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Mike Casey: "They're going with the cheaper option and ultimately then outgrowing that solar system very, very quickly … they'll get a solar installer who will ask for their power bills over the last few months and they'll design a solar system that's optimised for return for that particular movement in time but then you add more electricity demand."
Mike Casey, chief executive at Rewiring Aotearoa, said some people were not installing big enough systems because their demand for power was likely to increase over time.
"They're going with the cheaper option and ultimately then outgrowing that solar system very, very quickly … they'll get a solar installer who will ask for their power bills over the last few months and they'll design a solar system that's optimised for return for that particular movement in time but then you add more electricity demand.
"Another way of explaining it is the most savings that you're going to get comes from avoiding buying electricity from the grid at 40 cents… the way to maximise your return on investment is potentially to look at a smaller system where you're using almost all of the generation immediately in your hot water, in your fridge and freezer and EV or whatever it might be.
"But actually that's not practical because as your electricity consumption grows, your solar install needs to grow as well. And the most expensive thing isn't the panels, the most expensive thing is getting the bloke on your roof to drill the roof. So really you should be overbuilding your solar system."
Political Power has gone local! Dr Nick Smith, mayor of Nelson and ex-National Party minister, is an early adopter when it comes to electric machines but, through his efforts with the council and his close involvement with the Ratepayer Assistance Scheme, he's also embracing one of Rewiring's core mantras: once you've electrified your own life, electrify someone else's life, too.
Read moreDownloadWhether it's the growing number of electric buses, new electric trains for the lower North Island and City Rail Link, or new electric ferries, we love seeing more electric transport options in our big cities. It's also good to see some of our smaller cities like Palmerston North, Timaru and Nelson going electric and, as is almost always the case, the drivers reckon it's better on electrons. At the Electrify Nelson expo, we spoke with one driver Lee about the city's electric buses. And he definitely wouldn't go back to diesel.
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