How I saveMartin Pollack, Cape Town
Martin Pollack’s home has a ‘rotating door’ policy: friends, his elderly mother, her sisters, his children, his children’s friends… The kettle is always on, hospitality is always just a moment away…
And all the while, Martin’s electricity bill hovers at around a mere R200 a month.
His secret is that he’s bought the power station, as he describes it. So while the rest of us buy our electricity every month, he’s making his own… It’s the equivalent of buy now, don’t pay later!
Martin’s house runs on what is known renewable energy (a combination of photo-voltaic cells, sometimes called solar panels, and a wind turbine), which use a grid-tied inverter system and batteries.
‘But a renewable energy “power station” is a bit pointless unless you first become as energy efficient as you can,’ says Martin. The more electricity you have to make, the more expensive your system, so you need to cut down on electricity use as well.’
This he does with a flat-plate thermal solar water heater,
a highly energy-efficient fridge and other appliances, and ‘not a single incandescent globe anywhere in the house’. He’s gone one further than compact fluorescent lighting and is experimenting with LEDs (light emitting diodes), which are even more efficient.
‘With a system like this, you’ll probably reach break even point with in seven to 11 years,’ says Martin, 'especially with the way electricity prices are going. After that, all you’ll be paying for is access to the electricity grid, and not for your electricity itself.’
