SA project seeks 'Energy Masters'

An upcoming $13.8 million South Australian initiative is aiming to explore the benefits of energy-smart homes.

Launched by the Minister for Energy and Mining together with SA Power Networks’ Chief Operating Officer, the Energy Masters project will support 500 South Australian households to optimise energy use and save on their energy bills.

Households are able to express their interest at www.saenergymasters.com.au from now until 2 December 2024.

Places in Energy Masters are not ‘first come, first served’; instead, households will be carefully selected by the project team from the expressions of interest, to ensure the research is representative of as many South Australians as possible. Fifty places are set aside for low income and energy hardship households.

Households selected to participate will receive:

• a free Clipsal Cortex home energy management system (HEMS) to optimise their home energy use
• subsidies for new heat pump hot water systems or smart split-system air-conditioners, covering 50–90% of the installed cost in most cases
• access to retail offers from partner retailers Amber Electric and EnergyAustralia, which reward customers for using energy flexibly.
   

The selected households will participate in a research program led by RACE for 2030, aimed at demonstrating the value of energy-smart households and providing information about how technology standards can be changed to deliver better customer outcomes as more customer energy resources (CER) are integrated into the grid.

As part of the research, participating homes will trial SA Power Networks’ ‘flexible network connection’, combining the network operator’s Flexible Exports initiative with a new flexible import limit. SA Power Networks will be able to send signals to households via the HEMS device, which will optimise the energy use of designated flexible appliances in response to the network conditions. SA Power Networks is offering financial incentives for customers’ opted-in devices, which will be passed on by the project partner retailers.

According to SA Power Networks, Energy Masters households could save several hundred dollars by opting in to flexible electricity use and optimisation via their HEMS.

Energy Masters is being led by SA Power Networks, which is contributing $2.8 million to the initiative. Other project partners are as follows:

• Household Engagement Partner: Government of South Australia, Department for Energy & Mining
• Research Partner: RACE for 2030
• HEMS Technology Partner: Clipsal Cortex (part of Schneider Electric)
• Installation Partner: MAC Trade Services
• Energy Retail Partners: Amber and EnergyAustralia
• Delivery Partner and Finance Provider: Plenti
   

The project is also receiving funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

For more information, visit: https://www.saenergymasters.com.au/.

Image credit: iStock.com/MAXSHOT