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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
A very cool 'floatovoltaics' project makes use of unproductive pond space and also helps those struggling with their energy bills; renewables push down the price of electricity to nothing (or less than nothing) in Scandinavia and South Australia and New Zealand has an opportunity to follow suit; France goes hard on electrification, while the UK builds better; Aussie truckies reckon electrification will take decades but much bigger electric machines are here now, including some from Volvo; hydrogen generators are an innovation we do not need; the Speight's brewery gets off the gas with a $7.2 million electric boiler; and a bit of 'solarcasm' demonstrates how going off-grid is now an option for some.
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