As a PhD student, Dr Daniel Burmester was on a mission to slash the cost of living and, at the same time, reduce New Zealand’s carbon emissions.

Dr Burmester’s PhD project was on residential renewable energy systems that aim to make renewable energy financially viable for homeowners.

“In New Zealand, selling power back to the grid is uneconomical,” says Daniel.

“To get value for money from a solar installation, the best bet for a homeowner is to use as much of their produced power as possible. The system I looked at shifts around background household devices to make the most of power being produced during the day.”

Daniel also completed his undergraduate degree at Victoria University of Wellington and, in his third year, was selected to undertake a summer scholarship project installing a micro wind turbine.

“During the project, my ethics and research interests aligned—and I wanted to continue exploring the subject,” he says.

“People know about climate change, but addressing a massive issue like that is problematic for them because they feel like they can’t make a difference on an individual level.”

Daniel enjoyed working with his supervisor, lecturer Dr Ramesh Rayudu, especially as renewable energy is advancing so quickly.

“There is so much happening and there are so many research avenues—it’s a really exciting area to be involved in,” says Daniel.

“I would love to see a practical realisation of the system I am working on.”

Now a lecturer in the School of Engineering and Computer Science, Dr Burmester is happy to be continuing his research and passing on his knowledge to others.

Studying a BE(Hons) seemed like the natural progression for Sam, who enjoyed tinkering with electronics and robotics at high school. He quickly developed an interest in renewable energy.

“Once I was here, renewable energy systems courses got me really excited. After an introductory course in first year, it has become the main focus of my degree.”

“There are some really fantastic lecturers here who have exceeded my expectations and have helped me see how I can have a part in developing a better world.”

During his time at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, Sam has also been involved with the Victoria Robotics and Mechatronics Club, as well as the School of Engineering and Computer Science’s outreach programme.

“I have really enjoyed the opportunity to get other people as excited about engineering as I am.”

After graduating Sam plans to complete a graduate programme as an electrical engineer in building services, but he can see a future in energy generation and distribution.

“I would love to work on small scale distributed energy systems.”