Eddie & Hilary
Three Kings, Auckland · 2 people, 177 m² · EV, Heat pump, Induction cooking, Solar
The main thing we like is living with a low carbon footprint.
$1,200 saved per year
What's in your electric home?
Although we have solar PV, an EV, an induction cooktop and low-energy appliances, our house is actually not quite fully electric. We don't currently have a heat pump but are considering installing one to reduce the use of the woodburner (and occasional less efficient electric heating).
When did you start, and why?
The solar hot water panels we installed when renovating in 2009 weren't reliable, so we replaced that system with solar PV in 2020. We regret taking the installers poor advice to not fit more than 8 panels.
How much have you saved?
The solar panels save us about $65 per month on household power despite adding to our electricity needs with an EV. This is in part due to the standard hot water cylinder being on a timer, so that both hot water heating and EV charging are done at night rates. As we work from home and the car can be charged during the day, had our solar system been bigger we could have opted for a smart charger and run the car on solar power only, but the difference between the night rate and the solar buy-back rate is only 4c/kWh at this stage, so charging at night once every few weeks works out just fine.
What do you love most about it?
The main thing we like is living with a low carbon footprint. We generate the equivalent of about 90% of the electricity that we use. As for the EV, we love it and could never go back to petrol. We even took our car when travelling to the South Island earlier this year to avoid having to hire a fossil-fuel powered rental car down there.
Any advice?
Future-proof your solar system by getting more generation than you think you need and look forward to getting paid to contribute to the grid when you have excess generation.
Solar: 3 kW, 8 panels
Vehicles: 1x EV