Does a Gas Geyser Work During Load Shedding?
Battery-ignition units — the Dewhot 16L and the Cadac 16L Ecoflow — carry on heating water exactly as normal with the power off. The Paloma and Rinnai need a small amount of electricity, so they want a plug point backed by an inverter, UPS or generator. Either way, you are far better off than a tank sitting cold in the roof.
Which gas geysers work without electricity?
The Dewhot 16L Constant Temperature and the Cadac 16L Ecoflow. Both light with torch-style batteries, so there is no plug point and nothing to back up. Power on or power off, they behave identically.
This is the reason battery units sell so well in George. There is no schedule to work around and no inverter to budget for: you open the tap, the unit clicks, the burner lights, you shower. The Dewhot 16L is the one we fit most in standard family homes, and the Cadac 16L Ecoflow is the practical choice for flats, granny flats and rentals.
The trade-off is not the load shedding side, it is the weather side. Both battery units need a weather cover outdoors, because rain and coastal moisture get into the board and the wiring loom. A unit fitted bare on a south-facing wall in Herolds Bay will give trouble within a couple of seasons.
What about Paloma and Rinnai during load shedding?
They need a weatherproof plug point near the geyser and will not fire without it. The draw is small though, so a modest inverter, UPS or generator keeps them running through any slot.
Homeowners sometimes hear "needs electricity" and write these units off. That is the wrong reading. What the electricity buys you is genuine constant temperature control, proper behaviour on mixer taps, higher flow for a house running more than one bathroom, and the ability to run inline after a solar tank — which no battery unit can do.
If you already have backup power for the fridge, router and lights, adding the geyser plug point to that circuit is a small job. See the Paloma 20L and Rinnai 20L pages for how each one is installed.
Does a gas stove work during load shedding?
Yes. Gas hobs and stoves burn without grid power, which is why so many George kitchens went gas in the first place. You keep cooking while the neighbours are eating cold sandwiches.
Models with electric ignition simply lose the automatic spark when the power is off. In that case the manufacturer's instructions normally allow you to light the burner with a match or a lighter — turn the gas on, light it immediately, and do not let unlit gas run. Always follow the manual for your specific appliance.
If you are converting the kitchen at the same time as the hot water, we handle both: gas stove installation for freestanding units and gas hob installation for built-in tops, certified and signed off.
What's the best load-shedding-proof hot water setup?
There are three honest answers depending on your budget and how much hot water the house actually needs. None of them involve overselling you a premium unit for a one-bathroom flat.
- Budget — Cadac 16L Ecoflow, from around R12,200 installed. Battery ignition, low-flow start, no power needed at all. Right for flats, granny flats and small homes with a shower rather than a bath. See the Cadac page.
- Mid — Dewhot 16L Constant Temperature, from around R15,000 installed. Battery ignition, comfortable for a standard family home, needs a weather cover. See the Dewhot page.
- Premium — Paloma or Rinnai 20L plus a small inverter. Constant temperature, mixer-friendly, whole-house flow, solar-inline capable. From around R21,500 installed for the Rinnai and around R22,000 for the Paloma, plus your backup power.
Whichever route you take, keep a spare cylinder on a changeover valve. Running out of gas mid-shower is a worse outage than any Eskom stage.
Load Shedding and Gas — Common Questions
Yes — the batteries in a Dewhot or Cadac only fire the spark that lights the burner, they do not run the unit. That draw is tiny, so an outage of any length makes no difference to them. What does matter is age: batteries typically want replacing about once a year depending on how often the unit lights, and the first sign they are tired is lazy ignition, where the unit clicks a few times before catching. Change them before winter and you will not think about it again.
Get hot water that ignores the schedule
Tell us what your house needs and whether you already have backup power. You will get a recommendation that fits your setup, not the most expensive unit on the shelf.