Residential demand flexibility · South Africa
Your geyser, shifted off the peak. Your hot water, kept.
PowerSync is a small controller a registered electrician fits in your distribution board. It moves water heating away from the evening peak, holds your hot water above a level you set, and gives you a boost button for the times that matter.
Joining is voluntary. You can boost whenever you want, and you can leave at any time from the app.
The controller sits on the DIN rail in your distribution board. Nothing else in your home is touched.
What actually changes for you
Three things, and nothing else
Heating moves, it doesn't stop
Your geyser heats outside the municipal peak windows instead of during them. The same water gets heated; it happens at a different time of day.
You keep a floor, and a button
You set the level your hot water should never drop below. If you need water sooner, you press boost. During a grid event the boost starts when the event ends, and the app tells you when that is.
Nothing is touched but your board
The controller is fitted in your distribution board by a registered person, who issues a certificate of compliance. No plumbing. Your geyser, thermostat and element are not changed or removed.
How it works
Five steps, about half an hour of your time
Check your area
Your municipality has to be running the programme, and your home has to be on its electricity supply.
Enrol
A short form: where you are, your meter number, how many geysers, and the consents you are giving. We confirm by SMS or WhatsApp.
We arrange a registered installer
You do not book a slot online. We contact you to agree a time, and you can verify the installer's identity before you let anyone in.
Fitting takes 20 to 30 minutes
The controller goes into your distribution board. The installer issues a certificate of compliance for the work.
Set your floor, then forget it
Open the app, set the level your hot water should stay above, and turn on the alerts you want. Boost whenever you like.
The app
It answers one question first: will I have hot water?
Not kilowatts. Not a dial. The state of your geyser in plain words, an estimate of the hot water you have, and a boost button that tells you the truth about when it will start.
- Every grid event is shown before it starts, while it runs, and afterwards with what actually happened.
- The app installs to your home screen from the browser. There is nothing to download from an app store.
- Alerts reach you on WhatsApp, or as a notification, or by SMS — whichever you choose.
The states the app can show you
Straight answers
What PowerSync does — and what it never does
| PowerSync does | PowerSync never |
|---|---|
| Pauses your geyser's heating during municipal peak windows and grid events. | Switches your geyser off below the hot-water level you set. |
| Heats your geyser again as soon as the window ends, or immediately when you boost. | Stops you boosting. A boost during a live event starts when the event ends, and we tell you when. |
| Shows you every event: before it starts, while it runs, and afterwards. | Changes your thermostat, or touches your geyser, element or plumbing. |
| Tells apart a grid event, a power outage in your area, and a fault. | Leaves you guessing which of those is happening. |
Questions people actually ask
Before you decide
Will I run out of hot water?
You set a level your hot water should not drop below, and the controller heats to keep it there. Peak windows are a few hours long, and a well-insulated geyser holds heat through them. If you need water sooner, press boost.
Can I say no?
Yes. Taking part is voluntary. You do not have to give a reason to decline, and if you enrol and change your mind you can cancel — within seven days of enrolling online under the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, or within five business days if you signed up at your door. After that you can still leave at any time from the app.
What does it cost me?
Nothing. There is no charge for the controller, for fitting it, or for using the app.
Do I get paid?
Not at present. The saving from shifting load sits with the municipality, which is why the equipment and fitting cost you nothing. If a reward is introduced later we will say so plainly, and we will not backdate anything or make claims about money before it exists.
Who comes to my house, and how do I know they are genuine?
A registered person doing electrical work, carrying identification. You can check an installer on this site or by contacting us before you let anyone in. Nobody should ask you for payment, for a password, or for your banking details.
What happens during load-shedding or a power failure?
Nothing different from any other appliance — the geyser is off because the power is off. The app shows this as a power outage in your area, not as a grid event and not as a fault.
What if the controller loses signal?
It is designed so that losing contact with us returns your geyser to normal heating rather than leaving it switched off.
I have solar PV. Is this still useful?
Yes, and it is where the controller does its most interesting work: heating water while your panels are producing more than the house is using, instead of exporting it or drawing from the grid in the evening.
I have a solar water heater or a heat pump. Does this apply to me?
If the system still has an electric element fed from your distribution board, it can usually be controlled. If your water heating is not electric at all, this programme is not for you.
What data do you collect, and who sees it?
Electrical measurements from the controller, the state it reports, and the account details you give us when you enrol. It is used to run the programme and to verify the load reduction. Municipalities receive aggregated results, not your household's data. The privacy notice sets this out in full.
Can I keep my geyser timer?
A separate timer can fight the controller and leave you without hot water when you expect it. Tell the installer if you have one and they will advise.
How do I leave?
Open the app, go to settings, and choose to withdraw. We arrange for the controller to be removed or disabled at no cost to you.
See whether your area is enrolling.
It takes a minute. If your municipality is not running the programme yet, we will tell you that straight away rather than collect your details.