Abstract
M.Ing. (Engineering Management)
Energy is at a pivotal point of sustainable development and crucial to our way of living. However, our usage of energy resources is one of the main issues that impinge on the human health as well as on the environment.
Around 60 percent of low-income households on the South African Highveld still rely on solid energy carriers (coal or wood) to meet their energy needs such as cooking, water heating, and space heating, especially in winter months despite their electrification status. Consequently, the domestic burning of solid fuels is a major cause of adverse health effects due to poor air quality in the low-income settlements.
The aim of this study is to investigate the optimal (i.e. most economical, lowest emissions and equivalent utility) energy mix for a low-income household following a set of interventions (low emissions coal stove, an electricity subsidy and LPG devices combined with a thermal insulation) rolled out to reduce emissions associated with energy use. The study employed secondary data drawn from the air quality offsets pilot project initiated by Eskom in KwaZamokuhle and other studies on energy use. The energy use profile of KwaZamokuhle was expressed as linear programming models. The models were implemented and solved using LINGO 17.0. software tool.
The resolution of the linear programming model revealed that using coal for cooking, space and water heating and electricity for lighting and appliances is the least cost option. As far as the least CO2 and PM10 emissions are concerned, LPG is the most suitable energy carrier for meeting cooking, space and, water heating needs, while electricity remains the primary energy carrier for lighting and appliances. These findings suggest that policies and initiatives that encourage LPG and electricity use to lessen coal consumption and its related emissions compared to control households in the low-income settlements should be implemented. However, the cleaner energy options have a cost penalty for households, which needs to be addressed in order to ensure sustainable energy transitions for low-income households.