How to Spot Southern Right Whales
Experience the thrill of spotting southern right whales along the Overberg coastline in South Africa.
Our mission at Whale Huys Oceanside Eco Villa, in De Kelders just outside Gansbaai, is to run our business in harmony with nature. To do so we explored all we could do to reduce our negative impact on the environment. At the same time, as luxury accommodation, we did not want to compromise on comfort and reliability.
Some of the steps we took to go solar are easier than you might think and provide other benefits, such as not being affected by load-shedding and power outages.
We did quite a bit of research before we took the different steps and decided to share our experience.
• The heat is used directly, rather than being converted into electricity
• The electric backup heating element ensures guests don't run out of hot water even on cloudy days
• They usually have a payback time of less than a year
• We replaced all the lighting with LED (6-watt LED bulb gives the equivalent amount of light to a 60-watt bulb)
• We opted for A-grade appliances whenever anything needed to be replaced.
• In the past installing solar panels on a roof with northern exposure was almost essential, now it is viable to have panels on east and west-facing roofs as this balances the loads evenly.
• Batteries are still the big-ticket item, and it extends your pay-back time considerably
• Battery storage means our guests won’t experience load-shedding and power outages if they don't run heavy appliances during downtime.
• We also opted to remain tied to the grid, this means that we don't have to worry about our batteries running empty when heavy use appliances (like heaters) are used
• Modern systems come with a convenient App so you can monitor your consumption and production in real-time.
If you have a home or guesthouse you would like to turn into an eco-friendly living space contact Whale Huys Oceanfront Eco Villa for a few friendly tips and some sunny solar advice.
Whale Huys Oceanfront Eco Villa is a four-bedroom, multi-level, self-catering home set on a clifftop in De Kelders near Gansbaai. With unobstructed sea views visible from all its living areas and bedrooms, Whale Huys Oceanfront Eco Villa combines the warmth and character of traditional thatched roof...
View ProfileXplorio is your local connection allowing you to find anything and everything about a town.
Read MoreExperience the thrill of spotting southern right whales along the Overberg coastline in South Africa.
Take a look at what one of our guests had to say about their stay at Whale Huys Oceanfront Eco Villa!
Take a look at what one of our guests had to say about their stay at Whale Huys Oceanfront Eco Villa!
When you are not relaxing at Whale Huys Oceanfront Eco Villa, there are plenty of things to do to keep you busy in the Overstrand area.
Take a look at what one of our guests had to say about their stay at Whale Huys Oceanfront Eco Villa!
If you love hot tubs in the great outdoors, this one is for you! Get ready for some serious outdoor hot-tubbing...