Vector supports World Energy Day. We are committed to creating a future that embraces smarter, cleaner, affordable and reliable energy solutions that are good for the planet and our customers.

What better way to demonstrate the potential of our new energy future than powering our beautiful Vector Lights with smart energy technology, made up of peer-to-peer systems, 248 solar panels and one giant battery.
The Vector Lights display is made up of 96,376 individual LED lights that are about the size of your fingernail. These small but mighty lights stretch 2.8 km across the Auckland Harbour Bridge.


LED lights are a cleaner, cheaper solution to traditional incandescent lightbulbs. LED stands for light emitting diode and they use at least 75% less energy than traditional lightbulbs. This means that they create the same amount of light for less energy and last for much longer. LED lights can give the same brightness as an old 60 watt bulb for just nine watt and they last up to 25 times longer.
Not only do LED lights have a more impressive lifespan, LED lights are easier on customers’ pockets; a study conducted between 2008 and 2014 showed that LED lights can provide 15 times more light per dollar than traditional lightbulbs.

When considering New Zealand’s net zero carbon emissions targets, a third of the 37 million light fittings found in our homes, businesses, and schools are served by Vector’s electricity network. If we all switched from normal lightbulbs to LED lights, it would be the equivalent of removing up to 80,000 homes from the grid at peak time. There would be enough energy leftover to charge 29,000 EVs.

The tiny LED lights that make up our Vector Lights are powered by 248 solar panels at Wynyard Quarter, where the solar energy they produce is stored in a battery for use at night when the lights are on. Between this battery and the Auckland Harbour Bridge, a peer-to-peer system has been set up. It is made up of smart meters that ‘talk’ to each other, relaying information to each other every 10 seconds. Their ‘conversation’ means that the same amount of energy used to power the Vector Lights is released by the battery into the grid, offsetting the use at the bridge in near-real time.

Using a combination of solar, battery, and peer-to-peer systems means that we can prevent up to13.6 tonnes of carbon going into the atmosphere every year.

A small step for decarbonisation, but a giant leap for the future of new energy lternatives becoming commonplace.