Crunching The Numbers: Last Season's Frost Fighting

If you’ve ever wondered why we’re so passionate about going electric, here’s one of the clearest examples we can give you: frost fighting.

Last season, our two fully electric AGI frost fans ran for a combined 140 hours during spring. Those cold Central Otago mornings aren’t easy on cherry buds, but the fans kept the warm air circulating and the orchard safe. So what did it cost us? Just $225 in electricity for the entire season. Now, let’s compare that to diesel. A traditional frost fan burns 30–40 litres of diesel an hour. At today’s prices, that’s about $50 an hour. To cover 140 hours, you’re looking at over $10,000 in fuel costs — and that’s just for one season.

Put simply, the amount it cost us to run both of our fans for months is about the same as running one diesel fan for just five hours. That’s why we’re backing electric. It’s cleaner, quieter, and miles cheaper to run: all while doing the exact same job of keeping our trees safe from frost. For us, it’s not just about sustainability, it’s about running a smarter business too.

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