“The fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) is pushing energy efficiency, as more and more items become digitized. The Internet of Things (IoT) includes the refrigerator in your home, the air-con in your office and the entire production process in your factory. The more efficiently these run, the less energy is expended,” explains Barry Bredenkamp, General Manager Energy Efficiency for the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI).
“Digitization enables buildings to become ‘smart’. Lights only operate when someone is there; air conditioners are central yet create climate zones for differing comfort levels; banks of computers or other machines can be ‘put to sleep’ after a period of non-activity; lifts only switch on lights when called; underground car parks remain dark until movement occurs and so the list goes on.
“However, these building management systems (BMS) are not just for the office building; there are smaller versions, available locally, that can be wired into one’s home’s distribution board. These can be used to shut down what the industry refers to as ‘vampire loads’, all the plugs with indicator lights that are not in use but on standby, any appliance using clocks or readouts when not in use; these can be put into ‘sleep’ mode.
“You can go one further; there are many ‘apps’, that when coupled to the right technologies, can switch on and off lights, heaters/air cons or get the microwave going from your smart phone. What once was science fiction is an everyday reality and this is only the beginning!
“Digitizing and energy efficiency can be translated into tax incentives through the tax rebate programme administered by SANEDI on behalf of government. The incentive has been in place since 2013. We have had small companies and a number of the top energy intensive energy users apply, all with excellent results.
Interventions include flare stacks and waste heat converted back into production; airlines optimizing routes and avgas usage; hospitals cutting down on lighting and air-conditioning usage. Solar powered electric vehicle charging outlets, double-glazing, conversion to LED lights – all add up to energy efficiency over the year,” concludes Bredenkamp.
About SANEDI
The South African government established the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI) to direct, monitor and conduct applied energy R&D, demonstration and deployment, as well as to undertake specific measures to promote the uptake of green energy and energy efficiency in South Africa. Its mission is to use applied and energy research and resource efficiency to develop innovative, integrated solutions that will catalyse growth and prosperity to meet its vision of sustainable living for growth and prosperity in Africa.
