“Ever wondered how to create a Zero Bill Home? It’s not just a concept it’s what a group of trade students in central Auckland are building right now”
In 2025, One Tree Hill College made national headlines when their Trade Academy students purchased a home for just $1 and rebuilt it from the ground up alongside 94 brand partners. This year, they’re going further, transforming a traditional Keith Hay Home into a fully certified Green Star, Zero Bill Home. And Future Energy is right there alongside them.
What is a Zero Bill Home?
A Zero Bill Home is an innovative energy retail plan developed by Octopus Energy. The concept is simple: install enough solar generation to cover the home’s energy needs, including the fixed lines charges and then let smart technology do the rest. Octopus Energy actively manages the battery system to ensure that solar generation, energy storage and grid export combine to keep the home’s energy bill at zero.
No complicated dashboards. No bill anxiety. No exposure to rising energy prices. Just a comfortable, sustainable home that pays its own way.
What Future Energy is contributing
We’re supplying a complete solar and battery system for the home, purpose-built to meet the Zero Bill standard:
- Sigenergy hybrid inverter – converts DC electricity to AC power
- 16 x Suntech 450W dual glass solar panels – generates electricity from the sun
- Clenergy iron roof mounting kit – backed by 25 year warranty
- Sigenergy battery controller and battery storage – stores power for day and night use
- Sigenergy EV charger. Charge your EV with solar power
Alongside the products Future Energy are contributing the home will feature a ducted heat pump, a hot water heat pump, and a balanced pressure ventilation system, all working together to create a genuinely high-performance, low-energy home.
Why this project matters to us
One Tree Hill College not only is just around the corner from our head office, it shares our values. As an inner-city, low-decile school, the College is committed to opening up real opportunities for talented young people, and their Trade Academy does exactly that: three years of comprehensive, wrap-around support preparing students for meaningful careers in the trades.
The renewable energy sector is growing fast. Solar, battery storage, and EV charging are no longer niche, they’re becoming standard expectations for New Zealand homes and businesses. Training the next generation of tradespeople in these technologies isn’t just good for them; it’s good for the country.
Future Energy will be working directly with students at the school, teaching them how to install solar and battery systems, and taking them out on real job sites for hands-on experience. We want these young people to leave school not just with a qualification, but with genuine confidence and connections in our industry.
A home that tells a story
There’s something powerful about a group of students taking a house at the end of its life and turning it into a showcase for the future of sustainable living. When this project is complete, the home will stand as proof of what’s possible, that zero energy bills aren’t a luxury, that sustainable housing is achievable for ordinary New Zealand families, and that the people who will build and install these systems are already here, already learning, already capable.
We’re proud to be part of that story.
Thinking about a Zero Bill Home for yourself?
If this project has got you thinking about what’s possible for your own home, we’d love to talk. Mention the One Tree Hill College Future Ready Home when you get in touch and we’ll extend a special Friends & Family discount on your solar and battery system.
