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The Sun
Friday October 27, 2017
Business inbrief
Master’s degree on offer Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology is to offer a Master of Applied Management degree from February next year, its first-ever Master’s degree. Aimed at local business managers and owners, there is a choice of elective courses.
Vodafone shifts Blenheim’s Vodafone store is moving from Market Street to a larger store in the building on the corner of Queen Street and Arthur Street.
Renovation move Summit Real Estate has moved its offices across the road while its Alfred Street base is renovated. The firm is now based at 23 Alfred Street in a temporary home while it renovates.
Name change with new owner Top Town Cinemas is now Event Cinemas Marlborough after the ownership change to international chain Event.
Architect returns ‘home’
By Celeste Alexander An architectural designer who was raised in Marlborough has returned ‘home’ and established a new business. Jason Anderson and his wife Paige, both of Blenheim, run their Anderson Architectural Design business from home, specialising in new builds. They have come from Nelson where Jason was working as an in-house designer for Signature Homes, working on a variety of projects from custom designs through to larger expansive projects. “All the projects ranged from $400,000 through to five million. I would say 70 percent of my work was around the million dollar mark for the build,” he says. One of his most recent projects was a house build over 1000 square metres. “The clients had heard of my work and came to me. They said they had no budget and told me to design my dream house for their site. “So I did,” he says. “It has a 10m by 10m movie theatre.... the works! “It’s currently under construction in Nelson and I’m looking forward to seeing the finished product.” The couple have only been here three weeks but are already working with two building companies and are looking forward to doing more work for clients wanting to design their own homes. “For me it’s about working with the client, giving the right advice and guiding them along.
Jason Anderson has returned to Marlborough and established his new business Anderson Architectural Design.
“Once the build is underway the contact doesn’t stop... I like to see the finished project and end up forming friendships along the way,” he says. One point of difference for Anderson Architectural Design is a new programme
which allows clients to virtually walk through their house from home. “They download a file and walk through the design on their iPhone or computer. It’s a brand new tool and it’s incredible,” he says. PBA
Thrilled with solar savings Subdivisions and Boundary Adjustments Civil Engineering Drawings Resource Consents for District Councils Anna Mackenzie P 03 578 7299 E anna@blg.nz 30 Maxwell Road, Blenheim www.blg.nz
This Weekend Visit the Famous Eyebright Christmas Shop 40 McShane Rd, Richmond, Nelson Ph: 03 544 4977 www.eyebright.co.nz
By Celeste Alexander Harnessing the power of the sun through technology has advanced over the past couple of decades and it’s now becoming more and more common to find homes throughout Marlborough with solar panels installed. Blenheim retirees Brian and Miriam McNamara are among those who are powering their homes with solar energy and even though it’s only been a month since installation, they are ‘totally satisfied’ with the results. They were inspired by friends who have also installed solar panels as well as their own interest in ‘alternative energy’. “As Quakers we are always interested in alternative plus we have friends with solar including a farmer in Takaka who has had it for a number of years. “We began looking online and found some firms all offering deals. “It just so happened that I was having a conversation with a family member of Mark Unwin who owns iGenerate Affordable Solar so we began looking further into it. “We liked the fact igenerate was local, which means if we have any issues Mark was close by to help. “That was a really strong feature for us,” they say. Being price conscious, Brian compared the prices between all the companies they were considering and found them to be very similar, sealing their decision to go with iGenerate. Brian and Miriam purchased a five-panel array which provides a 1.4 kilowatt per hour output.
Miriam and Brian McNamara are happy with their decision to install solar panels on their Blenheim home.
They says it’s currently delivering eight units of power a day which he says is more than they consume. “We are selling power back to the grid,” he says. “For example last Thursday the solar panels generated 8.71 units of power, we used 7.98 and sold 0.70 back to the grid. “This will increase as summer comes, so we just need to figure out what do do with all the power we generate,” he says. Making this process easy is the storage battery they won as part of a sign-up promotion held by iGenerate. “Our battery stores 1.2kw which means that once the solar panels stop producing power, we still have some stored,” Brian
says. The process from sign up to installation and after-sale service has been ‘easy’ for Brian and Miriam. “Dealing with the lines company, electricians and roofers... it’s all part of the service. “Mark took the worry out of it all. “We also have an App on our computer which provides reports, shows daily consumption and is easy to use. “It’s made us more aware of our power consumption,” Miriam says. iGenerate offers both commercial and residential solutions, as well as finance options for those who cannot afford the upfront costs. PBA