Citra, the technology-driven construction brand, fitted Elon 100 into its first generation of eHomes, then moved to Elon Smart as the range developed. Elon Smart is now the default water-heating technology in every Citra home. Citra and PowerOptimal have now formalised that arrangement as a strategic partnership to advance high-performance residential living across South Africa, with further expansion planned.

The two businesses come together under one banner: reimagining the homes of the future, today.

Citra was founded in 2016 to help eliminate the global housing shortage, building on precision engineering, rapid deployment and sustainable construction. PowerOptimal was founded in 2014 and has spent more than a decade proving direct-PV water heating and demand-management technology in South African homes.

Designed in from the start

Home energy products usually arrive after the house is finished. A geyser timer here, a controller there, each solving its own problem and none of them aware of the others. Citra and PowerOptimal have set that pattern aside. PowerOptimal's Reimagine energy framework now sits alongside Citra's Live Different ethos, so how a home generates, manages and uses energy is settled at design stage instead of retrofitted afterwards.

True innovation isn't about bolting new gadgets onto old ways of building—it's about thinking differently from the ground up. By incorporating PowerOptimal's smart energy platform directly into the Citra housing ecosystem, we aren't just building structures—we're creating safe, high-quality homes that put people first and are engineered to consume as few of the planet's resources as possible.

Joel Baur, CEO at Citra

From Elon 100 to Elon Smart

Citra's first generation of eHomes ran on Elon 100, the direct-DC system that has been heating water off solar panels in South African homes since 2017. It works on a manual dial. No app, and no inverter or batteries in the path: the panels feed the geyser element directly, and the tank does the storing.

As the range developed, Citra moved to Elon Smart. The same direct-PV principle, with a connected thermostat on top. App control, real-time monitoring, leak and anode alerts, and over-the-air updates that keep improving the unit after it is installed. Elon Smart is now fitted as standard across every Citra home.

Citra lived with the first system through a full generation of houses before standardising on the second.

What it means in the house

Water heating takes 40% to 50% of a typical household electricity bill, which makes the geyser the biggest single line on most people's statements. Moving it onto solar changes the shape of that bill.

In a Citra home, that work is already done before the keys are handed over. The panels are on the roof, the thermostat is fitted, and the homeowner opens the app to see what the system is doing: how much of today's hot water came from the sun, and whether anything needs attention. On cloudy stretches, top-up rules keep the water hot from the grid.

There is no inverter and no battery bank involved, and nothing extra to maintain.

For developers, the same arrangement answers the SANS 10400-XA renewable water-heating requirement without a roof tank or a separate plumbing loop.

When we look at the future of housing, the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts. Aligning our technology with Citra allows us to redefine what an energy-efficient home truly looks like, turning necessary household infrastructure into active, intelligent drivers of sustainability and lasting value.

Richard Fearon, CEO at PowerOptimal

Shared pillars: innovation, design, and impact

The partnership is built on three pillars.

• Innovation. Building the technology that solves hard housing and energy problems rather than working around them.

• Design. Technology that stays in the background and does not ask for attention.

• Impact. Lower running costs for the household and a smaller footprint for the planet, without giving up quality.

What happens next

As Citra expands across South Africa and into international markets, Elon Smart goes with it as a standard part of the build. Anyone moving into a Citra home arrives to hot water that is already running on the sun, reimagining the homes of the future, today.

Elon Smart also retrofits onto the geyser you already have, and the install is usually a thermostat swap.