With the lowest interest rates in the history of the country, South Africans are out shopping for their dream homes. What is a dream home in the eyes of today's homebuyer? After the aesthetics have been covered - enough space -tick, garden -tick, pool -optional, garage - definite tick, neighbourhood -double tick, etc. The future of living in the shortlisted homes is considered.
One of the plus factors will be if the house has a solar geyser. With the heating elements seemingly all coming from the lowest bidder in China, you are a regular customer for the local plumbers and electricians if you settle for a standard geyser. A solar geyser is not only a money saver, it is environmentally friendly as it doesn't chew power (and parts).
Moving up on the shortlist is a home that has its own solar power grid. Even a small system is a great help during load-shedding, protecting your expensive electronics from the power surges and supplying enough power to run 12V appliances (like the tv, laptop or charge cellphones) and a few led lights. Enough power to keep you entertained and bathed in the light when it's dark outside. A bigger solar power system obviously trumps the smaller systems, such as a grid-tied system or a completely off-grid system.
Our country has experienced how uncomfortable it is when you don't have water. The municipal supply has become really sketchy in many areas. Your dream home will look a lot less inviting if your garden has died of thirst. A greywater system goes a long way towards keeping your garden green, by recycling your used bathroom water.
A rainwater harvesting system with an irrigation system trumps a greywater system. But since the greywater system is a money saver it is an easy addon. The best is a rainwater harvesting system with high capacity storage, first-flush system, irrigation system, water filtration system, water pump and municipal switchover.
If your home is a green home it is a dream home.