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Has Zane Kaihe got a deal for you! Anyone who buys something from Alpine Heat Pumps, will "get to see my smiley face at your house". Kaihe has been in Queenstown for 27 years supplying and installing heat pumps around the region. "That is pretty much all I do." We reckon he and his fellow tradies will be the heroes of New Zealand's electric transition because we're going to need a lot of them for all the solar and batteries, space and water heat pumps, cooktops and EV chargers being installed in the coming years.
Heat pumps on the wall are pretty standard in New Zealand now but they're also a good option for underfloor heating and Kaihe says he is now getting into domestic hot water.
If you're looking to get off the diesel boiler - something Mike Casey did a few years back before the price skyrocketed- it can be done economically, he says, but every home is different and it might require some tinkering and expert advice to ensure it can do the job.
Getting the gas bottles off the side of the house is an easier swap (and there's also an opportunity for people in the region to get an actual good deal on a hot water heat pump through the Queenstown Electrification Accelerator's group discount scheme)⚡https://loom.ly/GymHGIA
Every time the price of petrol shoots up, we see the same kind of advice: ‘Fill up now before it gets even higher’; ‘Shop around for cheaper fuel’; ‘Use your 6c off a litre coupons; ‘Change the way you drive and stretch your tank’. We’re mostly short-term creatures so these are all pretty normal responses to a price shock, but if you're looking to save money on fuel the best advice is to think longer term and remove yourself from the volatility of imported energy entirely.
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