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We love a bit of renewable hydro power in New Zealand, but Ray Tomlinson from JT Group has brought a new meaning to that phrase with what he calls "probably the first battery electric operated commercial water blaster".
Tomlinson has been washing buildings since the '80s but he wanted to develop technology that was a bit gentler on the environment. He says an old petrol machine might use $10k worth of fuel a year and running one for an hour is like driving from Auckland to Wellington.
Like a lot of electric equivalents, while the upfront cost is higher, the numbers they've done suggest that over five years it won't cost any more than a current petrol version.
It's not just costs or emissions it will be reducing, either. Petrol water blasters are very loud so using an electric version means workers finished up the day feeling a lot more refreshed.
He says there was some initial scepticism from the team, but the noise reduction has been a real benefit.
The company is looking to lease the machines and you can get yours by heading to the Summit Building Wash Technologies site https://loom.ly/qmkc-Os
The Electricity Authority recently consulted on two important issues: 1) Who is able to access rewards for supplying power at peak times. And 2) How much energy consumers can export. We have again been blown away by the response from the people of New Zealand on these important proposals, and humbled that a large number used the information provided by Rewiring as the foundation for powerful submissions. Here's our summary of the responses and our take on the consultations.
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