Over the last hundred years people in the developed world have become used to a system where electricity flows from centralised power plants, along 
transmission and distribution wires, and into our homes to power our appliances. But new technologies are starting to move in to people’s
Sally Blackwell, one of our Energy Cultures PhD student has been involved in developing the newly launched Home Performance Advisor training programme for those working with energy and houses.
The Home Performance Advisor programme provides intensive science-based training to gain a comprehensive understanding of how
We would all like to live in a cosy, energy efficient home, but the reality is that this is out of reach for many New Zealanders, with a large proportion of housing being either inadequately insulated or not insulated at all.
This is a serious concern, since the World Health Organisation recommends that homes be heated
The GREEN Grid project at the University of Canterbury’s Electrical Power Engineering Centre (EPEC) is an attempt to investigate the impact of photovoltaic (PV) solar power generation on low and medium voltage distribution networks. Colleagues from Canterbury’s department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Otago University’s marketing department and Centre for Sustainability.
Physicist Emeritus Professor Gerry Carrington , lead author on Royal Society of New Zealand’s recent paper on Facing the Future: Towards a Green Economy for New Zealand, was recently 
interviewed by Shane Gallagher and Samuel Mann on Otago Access
Barbara Elliston, a former Energy Cultures Masters student and much more, was inspired by her time on the project to carry through with her interest in developing ‘Hot PV’.
Here’s an article by her about the product which starts off with her discussion with us at morning tea.
Energy makes everything happen. Without electricity and other fuels, the economy wouldn’t produce goods and services, freight and people would stay in one place, and homes would be cold and dark.