Hawke's Bay electrical engineers win $15k award for solar invention

Red Phase Technologies co-founders Dustin Murdock (left) and Robert Turner. Photo / Warren Buckland

Three Hawke's Bay electrical engineers have put their heads together to build an invention that improves solar panel systems in New Zealand.

The trio won a top award and $15,000 grant last week for their product and are now just months away from releasing it to the industry.

Electrical engineers Robert Turner, Dustin Murdock and Mike Lazelle are behind the startup business Red Phase Technologies.

Their product - yet to be officially branded - resembles a box and plugs into solar panel systems to improve efficiency.

"Some people don't get the best returns on their solar," Turner said.

"You generate solar and you want to use as much of it as possible.

Co-founders Dustin Murdock (left) and Robert Turner next to a solar panel. Photo / Warren Buckland

"Some houses might only be using 40 per cent (of their solar power) and some houses might be using 80 per cent.

"For those 40 per cent houses we are trying to get them up to 80 per cent."

Turner said their device helped "keep all that solar power inside your house".

Work on the invention started about two years ago, when workmates Turner and Murdoch played around with a prototype at Turner's house in Havelock North.

Lazelle has since joined the team and they were accepted onto a startup programme earlier this year called the Orion Energy Accelerator, which helps startup companies get off the ground.

At the end of the programme last week, the business was awarded a $15,000 grant and a top accolade for Most Innovative Solution.

Turner said they now wanted to launch their product in six months' time.

"We will be ready in six months to deploy," Turner said. "We are predicting we will be installing about 100 of these a month."

Turner said they had been speaking with big solar installers in New Zealand and there was demand for the product.

He said in recent years solar panel systems had been growing "exponentially" in New Zealand.

"New Zealand has this 60-year-old power grid and there are a lot of people installing solar on their roof."

Orion head of customer and communications Paul Deavoll praised the work of Red Phase Technologies and its product.

"At scale, getting 10 per cent more out of your solar panels not only saves money for consumers but has a massive knock-on effect on New Zealand's energy footprint."