When it comes to reducing your energy costs, targeting larger loads, or those used more frequently, makes a lot of sense. Big savings can often be achieved by making small adjustments to the way things are done, or when they are done. But sometimes, it’s the little things escaping our attention that are unknowingly contributing [...]
It is the last day of Intersolar today and I’m feeling it. Intersolar is the world’s leading exhibition for the solar industry and takes place annually at the huge Messe München exhibition centre in Munich, Germany. My time here has been great, not only from a business development perspective, but also for my own wellbeing, [...]
The recent Australian Energy Market Commission’s (AEMC) 2018 National Retail Energy Report highlights an all-time low in consumer confidence in the Australian energy retail market. Only one in four consumers believe energy retailers are working in their long-term interests, falling from 50 to 39 per cent on the previous year. Here in South Australia, consumer [...]
Greeting from fresh but sunny Munich. It is day two at Intersolar. There is so much happening here that it is easy to get sidetracked and distracted. This morning I had to refocus with a pretzel and coffee to remind me that I am here to learn more about development in microgrids. What's on [...]
The primary purpose of my trip to this key European exhibition is to find out more about developments in demand response and micro-grids. I do have a list of companies I want to see, which I will cover in my Intersolar 2018 Day 2 post. Here is the best of what captivated me on Day [...]
The Australian energy market is always evolving, and the solar market is reflective of this. Increases to feed-in tariffs and decreases in the price of solar panels have provided a situation where larger systems are now tipped to save money and repay the investment in them over an equal, if not shorter, time than [...]
Every time I visit Germany I see and experience their well-organised system in a different way. This time I had the privilege to visit SMA HQ, thanks to Peter Castle from SMA Australia, who helped organise a tour. Martin, my host, has been working with SMA for over thirty years and during this time he [...]
We installed a data logger at our winner's home from 8th to 28th March. This recorded the energy use of a number of different circuits - the air-conditioning, the stove, the lights, and everything else. We identified the day where they used the most energy, and also discovered what a typical day in their house [...]