ENERGY EFFICIENCY OF FORMAL LOW-COST HOUSING IN SOUTH-AFRICA GAUTENG REGION

A large percentage of South Africa's population is at present housed i n low-cost dwellings. Furthermore, more than 2 million new houses must be built over the next 10 years to alleviate the current housing shor tage. Unfortunately the existing houses are very energy inefficient an d if nothing is done now, the new houses will surely also be inefficie nt. It would have a tremendous impact on the inhabitant's disposable i ncome, health as well as their environment if these low-cost houses co uld be made energy efficient. This prompted the authors to investigate retrofit options to improve the energy efficiency of existing houses and to evaluate energy efficiency design concepts for new houses. The energy efficiency of the improvements was evaluated by means of comput er simulations. Ceiling insulation was found to be the best retrofit f or the typical formal low-cost house. By retrofitting existing formal low-cost houses with insulation integrated ceilings the Gauteng region could save $12 million in electricity costs per year and $0.79 billio n in peak demand electricity supply. If the proposed new houses are su pplied with insulation integrated ceilings the Gauteng region could sa ve approximately $2 million in electricity costs per year and $224 mil lion in peak demand electricity supply.