Solar Choice

From the category archives:

Solar system monitoring

Solar power & water heating: Everything you need to know (almost)

May 30, 2018

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Everyone who has solar panels on their roof wants to make the most of the electricity they produce, and one of the biggest energy consumers for most households is their water heater. Using solar energy to heat water is in fact a better option (financially) than an investment in battery storage – and as such […]

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Solar Analytics energy monitoring system reviewed

May 21, 2018

I’ve had Solar Analytics installed on my home now for about 3 months. Since that time I’ve referred to and shared screenshots of their app & web portal on numerous occasions – but it’s about time I wrote a proper review! How did I get Solar Analytics? I should note that Solar Analytics provided & […]

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Solar-powered lawn care (Solartopia #13)

March 21, 2018

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And here’s a quick blog article to talk about a cool thing you can do with a solar system on your roof: Mow your grass (and trim your edges) with the sun. We recently upgraded our clunked-out push mower with a $20 second-hand plug-in electric Ozito mower (the lady who sold it to us on […]

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My house is net energy positive – for now (Solartopia #12)

March 20, 2018

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I’ve now had two energy monitoring systems fully functioning for a few weeks, and it’s fascinating to see what my 4.4kWh solar system is capable of. It’s also interesting to learn just how little energy my home uses (about 10-14kWh/day) compared to the 15-25kWh averages I always hear about. (Meanwhile EnergyMadeEasy tells me that the […]

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Solar Analytics is in! (Solartopia #11)

February 28, 2018

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Solar Analytics Santa (AKA Nigel Morris) arrived on his sleigh (AKA his all-electric Zero motorcycle) on Tuesday to install the Solar Analytics unit that’s been sitting on my desk for a few months now. All electric – so I didn’t even notice he had arrived til he knocked on the door. We set the stopwatch […]

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The ‘energy awareness factor’ and how it helps households save money

August 17, 2017

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For most of us, for most of our lives, electricity bills and our consumption have both been something of a black box. We know that we get a bill every 1-3 months and get charged for the electricity that we use, but we don’t generally have access to data that would provide us with the […]

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I’m (finally) going to live in a solar-powered home

August 15, 2017

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After nearly a decade working in Australia’s solar industry, I’m finally getting in on the action on a personal level. From next week I’m moving to Newcastle and will be living in a home with solar panels on the roof. Moving into a house that’s already got solar is something that must happen a lot. […]

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Beam Energy introduces a free ‘smart meter’ for solar & battery system size optimisation

May 26, 2017

When buying solar or batteries, most people would like to have an idea about how much money they would save with different capacity sizes before they go through with the purchase. Beam Energy has come out with a free, easy-to-install ‘smart meter’ and mobile app that promises just that. Installing solar or batteries is never a […]

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Alternative monitoring solution for Enecsys owners who are left in the dark

April 18, 2017

With the end of microinverter manufacturer Enecsys in early 2015, so ended the company’s online monitoring platform, leaving Enecsys system owners without any way to monitor their system’s output data. Two years on, there is now an alternative monitoring solution that gives Enecsys owners an overview of the performance of their solar panels: EnecsysOutput.com EnecsysOutput is an online […]

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Electricity demand tariffs in Australia – How to handle them

March 3, 2017

Demand tariff charges

If you hear the words ‘Demand Tariffs’ and start scratching your head, don’t worry – you’re not alone. In this article, we’ll examine what demand tariffs are and how to deal with them. Supply charges, usage charges and – now – demand charges? Normally, there are two components to an energy bill: fixed ‘supply’ charges (usually […]

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A comparison of home energy management systems in Australia

January 26, 2017

Solar PV systems are already commonplace and affordable in Australia, and battery storage is getting there quickly as well. Increasingly, Australia’s solar homes are looking for ways to maximise the value that solar & storage are able to deliver. Home energy management systems (sometimes referred to as EMSs or HEMS) are fast becoming a popular […]

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Wattwatchers wins Australian Technology Competition

October 6, 2016

Wattwatchers, a Sydney-based “internet of things” energy management start-up has been selected by judges as one of two winners of this year’s Australian Technology Competition. The developer of the web-based real time energy management Auditor device, took out the New Energy Award for 2016, while Melbourne-based company Independent Products won the Smart Cities Award for […]

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Solar Analytics to help give solar system owners detailed insights into system performance

September 30, 2015

Although there are now well over 1 million households in Australia with solar PV systems, only around 1% of them have any sort of performance monitoring equipment in place. This leaves the vast majority of system owners in the dark as to what to do if they think that their system is underperforming. To fill […]

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e*star electricity load monitoring: Understand your electricity usage

July 17, 2015

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e*star is an electricity usage monitoring platform that allows users to understand their electricity usage in detail, giving its users actionable insights into their power consumption patterns. The company’s innovative software and hardware are for use in both residential and commercial applications – and is ideal for solar system owners who would like to maximise the […]

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SPLASH: Flashy yet practical monitoring for solar energy systems

June 29, 2015

Quality performance monitoring should be an essential component of any solar energy system, but is sometimes the first thing to be sacrificed in the name of cost-savings. New Zealand’s SPLASH Monitoring is a company who has made it a mission to turn this often overlooked feature into the centerpiece of any installation. SPLASH’s attractive, interactive […]

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Panel maker Suntech expands reach to energy storage, performance monitoring & off-grid renewables

January 29, 2015

Suntech Power is well known in Australia as a solar panel manufacturer. Now a subsidiary of Shunfeng International Clean Energy Ltd. (formerly Shunfeng Photovoltaic International Ltd.), the company has installed more than 80 GW of panels in over 80 countries since its founding in 2005. It currently has an estimated annual production capacity of 2,000 […]

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Sun MonitOZ’s hardware-free solar performance monitoring app launches in Australia

November 20, 2014

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Sun MonitOZ, a hardware-free solar system performance monitoring app, has officially launched in Australia after its beta-testing phase. The web app, accessible via a computer or any mobile device, allows users to easily determine if their system is performing as well as it should be and–if not–to quickly troubleshoot problems. Australian homes and businesses switch on […]

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Solar forecasting & solar system performance modeling services by Reuniwatt

April 12, 2014

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The world’s electricity mix is changing much more rapidly than could have been anticipated just a decade ago. As renewable energy sources like wind and solar power grow to take up an ever-larger share of the world’s electricity generation portfolio, it becomes increasingly important to know what to expect from them–preferably as far in advance […]

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Sun MonitOZ: Solar system performance app (Currently seeking beta-testers)

April 11, 2014

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The popularity of rooftop solar power systems has soared globally in recent years, and Australia remains one of the global leaders for home solar uptake. This is due in part to the fact that solar power is more affordable here than in many parts of the world, thanks to federal government incentives & competition between […]

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