The 'Electric Election': energy policies, side by side
Plug in your info, see the savings, make it happen: new household electrification calculator makes power personal.
Rewiring Aotearoa has launched a new household electrification calculator that shows New Zealanders how much money they can save on bills by upgrading to electric machines, how much it will cost to upgrade them, and what impact it will have on their emissions.
The calculator - which factors in things like the types of heaters you have, how much your household drives, how many people there are in the house and where in the country you are - makes power personal and shows what individual households could be saving if they go electric.
It also includes the savings on offer for homes that invest in rooftop solar and batteries.
“Every household has different energy needs and is at a different stage of their electrification journey, but electrification will help all households in some way, whether it’s economic, environmental or health reasons," says Mike Casey, Rewiring Aotearoa CEO. "Some households drive less and others may use more hot water, so the averages we use for our research to show overall economic trends and the broad household electrification guides may not feel relevant to their particular situation. Our calculator lets you plug in your own numbers, see the savings and find out how to make it happen and we think it will be a very useful tool for those hoping to quantify what’s in it for them.”
For households that have already upgraded some of their fossil fuel machines to cheaper, more efficient and cleaner electric equivalents, the calculator will give you helpful advice on where to focus next for the biggest economic and environmental impact.
“And if you’ve already electrified everything, share the calculator around. Maybe you could even show it to your grumpy uncle after the Christmas lunch because even grumpy uncles love saving money,” says Casey. “There are also lots of other ways that you can help maintain the momentum and have an impact outside your own home, like joining or starting a local community group and spreading the word in your area.”
How to heat the water, keep the place warm, cook the food and get around are 'dinner table decisions', says Casey, and a surprisingly large chunk of New Zealand’s domestic emissions can be linked back to these decisions and the fossil fuel machines we still have in our homes and on our roads.
“They could be replaced tomorrow with more efficient electric equivalents and fuelled with rooftop solar, batteries and the grid. As this calculator shows, it's a massive a win-win because it is likely to save most New Zealanders money and be the biggest thing those households can do to reduce their emissions. When you add all our households up, there’s an $11 billion a year opportunity for New Zealand, and that’s why our mission at Rewiring Aotearoa is to electrify as many of them as possible by 2030.”
'Twas the night before Chris-mas, and all through the house, all the voters were stirring, the pundits showing their nous … the election will soon be over, but the energy crisis won't, so we'll be there to pester whoever is in power about the need to run more of the economy on New Zealand-made energy; can Ethiopia's aggressive push for EVs work and how does New Zealand compare in terms of adoption rates?; a two-way charging trial from Genesis shows promise in Auckland, but there's still a way to go before it's mainstream; small electric vehicles are often overlooked when it comes to electrifying transport, but it's hard to miss this weird French one; a solar-powered cafe (and some electric coffee); and we endorse the political vandalism of Keith of All Trades.
Read moreDownloadPoliticians are being urged to adopt stronger electric vehicle incentives ahead of the election. Climate and energy advocacy group Rewiring Aotearoa is arguing that EVs are one of the most effective long-term solutions for rising transport and energy costs. They're promoting an EV Salary Boost proposal, which would allow workers to access EVs through pre-tax salary arrangements – similarly to already existing schemes in the UK and Australia. Policy and Government Relations Spokesperson Ngaio Neumegen told Kerre Woodham that even with the rising cost of power, it's still cheaper to run an EV than a car running on imported fuel.
A proposal that would let New Zealanders lease an electric car using their before-tax pay has not won a commitment from either National or Labour, with the 7 November election days away. Under the EV Salary Boost, put forward by Rewiring Aotearoa and Drive Electric, an employee would lease a new or used EV for three to five years. The payments would come out of their pay before tax, lowering the cost of running the car. The idea is based on Australia’s novated leasing system, though the groups say they are not proposing a direct copy.
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