The people behind Sunpower Co

 Welcome to the home of Sunpower Co. where Simon, Kristina, Isabella, Zoe and Poppy live.

Our house is located in Auckland, New Zealand , and is unique in that we generate all our own electricity on site with solar electric modules, (PV's). Up until March 1999, we were completely self sufficient, and stored the power in a large battery bank to use when required. In March we 'grid intertied' which means we now spin our electricity meter backwards, and get credits from the Power company (Utility Co) when we have excess power.

If only we had known I was going to do this..how different the house construction would be when we built it in 1990....

It would be made out of earth - adobe/rammed, would be facing true North, and would have the roof pitch at 60 degrees so the PV wouldn't look soooo ugly!

In 1993 Simon *1 realised that there was no NZ based book, or real expertise (all textbook, and secondhand knowledge) on solar power available here, so he co-wrote a book with Bob Riley:
Solar Made Easy. ISBN 0-9583334-1-6. AIT Press. It will eventually be rewritten, as times have changed - mainly the electronics, and the PV technology has improved, and the market has matured ...

Kristina *2 is a qualified Architect who has specialised in earth and substainable design.
She helped write and illustrated a book; Out of the Ground - Earthbuilding in NZ. ISBN 0-86469-290-9. Dunmore Press.

These days, while being an excellent mother , she is getting her head around 3D modelling (architectural sort).

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