Solar: Good for the planet and the bank balance

If your energy needs suit, solar power can be a great investment. Photo / Supplied

ELEMENT PROMOTION: SolarKing are New Zealand's specialist solar panel suppliers and solar installers. They offer German-engineered solar power solutions for home solar, commercial and industrial solar, and much more.

That's the word from Roy Maddox, a director and prime evangelist for one of the largest suppliers of solar installations in the North Island, Auckland-based SolarKing.

"Renewable energy is our passion because it's the right thing to do," he says. SolarKing was started by master electricians who could see a growing market and wanted to make sure it was met with top quality equipment and services.

Its buying power means it can deliver tier-one products from German suppliers like SMA Solar technology at a comparable price to typically cheaper Chinese systems. It offers a 25-year power production warranty on solar panels, and a 10-year warranty on labour and other materials.

Maddox says you're never too old to get solar. He's recently installed a system for a 91-year-old, although the typical buyer is aged between 58 and 63 and is planning for retirement.

"That's the time they are looking at their outgoings being a major factor in their lifestyle. They know their level of income will be dropping, so it's about reducing ongoing costs," he says.

"If you've got $10,000 in the bank you can put it on the roof in a solar PV system and get a 12 percent tax-free return on your money. It's a great return on investment, and even more the $100 to $150 a month you save on power bills gives you some lifestyle options."

Demand for both domestic and commercial solar PV systems is growing even without government encouragement. Maddox says that's preferable to the Australian experience, where generous subsidies encouraged a lot of fly-by-night operators to enter the market with substandard products and services.

What the government could do is legislate to require generators to buy any excess generation at a fair percentage of the retail price, but even without that, Maddox says the latest Auckland University research shows Auckland is sunny enough to make residential solar panels a worthwhile investment.

For more information about SolarKing, visit solarking.co.nz.

This article is an Element Promotion.