If you’re interested in saving money on your electric bill, there are two popular ways to do it. One way is to invest in a solar energy system. The other […]
Tag: energy efficiency
Shiftable energy loads: What can you move into the ‘solar window’? (Solartopia #5)
We here at Solar Choice harp on a lot about solar self-consumption – the idea that you need to put your solar energy to direct use within your home to […]
Can you go off-grid with solar and energy storage?
These days, almost everyone considering solar and battery storage is wondering if it’s possible to disconnect from the grid altogether; ‘going off-grid’ seems to be all the rage. Just how feasible […]
What is the annual cost of running your air conditioner or Oil heater?
Have you ever thought about how much energy your AC unit or oil heater will use over the course of a year – or how much this energy will cost you? While […]
carbonTRACK: Aussie-based startup delivers smarter solar, storage & energy use
carbonTRACK is an Australian company whose energy management platform promises to deliver up to 30% savings on electricity bills for solar-powered homes and 10% in businesses, not only by maximising […]
South Australian government seeking expressions of interest for ‘low carbon’ technologies
South Australia’s government has announced that it is seeking expressions of interest (EOI) from providers of innovative low-carbon technologies to inform a potential future tender process for the supply of […]
Proposed changes to SA retail tariffs could have dire implications for rooftop solar uptake
The uptake of rooftop solar in South Australia could be halved over the next five years if a change in the state’s electricity tariffs proposed by SA Power Networks is […]
Report says world must install 53GW of PV per year until 2020 to stop climate change
The world will need to install solar PV at an average rate of 53GW a year from 2013-2020 as it transforms its energy mix to prevent dangerous climate change, a […]
What do homes need to know to take advantage of solar-plus-storage? CSIRO study
A new report by the CSIRO has flagged the importance of engaging consumers in the transformation of Australia’s electricity market – a shift to distributed energy that is largely being […]
Two produce companies first to benefit as CEFC & Comm Bank team up to finance commercial solar
A $100 million financing facility established by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the Commonwealth Bank has helped two major Victorian produce suppliers install 100KW of solar PV each, cutting […]
Rooftop solar and energy efficiency accounted for nearly 90% of national electricity demand reduction in 2014
Gone are the days where the conventional, fossil fuel driven electricity industry were thought to be unstoppable. Green Energy Markets annual review of the National Electricity Market states that solar […]
German utility giant E.ON splits in two in order to focus on renewables
Europe’s largest power utility has announced plans to dump conventional, fossil fuel energy generation and focus instead on renewables and customer-led distributed generation solutions. In what has been described as […]
Report shows path for Victoria to generate jobs, revenue through clean energy-friendly policy
Victoria could save tens of millions of dollars and generate hundreds of jobs by tweaking current policy settings on small-scale solar and energy efficiency, a new report has found. The […]
Solar panels & energy storage: What to consider
Energy storage is an option whose appeal is growing globally–and Australia is no exception. But energy storage is seldom considered as an option in isolate: the vast majority of those […]
NSW to become a leader in medium-scale solar PV under new state policies
The NSW government has unveiled a new policy that could help “transform mid-scale solar” energy in Australia. The state’s environment minister, Rob Stokes, said the new resource efficiency policy would […]
NSW government proclaims support for renewables & the RET, breaking ranks with fellow Lib-Nats
Breaking ranks with the their fellow Lib-Nat party members on the federal level, the NSW government has declared its aim of ensuring that NSW is fertile territory for renewable energy […]
Rooftop PV has added benefit of passive cooling: UCSD study
A study by the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) has concluded that PV modules keep buildings significantly cooler in summer through passive solar cooling. The UCSD researchers concluded that […]
How to get the most out of your solar PV system part 1: System sizing & power usage
Anyone who has done some investigation into having solar panels installed in Australia should by now understand that the whole endeavour only makes economic sense if the home in question […]
EnergyAustralia: Rooftop solar to blame for falling wholesale electricity costs & demand
The explosion of rooftop solar PV has caused grief to another major incumbent utility in Australia, with EnergyAustralia, one of the big three utilities in the country, blaming it for […]
Origin Energy reports fall in energy earnings, citing solar PV, warm winter & energy efficient homes as main causes
The growing impact of solar PV on incumbent utilities has again been highlighted, this time in the results of Australia’s biggest “gentailer” Origin Energy. The company revealed in its half […]
Solar Selections brokers installation of solar power systems for UK’s largest bakery chain
The largest chain of bakeries in the UK has installed the equivalent of 1.28 megawatts (MW) of solar PV capacity on the roofs of 10 of its locations with the […]
How about a home energy efficiency audit (to complement your solar)? Introduction to Big Switch at Home
The rising cost of electricity across Australia has driven many households to seek refuge in solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. Solar PV systems, now cheaper than they’ve ever been, allow homes […]
South Australia’s solar feed-in tariff closed: What’s next for 2013, 2014 and beyond?
South Australia’s transitional feed-in tariff incentive for solar power closed to new applicants on 30 September 2013. Many of those who are considering going solar but have not yet made the […]
Smart Grid, Smart City – helping residents with their energy bills in NSW
The NSW Government has funded a new energy efficiency project, ‘Smart Grid, Smart City’. The project aims to change the energy behaviour of Australians, helping them to take control of their energy […]
