Top Green Property Features
Category Market Insight
Some of the best green property features on the market are great for improving Cape Town property value. They make your home more energy efficient and curb your environmental impact, making them a smart investment for sectional title and freestanding property owners alike. Some of the most popular green features include: solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, heat pumps, smart metering solutions, and alternative water sources. These systems reduce energy bills, improve property value, lower carbon footprint, and even keep you going during loadshedding.
Solar Panels
Whether you're new to green property features or looking to expand your solar power portfolio, solar PV systems are our top pick. These systems capture sunlight and use it to generate electricity, which reduces your energy bill and environmental footprint. Depending on the size of your roof, a solar PV system can provide enough electricity for your home, even during load shedding. There are already hundreds of apartment buildings in Cape Town like the Intaba in Claremont and Wembley Square in Gardens.
Smart Electricity Meters & Smart Water Meters
Smart electricity meters and smart water meters are game changing technologies and green property feature! They can be used to reduce overall consumption and lower monthly bills but their benefits are much greater than that. Smart metering allows bodies corporate and homeowners associations to detect water leaks and phantom electricity consumption.
Heat Pumps
Heat pumps are another green building feature helping to drive a sustainable future. The heat pump is a device that transfers heat energy from a heat source to a heat sink. The heat pump is used to transfer the heat from the sun or other heat source to a place where it can be used to heat or cool buildings and homes. Heat pumps effectively store and recycle heat energy to reduce energy costs making them an incredible green building feature.
Boreholes (& Other Alternative Water Sources)
Alternative water supplies like rain catchments and boreholes are excellent ways to save precious tap water. Our tap water goes through extensive treatment, and testing to be considered potable (aka safe to drink). With drought an ever-looming threat in South Africa, alternative sources remain vitally important for a sustainable future. Installing rain catchment for common property irrigation is an amazing way to save money in the long run but more importantly prevent unnecessary usage of precious drinking water. That's why we think boreholes and other alternative water sources are one of the best green building features.
Air Quality Control Measures
In places like Cape Town, famous for the "Cape Doctor", air quality inside buildings is often worse than the air quality outside. In highly urbanised locations around the world such as Johannesburg, Hong Kong, and Delhi, air quality is a major problem resulting in poor living conditions and health problems too. That's why building ventilation in Cape Town property is such an important green building feature. Intelligently constructed buildings like Claremont's Intaba feature an open air atrium allowing fresh air to circulate throughout.
Author: Paul Wasson