The challenge
Many cold, damp RDP houses had no ceilings, pushing poor families to spend more on heating.
The case
The City of Cape Town has retrofitted insulated ceilings into low-cost RDP homes. In a 2010 pilot in Mamre, funded with R1.9 million from Danish aid, around 240 homes got ceilings, installed by 18 to 20 local workers. An evaluation by the city, ICLEI Africa and Durham University found that 64% of surveyed households needed less electricity to heat their home, and 44% said they spent less on heating fuel. Damp fell but still affected 36% of households, because unplastered walls let rain in. According to Bloomberg Philanthropies, ceilings cut heating fuel by up to 74% and the wider programme will eliminate 7,400 tons of CO2 a year.
Why the results were mixed
Ceilings are a cheap fix that made homes warmer, but many families used the savings to heat longer or run other appliances, and gains were limited where walls were left unsealed.
Sources
- Bloomberg Philanthropies. Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Renovating and retrofitting aging public buildings. Cities Idea Exchange.
- Phillips, C., Silver, J., & Rowswell, P. (2011). Mamre Ceiling Insulation Evaluation: Energy retrofitting in low income communities. City of Cape Town and ICLEI Africa.
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