A primary school in Stellenbosch recently became the first school in South Africa to receive an Electrical Performance Certificate (EPC). This is according to Rodger Cupido, principal of Cloetesville Primary School in Stellenbosch.
“We have saved 20% on our electricity bill since implementing the [energy-saving] initiative,” Cupido told MatieMedia.
GreenX Engineering, a spinout engineering company of Stellenbosch University (SU), implemented the initiative to help Cloetesville Primary School become more energy-efficient, according to Prof Thinus Booysen from SU’s department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and also the co-founder of GreenX Engineering.
An Energy Performance Certificate is handed over to Cloetesville Primary School principal, Rodger Cupido (centre). The hand-over was done by deputy director-general: education planning of the Western Cape Education Department, Salie Abrahams, and Prof Stan du Plessis (right), chief operating officer of Stellenbosch University. PHOTO: Sourced/Stefan Els
Cloetesville Primary School received the best possible rating for energy consumption, said Cupido.
“The school received an A-rating for electrical consumption of 17 kWh per m²,” Martin Viljoen, SU spokesperson, said in a statement sent to MatieMedia.
Earlier this year, SU received the very first EPC for any building in South Africa.
Energy Performance Certificates are now mandatory for private sector, non-residential buildings with a total net floor area of more than 2 000m², and government buildings of more than 1000m². INFOGRAPHIC: Keanan Hemmonsbey
GreenX Engineering
The initiative to implement energy-saving technology at Cloetesville Primary School started in March this year and was completed in May, according to Jason Samuels, PhD candidate in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at SU, and co-founder of GreenX Engineering.
“We replaced the old fluorescent lights with LED lights. [We also did] a few other smaller things, like training, but by far the lights make the biggest difference [in terms of energy reduction],” said Booysen about the work GreenX Engineering has done at Cloetesville Primary School.
Cupido initially made the GreenX Engineering team aware that Cloetesville Primary School’s electricity bill was a huge burden for the school, said Booysen. This resulted in GreenX Engineering selecting Cloetesville Primary School for the initiative.
Samuels said it was important to help schools such as Cloetesville Primary that had “older, inefficient lighting and infrastructure that costs them a lot [of money to maintain]; which they cannot afford.”
GreenX Engineering hopes to extend their energy conservation initiatives to schools across South Africa, according to GreenX Engineering co-founder, Jason Samuels. INFOGRAPHIC: Keanan Hemmonsbey
Positive impact
The reaction of the GreenX Engineering initiative at Cloetesville Primary School has been very positive from everyone involved, said Booysen.
“The lights that they have put in, have helped the kids when reading their books. It has had a positive and productive impact on the learners and the teachers,” said Cupido.
Cupido encouraged other schools in similar financial positions to Cloetesville Primary School to consider working with GreenX Engineering.
“Samuels and the team explained everything to us along the way and kept us informed of everything,” said Cupido, adding that he would highly recommend the GreenX Engineering team to any school trying to save on their electricity bill.
Jason Samuels speaks about the prospective work GreenX Engineering would like to accomplish in the near future.