Smart home tech gets dismissed as gadgetry — but in load-shedding South Africa, the right automations genuinely save money and make outages painless. Here is what is actually worth doing in a Johannesburg home.
Start where the money is: the geyser
Hot water is typically 30–40% of your electricity bill, so the highest-value smart upgrade is a smart geyser controller that heats only around your routine — a 25–35% saving on your biggest single user. Everything else is a bonus on top.
Make load-shedding seamless
Smart switches plus an inverter that exposes its status let you automate which loads run on battery, get low-battery alerts, and stop wasting stored power on non-essentials. Combined with smart geyser control, a given battery lasts noticeably longer.
Convenience that adds up
Automated lighting and scenes, motion-sensor outdoor lights and app control are genuinely useful — and LED + automation together trim lighting cost further.
Wire it in properly
Plug-in smart devices are DIY, but smart switches and whole-home automation tie into your fixed wiring and should be installed by a registered electrician for safety and compliance. We design and wire smart setups that work with your backup power. See energy efficiency or ask us what's worth automating.