Abstract
Strategies to alleviate poverty often seem to stand in opposition to environmental and social sustainability, particularly in the realm of energy provision. The challenge of reforming entire economies is immense; even more so if a country is a fossil fuel-based and emissions-intensive as South Africa. In an increasingly carbon-restricted environment and already facing climate change impact, however, South Africa must rapidly and decisively reduce the intensity of greenhouse gas emissions. The main aim of this paper was too assess the use of renewable energy in the household sector and more specially for an isolated home by providing 100% of the needed energy from renewables. Wind energy, photovoltaic, biofuel, and batteries are the renewable that will be evaluated. The end goal is to find suitable technologies that can solve the challenges of shortage of energy experienced in South Africa.