Read our new Electric Homes and Vehicles report
For households, upgrading to an electric vehicle is likely to save you money over the long term (and the proposed RUCs scheme will make EVs even more economically appealing). It is also likely to have the biggest impact on your emissions. Similar benefits apply to businesses and it makes increasingly good sense as more electric machines become available and the upfront costs drop further. All these electric machines set to be put to use in New Zealand will increase demand for electricity and put pressure on our existing network. And that's where a company like Thundergrid comes in.
As CEO Johnny Parker says, it tests about 50 different brands of chargers - from AC chargers for fleet managers and employee home charging to DC chargers built for heavy transport - and helps design, install and monitor them.
Smart chargers are able to dial power use up or down automatically when required and some of the newer models can even recognise individual cars with a 'handshake', so there's no need for RFID fobs.
Chargers that can also send power from the car's big battery back to the home or the grid are becoming more widely available in New Zealand and more are on their way. There are no regulatory or system issues standing in the way of this; we just need all the manufacturers to allow that capability and when our cars can play a role in the energy system, that changes the calculations.
As Parker says: "People have got batteries in their home and batteries in their car and it creates a lot more stability out there."
If you know of anyone who deserves to be featured on our weekly Bright Sparks segment, get in touch.
Cooking with cars at Fleet Days; 'the best petrol car has already been built, but EVs keep getting better; New York looks to improve air quality and reduce noise by electrifying its 20,000 food carts; Kea Aerospace announces a new facility to build its Atmos 2 solar-powered plane; 'green steel' gets closer with Glenbrook's electric arc furnace and local start-up Cullbeck setting up alongside; the pros and cons of replacing lithium with sodium in batteries; and 'aquavoltaics' could be a thing as a massive project in China combines an offshore solar farm with a fish farm.
Read moreDownloadPeople could find out more about potential savings and other ways to power their homes and vehicles with electricity at a first-of-a-kind community event in Nelson, supported by electrification advocacy organisation, Rewiring Aotearoa. The charity’s CEO Mike Casey said people who switched to rooftop solar currently stood to save more than $1000 net a year on their electricity bills, wherever they lived.
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