Solar innovation paves way for savings

S 4 Solar has been installing solar power systems in houses and businesses for six years, and now the company is finding new ways to develop the industry.

"S4 Solar: it's like A for apple'," say managing director Ben Stanton. "We'll get it into alphabet books!"

Solar power is a rapidly growing industry, and if Green Party MP Gareth Hughes gets his way, the government will be pushing it as an alternative for households.

Stanton, an electrician, runs S4 Solar with his wife Madelyn, and has been specialising in solar power since 2008.

But Stanton isn't just an installer, he's an innovator, and he says his new technologies can make solar power justifiable for many Kiwi homes, even without government subsidies.

His product - the Feed in Fighter - controls the use of solar power during peak sunshine hours, making the best use of cheap solar electricity.

Any excess power generated by a solar system can be fed back in to the grid and sold to the power companies. "The problem is if you export a lot, they'll pay you 25 cents for the first bucketload, then only 10 cents a unit."

Power companies sell electricity for around 25 to 30 cents per unit (kilowatt hour).

Stanton says a lot of people expect to make money selling power to the grid, but the real profit is made by using the cheap power in-house rather than having to buy electricity off the big companies.

Unfortunately most people are out of the home during the day while the sun is shining, so not many appliances are being used.

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Solar innovation paves way for savings