Kavinda Herath/Stuff
Te Hikoi Museum and Information Centre operations manager Karyn Owen checks the centre’s solar power data online.
The Te Hikoi Museum and Information Centre in Riverton has made savings on power bills in the first six months of operating on solar energy.
Its operations manager Karyn Owen said savings for the six months totalled $2465 (including GST).
From when the solar power was installed at the end of July 2021, to late January, the 54 panels generated 12,140.79 kilowatt hours, of which 7323.97kWh were used by the centre.
The centre sold 4816.82kWh back to the grid, generating $385.35 in income.
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“We are so impressed at how much we are producing above what we are using, that we are now ready to invest in some batteries which will enable us to store our excess power generated and use it overnight, further reducing our electricity bills,” Owen said.
Two 5.8 triple power lithium iron batteries, with the storage capacity of 11.6 kilowatt hours, are being installed in March.
The centre was still connected to the grid and only switched to it when the solar power ran out. When that happened the change over started automatically, Owen said.
“Not many occasions when I’ve checked on the monitor at midday and seen that we’re not producing more than what we’re using.”
The Riverton Heritage and Tourist Centre trustees that operate the museum and information centre were pleased they went ahead with installing solar power, Owen said.
Visitors to the centre have reduced noticeable because of Covid-19, Owen added.
“When we’re reliant on people coming through the door and there’s limited numbers of people coming through the door our opportunities to earn extra revenue to do fundraising events during Covid just haven’t been possible.”
