For most of the last decade, South Africa’s energy conversation was dominated by one question: will the power stay on?
Households invested in inverters, batteries, solar panels, gas alternatives and backup solutions to survive the worst of load shedding. Government, Eskom, municipalities and private energy players focused heavily on stabilising generation and restoring reliability to the grid. That work mattered, and South Africa is in a very different position today than it was during the height of the crisis.
But while the blackout has eased, the bill has not.
In 2026, Eskom direct customers were hit with an average electricity price increase of 8.76%, effective from 1 April, while a further 8.83% increase has already been approved for April 2027. Municipal customers are feeling the impact too, with NERSA approving 176 municipal and local authority tariff applications for the 2026/27 financial year. In Johannesburg, City Power customers are facing an average 8.63% increase from 1 July 2026, with some households expected to pay between R56 and R122 more every month, depending on usage.
This is the new energy challenge facing South Africans: not whether there is electricity, but whether households can still afford to use it.
The uncomfortable reality is that many homes are still using electricity in the same way they did ten or twenty years ago, despite paying far more for every unit consumed. We have made progress on supply, but we have not applied the same urgency to the way electricity is used inside the home.
That is where the next major saving opportunity sits.
The appliance nobody considered
For most households, the biggest electricity user is not the television, fridge, kettle, washing machine or lights. It is water-heating.
Research on South African household energy use has consistently identified the geyser as one of the largest contributors to domestic electricity consumption. A South African energy efficiency labelling guide notes that the geyser can account for around 39% of monthly household energy use, while a local geyser cost-efficiency study found that water heating in middle- to upper-income homes can make up between 40% and 50% of total household electricity consumption.
That means a household trying to reduce its electricity bill without looking at water heating may be ignoring close to half of the problem.
A conventional electric geyser uses energy to heat water and then continues using energy to maintain that temperature throughout the day. In a family home, especially where hot water is used for bathing, showering, washing dishes, and cleaning, this can quietly become one of the most expensive parts of the monthly bill.
Yet water heating is often the last place homeowners look when trying to save.
Many households start with smaller behavioural changes: switching off lights, unplugging chargers, using appliances less often, or reducing oven use. These habits are useful, but they do not address the largest load in the home. If a household wants to make a meaningful dent in its electricity bill, the geyser is one of the first places to look.
“The mistake many households make is assuming that electricity saving starts with the small things. Those changes help, but the biggest savings usually come from addressing the biggest loads. In most homes, that means water heating,” says Murray Crow, Managing Director of Kwikot.
This is also where the national energy conversation has a blind spot.
South Africa has done a great deal of work around energy generation, alternative power and grid stability. There has also been growing awareness around solar, batteries, and backup power. But the geyser, despite being one of the biggest drivers of residential electricity use, is still often treated as a grudge purchase or a basic plumbing decision.
For many new homes, the choice of geyser is still driven mainly by upfront cost. The cheapest unit is often installed because it makes the building or handover cost easier to manage. But the homeowner then lives with the running cost for years.
That is the real issue. A geyser is not only a once-off installation. It is a long-term energy decision.
A policy blind spot, not a budgeting problem
When electricity tariffs rise, households are usually told to budget better, monitor usage more closely, or change daily habits. These actions are important, but they do not solve the underlying problem.
If the most energy-intensive appliance in the home is inefficient, the household is already starting from a weak position.
A timer can help by preventing a geyser from heating water unnecessarily throughout the day. A geyser blanket and pipe insulation can reduce heat loss. Lowering the thermostat slightly can also reduce energy demand. Regular maintenance can help the system work more efficiently and avoid avoidable faults.
But these measures are only part of the answer. The bigger question is whether the water-heating system itself is suitable for the cost environment households now face.
For example, if a household uses 900kWh of electricity a month and water heating accounts for 40% of that usage, the geyser alone could be responsible for around 360kWh every month. At R3 per kWh, that is roughly R1,080 a month going towards hot water. If water-heating consumption is reduced by even 30%, that household could save around R324 a month, or close to R3,900 a year. At higher tariffs, the saving becomes even more significant.
This is why households need to look beyond the purchase price of a geyser and consider the total cost of ownership over time.
“Water heating should not be an afterthought. It should be part of the household’s energy strategy. The right system can reduce consumption, manage long-term costs and ease pressure on the grid. The wrong system can lock a household into years of unnecessary expense,” says Crow.
There are several practical options households can consider, depending on budget, property type and usage needs.
A well-managed electric geyser can be improved through a timer, correct thermostat settings, insulation and regular servicing. This is often the most accessible starting point for households that are not ready to replace their system.
A heat pump can significantly reduce the amount of electricity needed to heat water because it uses ambient air to transfer heat rather than generating heat through a conventional element. Heat pump performance varies depending on installation, climate, usage patterns and product specifications, but the basic principle is important: instead of generating all the heat directly from electricity, the system uses electricity to move heat from the surrounding air into the water.
Solar water heating can also reduce dependence on grid electricity by using solar energy to heat water directly. Eskom’s energy-efficiency guidance notes that, depending on the system installed and how it is used, a solar water-heating system can provide between 50% and 90% of a building’s hot water requirements.
Gas water heating may suit some households where instant hot water, space constraints or energy diversification are priorities, although the running cost and installation requirements need to be carefully assessed.
The right answer will not be the same for every home. A small household, a large family, a rental property, a sectional title unit and a newly built home will all have different requirements. But the principle is the same: households need to choose water-heating systems based on lifetime running cost, not only purchase price.
What households should calculate before replacing a geyser
The first question should not be: what is the cheapest geyser to install?
It should be: what will this system cost me every month for the next ten to fifteen years?
Before replacing or installing a geyser, households should ask five practical questions:
- How many people use hot water in the home every day?
- What time of day is hot water used most?
- Is the current geyser correctly sized for the household?
- Is the geyser losing heat because it is poorly insulated or incorrectly managed?
- Would a heat pump, solar water heater or hybrid solution reduce the long-term running cost?
This matters because tariff increases compound over time. A household that saves R300 a month today is not only saving R3,600 over the next year. It is reducing exposure to future increases on that portion of its electricity use.
As tariffs rise, efficiency becomes a form of protection.
“The cheapest geyser on installation day is not always the cheapest geyser for the household. As tariffs increase, the running cost matters more every year. Consumers need to be empowered to make decisions based on total cost of ownership, not only the price on the quotation,” says Crow.
What the next decade needs to fix
South Africa’s next energy challenge is not only about adding more supply. It is about reducing unnecessary demand.
That starts with treating household efficiency as part of the national energy solution.
For homeowners, it means asking better questions before replacing or installing a geyser. For developers, it means designing homes with long-term affordability in mind. A cheaper installation on day one can become an expensive burden for the homeowner over time. As electricity costs rise, energy-efficient water heating should become part of the value proposition of a home, not an optional upgrade.
For policymakers and regulators, it means giving household consumption the same seriousness that generation has received. Building standards, incentive schemes and consumer education should all encourage more efficient water-heating choices, especially in new developments and major renovations.
For the plumbing and construction industries, it means helping consumers understand the difference between cheapest upfront and cheapest over time.
This is also a grid issue.
Every inefficient appliance installed today becomes part of tomorrow’s electricity demand. When millions of households use energy inefficiently, the country needs more generation, more infrastructure and more capacity to support avoidable consumption. When households use electricity more efficiently, everyone benefits: consumers, municipalities, Eskom and the broader economy.
South Africa deserves credit for stabilising electricity supply. That was one of the country’s most important infrastructure achievements in recent years. But solving supply does not automatically solve affordability.
The next chapter of the country’s energy story will not only be written through new power stations, transmission lines or tariff hearings. It will also be written in ordinary homes, where better water-heating choices can lower monthly bills and reduce pressure on the grid.
“We solved the blackout, but we have not solved the bill. The next opportunity is to help households use less electricity without compromising comfort. Water heating is one of the most practical places to start because it is where many homes can make a real difference,” concludes Crow.
For households looking for immediate action, the message is simple: do not only switch off lights. Start with the appliance that works the hardest.
Because in today’s tariff environment, the cheapest unit of electricity is still the one you never have to use.
