With the rising costs of electricity and growing environmental concerns, the allure of self-sufficiency in Australia is stronger than ever. In the midst of this lies a solution—real-time monitoring. A solar technology advancement that empowers homeowners to take control of their home energy consumption. Solar power combined with real-time monitoring creates a pathway to a sustainable and economically resilient future opens.
Solar power benefits
One of the biggest benefits of solar power today is its financial advantages. Generating solar power translates to significant savings on your power bills, especially now that energy bills are increasing.
To add to that, with the increase in the adoption of solar, Aussies can now finance their solar system, which makes solar systems even more affordable. The government also provides incentives to encourage more homeowners and business owners to switch to solar.
Another benefit is that a solar system immediately boosts your home’s resale value. Even if you don’t have any plans to move now, you get the satisfaction of knowing that your home is more attractive on the market.
Finally, solar power can improve your lifestyle without worrying about high energy bills. Now that summers are getting really hot, many households are looking to install air conditioning to keep cool. With solar power, you don’t need to worry about high consumption as long as you implement a bit of energy management.
Energy Matters is a top solar quote provider. We can help you get these solar power benefits by connecting you to our network of trusted local solar installers.
Real-time monitoring to maximise energy independence
Real-time monitoring is more than just tracking the performance of your system. Solar monitoring systems also provide insights into your energy consumption habits, which will allow you to optimise your system to match them.
It delivers information on your panel output, inverter performance, and energy generation. With this data, you can determine potential issues or areas for improvement. This approach will help ensure that your system is working at its peak potential.
Analyse your consumption patterns
One of the solar monitoring benefits is that it allows you to better gauge the amount of energy you consume and when you use it the most. From there, you can make adjustments to your energy usage to coincide with peak solar production. Shifting energy-intensive tasks to sunny periods can increase your self-consumption.
Data-driven decisions
When you have real-time data on your energy consumption and solar power generation, you can make better decisions to maximise your energy independence. This could involve adjusting thermostat settings, optimising your appliance usage, or even exploring energy storage options.
Real-time monitoring in the real world
Sydney data specialists Solar Analytics has developed a service that lets households monitor their solar generation and energy usage in real-time. In 2016, they were funded by ARENA to quantify the benefits that can be achieved by monitoring residential solar systems. It found that the technology increased solar generation by 14%.
When the projects started, there were around 1.5 million rooftop solar systems installed but only 7,000 were actively monitored then. Through its four-year run, Solar Analytics has serviced 40,000 households. Real-time monitoring was proven to help guide choices between flat and time-of-use electricity tariffs.
There is also the Kalala Station in the Northern Territory with 67 bores with a need for proper water management to ensure none of the bores run dry and the cattle can access fresh water easily. Since the station spans almost one million acres, that proved to be a challenge. Plus, there are other factors, such as the climate in which monsoonal weather delivers approximately 960 millimetres of rain, which means parts of the station can be cut off for days.
Bore runner Eliza Pearson installed a Grundfos Solar Connect Pump Monitor that lets her monitor and manage the bore and water levels via her mobile phone. This allows here to see how much water the bore has been pumping during the day without relying on cellular networks.
Real-time monitoring is vital in energy independence. Its ability to provide insights into energy consumption patterns and allow homeowners to optimise their system’s performance maximises self-sufficiency better than ever. As technology continues to advance, there are greater innovations in solar power and monitoring on the horizon. Embracing them is a step towards energy security.
