Cityscape gets the scoop on solar power from Harvey Norman Commercial’s Craig Shaw and World Solar’s Doone Morrell. The two companies have partnered to ensure easy access for New Zealanders to the best of this emerging technology.
Doubts about payback times and some well-publicised cowboys have spooked consumers thinking about switching to solar. Which is why the partnership between World Solar and Harvey Norman Commercial New Zealand comes at such a good time. Australasian industry powerhouse World Solar has installed over 10,000 commercial and residential solar systems in New Zealand and Australia, so these guys know what they’re doing. And when Harvey Norman puts its name behind another brand, you know all the due diligence has been done and all the boxes ticked.
World Solar’s Doone Morrell says the first thing potential customers want to know is does solar stack up. “Here at World Solar we work very closely with Harvey Norman Commercial and the client, collating data and costs to make sure the solar solution is a viable option. If it does not stack up then we are straight up and communicate this,” he says. Harvey Norman Commercial’s Craig Shaw says advances in the technology in the last two years have increased panel efficiency, meaning you need fewer panels on the roof, meaning less cost. “The panels we supply are designed for New Zealand conditions. They’re black and designed to blend in to any building. Gone are the days of the blue crystal panels with silver surrounds,” he says.
Doone says the science behind solar is to provide only the amount of energy needed as selling power back to the grid is becoming less viable. Battery storage is a must for some clients, he says, but for others the installation can be pre-wired and future-proofed for storage for when that technology gets better and cheaper. Payback times still depend on individual factors. Doone says that with its commercial building solutions, “daylight trading” businesses are seeing payback times of under five years. “We remind clients to think not so much about the cost of today’s power but to think about the long-term cost of power and rate hikes. We could be staring down the barrel in 20 years of 49c per kilowatt, and solar installed now will be under 10c.” World Solar and Harvey Norman Commercial offer a solar generation guarantee and a 25-year panel-life guarantee, and have a nationwide installation and maintenance team.
For more information contact Shawsy at Harvey Norman Commercial on
harveynormancommercial.co.nz
Case Study: The Reeses
Grant and Velma Rees investigated powering their business, Southland Ultra Sound, with solar energy. They were so impressed with the system’s performance they had a similar system installed in their Invercargill home. The Reeses say that after extensive research they had systems installed by World Solar. “The price was the most competitive we could find and the quality of the components is very good,” they say. The results speak for themselves. The Reeses installed 5.5kW systems at work and at home. Combined savings from both systems is more than $8,000 to date. The verdict? “We are so happy with our solar power system that we have suggested that World Solar can put advertising for their product on our business,”
the Reeses say.