Ben Fahy
Wānaka · 6 people, 260 m² · Battery, EV, EV charger, Heat pump, Solar
It feels like you get to drive and power your house for 'free'.
$6,240 saved per year
What's in your electric home?
We put up 19 panels and added a 12kw/h battery. We also bought an EV and installed a smart EV charger. There were already heat pumps and two electric hot water tanks, but we added timers to heat during the solar window or at night. I'm almost looking forward to the gas hob giving up so we can upgrade that.
When did you start, and why?
2021. We've got a pretty big house and live in a fairly cold climate and our power bills in the winter were massive. It felt like we were being forced to rent our power from a landlord that seemed likely to just keep putting up the rent, so we decided to invest in solar and generate our own power instead. We also wanted to reduce our impact on the climate and air quality - getting an EV was a big part of that.
How much have you saved?
It's more than halved our electricity bills and we produce far more electricity than we need in summer, so we get paid by our retailer for those exports. Those savings are also with the addition of an EV, so we use more electricity overall, but we use it more intelligently now and we've reduced our fuel costs significantly.
What do you love most about it?
While there were obviously significant upfront costs involved, it feels like you get to drive and power your house for 'free'. Plus, when the price of petrol or electricity goes up, you pay that investment back even quicker.
Any advice?
Once you get a power plant on your roof, you start to think about electricity differently and move your consumption around more to make use of the solar or cheap rates. I love trying to optimise the system. As we're on a time of use plan, we charge the battery through the day with solar and then use it for the nighttime peak and we charge it again at low rates overnight for the morning peak. I'm constantly trying to convince people to follow suit.
Solar: 8 kW, 19 panels
Battery: 12 kWh
Vehicles: 1x EV