and their comparison to alternative cooking fuels
    (Energy Research Centre, University of Cape Town., 2007) Lloyd, PJD; Visagie, E F
    A range of gel fuels was tested in a range of appliances designed for the fuels. The tests comprised the determination of the efficiency of the fuel/appliance combination when boiling water at full and, where possible, minimum power; and the measurement of CO, CO2 and unburned hydrocarbons collected in a hood at the burner level in normal operation. The tests were repeated with paraffin-fuelled appliances, LP gas appliances and an electric stove. In the majority of cases it was found that the gel fuels did not meet an emission standard of a CO:CO2 ratio of <0.02, and that they gave off excessive unburned hydrocarbons. It was suspected that this had to do with the mixing of the fuel vapour with air, because tests with pure ethanol in various appliances gave similar results. Tests in which appliances were modified to improve the air/fuel mixing showed that the hypothesis was valid. A subsidiary finding of the tests was that some gel fuels had excessive water, and that in these cases the condensation of the water vapour on the base of a cooking pot was so extensive that it could extinguish the flame. This leads to a recommendation that a standard for gel fuels be established. A comparison of the cost of cooking a standard meal suggests that gel fuels are unlikely to meet users needs even if improved appliances can be developed.
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    White certificates and white certificate trading schemes as greenhouse gas mitigation policy options for South Africa
    (Energy Research Centre, University of Cape Town., 2009) Tyler, Emily; Dunn, Zelda; du Toit, Michelle
    A white certificate, which is also referred to as an Energy Saving Certificate (ESC), or an Energy Efficiency Credit (EEC), is an instrument awarded by an authorisation body to guarantee that a specific amount of energy savings has been achieved. Each certificate is a unique and traceable commodity carrying a property right over a certain amount of additional energy savings and certifying that the benefit of these savings has not been accounted for elsewhere (EuroWhiteCert Project, 2006).