South African Homeowners Can Now Measure Their Property’s Energy Performance

• LookSee, working with SANEDI, has launched a free Energy and Carbon Performance Rating
• The system allows homeowners with solar systems to see how efficient their homes are compared to similar properties nearby
• The certification uses inverter data, electricity bills and satellite imagery to rate homes from A to F, and the data is never shared with Eskom or any municipality

South African homeowners with solar systems now have a way to find out whether their investment is actually paying off.

On 3 June 2026, BusinessTech reported on a new free certification from LookSee, developed in partnership with the South African National Energy Development Institute, SANEDI. Together, they give homes an Energy and Carbon Performance Rating based on real data from the past 12 months.

Until now, there was no formal way to measure the energy efficiency of existing homes in South Africa, even though there are more than 6 million formal residential properties across the country. LookSee executive head Marc du Plessis said the problem has always been that households have no way of knowing whether their energy usage is higher or lower than similar homes nearby.

Read also

"Corner cutting in quality": AA CEO flags Chinese vehicle safety in South Africa

How the rating works?

The certification pulls together data from the solar inverter, electricity bills and even satellite imagery of the home. It then compares the property's performance against homes of a similar size in the same area, since homes in different regions get different amounts of sunlight.

The result is two ratings. One is an Energy Rating showing how efficiently the home uses electricity, and the second is a Carbon Rating showing how much carbon the household is responsible for.

An A rating means the home is energy smart. An F rating means there is room to improve and likely money that could have been saved. LookSee said the data remains strictly with them and is never shared with Eskom or any municipality.

What the pilot showed?

The programme was already tested on a small group of South African homes before being opened to the public. The results were encouraging. Over 93% of homes in the pilot scored either an A or B rating.

Read also

"Pick n Pay in serious trouble": 56 Pick n Pay stores close down across South Africa

The average energy consumption per square metre in the pilot was 32.1kWh per square metre per year, compared to the national benchmark of 85 to 100kWh per square metre per year. The average estimated savings across participants came to around R225,840 over ten years.

Why it also matters when selling

When a home is listed for sale, solar systems are often mentioned without any detail about how effective they actually are. Including a LookSee certification in a property listing gives buyers a clear, standardised picture of how the system performs, which can meaningfully increase the home's value.

To apply, one would have to email LookSeeCertificate@standardbank.co.za with their property details and read-only access to their inverter data.

More on SA living costs

• Briefly News recently reported that Johannesburg residents could be facing higher electricity, water and refuse bills under a newly proposed budget.
• A South African finance coach went viral after warning home buyers about something most people only find out after they've already signed a contract.
• A well-known South African radio presenter completely lost it over VAT on TikTok, and Mzansi said she took the words right out of their mouths.

Source: Briefly News