“Rewiring Aotearoa’s analysis confirmed that 100% electric with solar simply made sense,” says Simplicity CEO Sam Stubbs. “These homes are being built with locals in mind and solar will be included on 100% of the roofs, for sure. We’re converts.”

Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey says it’s pleasing to see large developers like Simplicity recognising the benefits to tenants and looking at lifetime costs. 

“Electric machines to heat our rooms and water and cook our food cost a bit more upfront but will save tens of thousands over the lifetime of the machines because they cost so much less to run - without the emissions. And the energy you generate yourself with solar will be the cheapest energy you can get. With petrol, gas and grid electricity prices heading steadily upwards, solar is a guaranteed way to reduce bills and that’s especially important for low-income households.”

‍Recent EECA analysis showed Queenstown had the best solar resource in the country (e.g. most sunlight hours per year) and higher potential returns.

It said solar is “likely to be financially viable for a significant proportion of New Zealand households, particularly for those who consume a lot of energy” and, due to the lower temperatures in winter, homes in the region use more energy than the national average. 

Josh Ellison, head of research and development at Rewiring Aotearoa and working on the Queenstown Electrification Accelerator, says it’s great to see a developer invest to provide benefits to tenants.

“The problem is that a developer does not pay energy bills, so homeowners and renters rely on developers making good decisions about energy use in the home, like solar and heat pumps,” he says. “These cost more upfront but save far more over time. It’s great to see Simplicity showing what good practice looks like here and building homes that will have lower bills and be more resilient for the people living in them. 

This decision will also benefit the region, he says. 

“We know that more solar in the system can keep the price of electricity down for everyone else and help defer expensive upgrades to poles and wires.”

Ellison says it makes absolutely no economic sense for developers or homeowners to be installing gas connections into homes. 

“It’s very clear now that installing bottled gas in any home is a clear waste of money and will also add unnecessary emissions. Bottled gas water heating is so expensive in Queenstown now that even if you installed your instant gas water heater yesterday, it makes economic and environmental sense to rip it out today and replace it with a heat pump water heater.” 

Rewiring Aotearoa is currently working on a ‘Solar for Renters’ project that aims to give approximately one third of New Zealanders who rent access to savings from solar.  

“We’ve heard from a number of landlords who care about their tenants and are looking to add solar. It’s do-able right now. Tenants generally pay a bit more rent but it decreases their overall bills by more than the increase in rent. We are looking to make this very transparent so tenants and landlords can see they are both benefiting from the solar on the roof.”

The proposed Ratepayer Assistance Scheme would also give property owners - including landlords - access to low-interest long-term loans for electrification upgrades. 

“We think access to finance will unlock a lot of adoption because the upfront costs are still the biggest barrier.”

‍