Us Kiwis know that some places are better than others in New Zealand (NZ) for harnessing the sun’s rays to generate good ol’ solar power. We cover the key areas below.
The “winterless” Far North
The 300 km low lying peninsula that makes the far north of NZ is well placed for the installation of solar power, with around 2,000 hours of sunshine a year. Their mild subtropical climate with low geographic elevation (meaning no mountain ranges to throw more shade) allows homeowners to justify solar power as a good option.
The idyllic Bay of Plenty
Highly prized for its growing conditions for crops like kiwifruit and avocados, the Bay of Plenty pips Northland to the post with an average 2,200 sunshine hours a year.
As one of the warmest regions in the country, especially at the coast, this fast-growing province is ideal for solar power installations. The rainfall, averaging about 162 days a year, is always welcomed by local orchardists and is mother nature’s bonus point to washing the salt and sand debris off your solar panels too! Many solar power companies and component distributors serve Tauranga, Whakatāne and the outlying townships.
Sunny Nelson
Nelson basks in over 2,500 sunshine hours a year placing it just behind Blenheim as the sunniest spot in the South Island for solar power. Unsurprisingly, cherries and apples grow abundantly here with January often clocking in with 268 hours of the yellow stuff from above. Perfect conditions for those who want to save money on their power bills by harnessing the sun’s rays. Using the excess in the family utility budget could see the bill payer treating the crew to cherry ice creams on the beach at Kaiteriteri.
Wine famous Marlborough
Blenheim in Marlborough wins first place as the sunniest spot in the country. Little wonder then that they’re the country’s largest and most prestigious wine growing region, producing world class sauvignon blanc.
Being optimally placed for solar power, Marlborough District Council has rolled out an initiative to help ratepayers into an approved solar power solution with a payback scheme over nine years. With the highest sunshine hours in New Zealand and favourable local body strategies, there’s plenty of good solar power news for homeowners to raise their wine glasses to.
North-facing properties
Read any real estate listing blurb in NZ and the words ‘north-facing’ is an attractive selling point. For us in the southern hemisphere a home facing north is a gold standard attribute that most buyers seek in a home. This orientation for all day sun is not just perfect to dine alfresco or bask in warmer indoor temperatures in winter. The other advantage is that your roof is more optimally inclined for solar panels promising the best possible efficiency from sun exposure.
Home not facing north? No fret. Anecdotally, installers say a nudge to the east or west from true north gets even better power performance. But the more sunshine you can soak up, the more your solar panels can operate at peak performance.
Homes with good roof surface area
The general sweet spot for the number of solar panels on your roof is 18 x 6.6 kWh but this will vary depending on the size of the panels, your long-term power needs and your roof size. A single level dwelling with generous roof coverage will have less complicated installation issues than a split-level dwelling with multiple roof parts facing odd directions.
Homeowners often regret not installing as many panels as they could reasonably fit from the start, because adding more later can be complicated and costly. Nevertheless, your roof surface area is a main determinant to the number of panels you have at your disposal. A large roof area is likely to be cheaper for installation costs than one that’s smaller and multi levelled. And remember, covering your roof with more panels than you need presents the potential perk of exporting excess power back to the network for the $$ rewards.
All parts of NZ can make use of solar energy – sunshine isn’t the only criteria
Anywhere in New Zealand can enjoy the benefits of solar power, with the sunshine hours in your region not needing to be the deal-breaker. Solar power technology continues to improve, and now there’s greater scope to maximise the sun’s rays. The considerations are largely: the size of your system, number and placement of panels and individual household usage. An installer in Dunedin, for example, saves their family hundreds of dollars on power bills by placing panels on north, east and west roof profiles which now delivers an efficient system.
Learn more about solar power
Check out our comprehensive Solar Power guide to learn more about using solar power in New Zealand and how it could work for you.