Want an energy solution? Where do you begin?

At Green & You they know that their clients are frustrated with load shedding (okay, more accurately – ALL South Africans) and left in the dark and without power at inconvenient times, to say the least. The next logical step for the frustrated home or business owner is to look for some sort of solution or back-up…but that just ends up being even more frustrating in most cases. The alternative energy market is flooded with products, gadgets and solutions – to such an extent that the consumer is left confused and with an overload of baffling information.

For this exact reason, Carl Venter, Managing Director of Engel & Völkers Potchefstroom, started doing research 10 years ago on reputable suppliers and brands as well as high quality, long lasting products with good warranties. (The last thing you need is to end up with sub-standard products that fail too soon and leave you with another headache to solve). One thing led to another and Green & You was established to provide energy and water solutions to Engel & Völkers Potchefstroom’s clients as a value added service as well as to the broader market in Potchefstroom and surrounds. To date, Green & You has installed systems throughout North-West, Free State and Gauteng. Most of the products Green & You stock have excellent warranties, ensuing that their clients take very little risk and in many cases the energy systems will pay themselves back before the warranty expires.

What to look out for?

Another frequent misstep is that clients buy systems that are way too large for their needs or accidentally start too small. In the first scenario the client wastes money and in the second scenario the system ends up failing the client. You also need to know exactly what type of system to buy – otherwise you might not be able to expand your system at a later stage.

This is where Green & You comes into the picture – they take the guessing out of the process. By offering a free energy audit on your home, business or farm they can determine what your energy usage is and suggest the correct type and size of system to fit your energy demand as well as lifestyle requirements and future plans.

What does the free energy audit entail?

Green & You advisors identify areas where your property can be more energy passive and areas where you can use less energy. Something seemingly insignificant like changing to LED lights can have a large impact. They also evaluate temperature regulating equipment such as air conditioners and heating systems. The hot water requirements regarding how much hot water you need to store as well as how much hot water you need at a single time is another important part of the energy audit. Since the geyser is the highest energy consumer in your home in most cases, Green & You can then suggest various solutions depending on the outcome of your energy audit. Some of the solutions are gas geysers, two geysers in series and a nifty range of instant geysers that are excellent for kitchen usage and businesses like hair salons (note to hair salon owners: you end up saving on energy and consequently on costs – definitely a win!).

Additional energy culprits are also evaluated. Another easy solution is to use a solar swimming pool pump rather than an electrical swimming pool pump. The client’s energy and water bills together with the future goal and requirements all add valuable information to the energy audit.

For more intricate installations at businesses or larger homes there is a next step. Green & You uses a high technology Scout – an intelligent meter that is installed at your home or business by an electrician for a specific time period. The Scout monitors the peaks of your energy usage regarding to specific times and specific days of the week. For businesses the Scout also monitor’s each phase separately – giving more accurate insights. The information from the Scout together with the energy audit and the client’s end goals are used by the Green & You advisors to propose the best solutions and to develop a customized system for the client. Additional energy and cost savings solutions are proposed.

For even larger installations, such as a 300 solar panel installation on a farm (that’s almost a small-scale power station!) a team of experts and electrical engineers are needed in addition. This is a free service that Green & You and Engel & Völkers Potchefstroom offer their clients.

Ready to start your journey towards energy independence?

Stay up to date by following Green & You on Facebook and Instagram as well as Engel & Völkers Potchefstroom on Facebook and Instagram. 

 Green & You is located in Potchefstroom – at the Engel & Völkers Potchefstroom office. Pop in to chat to their Green Solutions Advisors about the perfect energy or water solution for your home or business. Or contact them on 0716745673 or 0832910434.

At Lunch's Cyril Viljoen spoke to Helandi Moolman, Engel & Völkers marketing manager, about their energy and water solutions. Listen here: