Vale Sam Neill: Solar Scientist

News broke yesterday that Sam Neill has passed away suddenly, and it’s spurred me to write a quick post.

The acclaimed actor was a man of many incredible talents, but a solar scientist? Who knew!

In January 2024 the professional circles I inhabit were all aflutter. All of a sudden our industry had a proper rock star and he’d just put out a very informative short video to explain exactly what he’d installed at his winery in New Zealand.

This 100kW solar power system featured my favourites: 3 Australian-made Selectronic SP Pros, battery inverter nonpareil. Austrian-made Fronius Eco solar inverters plus a couple of stacks of Australian PowerPlus 48Volt lithium batteries. The very same recipe I’ve since used on my own house, albeit mine is a smaller scale.

For my money, Sir Sam Neill makes you realise that instead of Australians claiming the New Zealander as our Sam, maybe we’d be better off if we resigned ourselves to being better managed as the West Island of New Zealand. The electrical standards are already the same anyway.

It’s pretty easy to see how universally respected and well-loved this bloke is, the world over.

“She likes me” – a still from Death in Brunswick.

Dry Wit About A Dry Subject

The outpouring I have seen in the last 12 hours restores some faith in humanity. The spontaneous public eulogy is perhaps softened by imagining the laughs he would be having with fellow Kiwi genius John Clark right now.

Everyone in the solar industry loved the nuance and highly technical nature of Sam’s guided tour of his newly installed technology. I really encourage you to watch for yourself one of the finest performances I’ve ever seen, only exceeded by the Australian cult classic, Death in Brunswick.

Go take in a couple of minutes of Sam’s video on his solar setup, then come back so I can make a tenuous point.

Why are both performances so good, in my humble opinion? Simply because they are equal measures silly, self-deprecatory, and they make you laugh.

Why am I pointing out this fragment of adlib video against a brilliant career and huge body of work?

To be honest, when I initially saw it, my first thought was that it’s just a lovely little piece of farce, from a bloke who didn’t take himself too seriously.

You’d have to be a dry wit to own an Austin A40 Farina.

The Importance Of Clear Instructions

My second thought was that this perfectly intelligent customer has probably just received a tour of the technology from an electrician who understands it intimately, yet despite his superb skills, Sam is all at sea trying to explain it to the camera.

Most people would be in the same situation, which just underlines the importance of a clear set of instructions. Were it labelled simply, with a straightforward series of numbers, anyone could understand how to switch it off, even if they didn’t remember the words.

No wonder even a respected solar scientist like Sam Neill couldn’t figure out what battery labels are supposed to mean.

The rigid, nitpicking, technical jargon of Australia’s solar labelling law makes out to be the polar opposite, but in fact, it’s just as much a farce as Sam Neill’s tour of his own solar power.

And I can’t think of a better bloke to poke fun at the embarrassing, nonsense rules we’re lumbered with.

Vale Sam Neill, you’ll be sorely missed.