A SMARTHOME is a home that enables you to save money. It is a home that has been designed to help you save water and electricity and is fitted with tools that assist you in reducing your usage of these limited resources. Find out more about no cost, low cost and invest to save solutions here, so you can start saving today.
Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (EDGE) is an innovation of the International Finance Corporation (IFC). It is a green building certification system that empowers South African property developers to build environmentally sustainable residential homes.
An EDGE-certified SMARTHOME is a home that saves water and electricity, which ultimately saves you money. The home is designed to help you save 20% water and electricity and is fitted with tools that assist you in minimising your usage of these limited resources.
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Well, how much you end up saving depends on YOU. More specifically, your behaviour and how you treat the water taps, light switches and electrical appliances in your home.
Of course once you start respecting and observing your water and electricity consumption, you then start operating at a whole new level, a smart level. Smart people know how to save money, even if it’s by saving on their monthly water and lights bill. So IT really IS in YOUR HANDS.
Small changes can lead to great savings and swelling purses. When you are SMART, you can take your swag to even higher levels by making other changes around your home.
There are no-cost, low-cost and invest to save measures you can implement, so depending on what you can afford, you can decide on the measures to implement that would suit you and your pocket. As a start, you can implement some changes to your behavior or consumption habits as well as some minor adjustments in your home and that can yield results and save you money. Like all other important journeys in life, it is not so much about the destination but the journey itself and the most critical thing about it is to take the first step. Read more here.
If you are looking for a new home and want an EDGE certified SMARTHOME, you have taken the first step towards saving yourself some money for other things. The cost of renting or buying such a home should be in line with the market standards of the similarly sized homes that are not EDGE certified. Of course the major difference is that you stand to gain a lot more through saving on water and electricity and thus more moola in your pocket.
Yes. Living in a SMARTHOME can help you make savings in your water and electricity consumption, with the ultimate prize of that being more money in your pocket…money you can use to upgrade your life. You can save for that rather pricey holiday you’ve been fantasising about or that pair of sneakers that you’ve been dying for or that degree you’ve been putting off because of finances. There’s just so much more you can do with your extra cash that you saved.
An EDGE certified SMARTHOME has been designed to save a minimum of 20% on your water and electricity usage. But you must use the home correctly to make that saving. You can save much more than 20% if you purchase or upgrade your home with more low-cost and invest to save measures but you will always need to stay on top of your behaviour to ensure you maximise your savings.
You’d be amazed to learn that you can make some changes in your behaviour and around your home that won’t cost you a cent and still make some handsome savings. Find out how here.
Water and electricity are resources that are not available in unlimited quantities in South Africa, and in fact many parts of the world. When you decide to live a smarter life and save water and electricity, you can improve the quality of your life through the savings you make. You can have money to spare for other things. You also contribute towards reducing harm to the environment and leaving the planet in a good condition for your kids and their kids. So you should care because it is the smart thing to do.
Eco-auditing or environmental audit is a process of extracting information about how a home or building is performing in relation to its consumption of resources like water and electricity, in order to assess its impact on the environment.
Some Useful Definitions:
- A compact fluorescent light (CFL), also known as energy-saving light is a fluorescent lamp designed to replace an incandescent light bulb due to its energy-saving qualities.
- A light-emitting diode (LED) are lightbulbs that have a lifespan and electrical efficiency that is higher than incandescent lamps. They are also significantly more efficient than most fluorescent lamps
- An incandescent bulb is an electric light with a wire filament heated to such a high temperature that it glows with visible light. These are the more traditional and older lights that are not energy efficient.
- Showers have varying water flow rates based on the type of shower head installed. In terms of water and energy efficiency, the higher the flow rate, the more water and electricity you use. So it is always advisable to opt for a low-flow shower head as a way to reduce the amount of water you use.
- It is far more energy efficient to heat cookware directly than indirectly. An induction cooker is able to deliver roughly 80 – 90 % of its energy to the food in the pan. It is in fact also faster, safer, easier, and more efficient than either gas or electric.
- If your home doesn’t get enough sunlight to install a solar water heater, you can find an alternative in a heat pump, which works like an air conditioner in reverse, using less than half the electricity of a normal geyser. The cost is similar or slightly cheaper than a solar heater but the investment pays itself off with the savings over a couple of years.
- Solar water heater systems use solar panels fitted to your roof to collect heat from the sun and use it to heat up water which is stored in a hot water cylinder. Solar water heaters replace geysers and generally have a pay-back period of 4 – 6 years for the investment.
- Energy efficiency rating for appliances is there to ensure that consumers are informed about the energy efficiency of an appliance before purchasing it. This rating system makes use of an energy efficiency index (EEI) rating between A (most efficient) to G (least efficient). Look out for these the next time you buy an appliance.