A qualitative study on solar energy use in South Africa

Abstract: Many South African citizens and residents are dependent on Eskom for electricity distribution. Its’ limited energy distribution and its’ ever increasing cost has taken its toll on the consumers. The citizens might be motivated to adopt solar energy technology to circumvent this problem. It is therefore imperative to establish, additional information that warrants investment in solar energy technology. Furthermore, it is imperative that consumers are presented with a database of information to the efficiency of solar power in households who have already implemented solar energy technology. It can therefore be suggested that there is paucity of research in South Africa in relation to challenges and benefits of using solar energy. In this regard a study was conducted in Gauteng province, in the city of Johannesburg, in South Africa to fill this gaps. The data was collected using semi-structured interviews. The target population for the current study were the suburban households which had solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar water heaters (SWHs) installation. A total number of 15 respondents were interviewed. The data was analysed using Tesch’s open coding approach. The findings suggest that these Johannesburg suburban households shared similar positive experiences and negative experiences from the use of solar energy systems. The findings suggest that the use of solar energy saved on electricity. However they experienced water leakage from their geysers. The findings from this qualitative research is of particular importance to the South African households who are considering an alternative solar energy supply