SEQ homes to test latest energy management systems

Five hundred south-east Queensland households will get the chance to trial cutting edge devices that allow you to monitor and manage your home energy use without having to be there.

Energex is looking for households to join a seven-month pilot program to explore home energy management systems (HEMS) to help householders become energy-savvy. 

Energy Minister Dr Anthony Lynham said Energex was hoping to find out more about how HEMS could influence householders’ behaviour and help a modern electricity distribution network.

“Home energy management systems make it easy for households to monitor their electricity use and to change their behaviours to save money,” he said.

“This pilot will test just how much impact HEMS has on householders’ energy behaviour and if they save money on their power bills.

“Energex is also trialling HEMS systems to see how they can help Energex deal with peak demand, with managing solar energy coming into the network and also provide important data to help develop new pricing options for the future.”

The pilot will be open to households in Chapel Hill, North Lakes, Wakerley and Springfield. Residents in these areas should see information to register their interest in their letter boxes from the end of October.     

The systems can allow customers, for example, to automate major appliances such as hot water systems, pool pumps and air conditioners or to monitor how effectively solar panels are working.

A tender is underway for a business to provide the HEMS for the trial. The tender bids offer a range of benefits for householders, ranging from free or discounted HEMS systems, cashback offers, or discounted solar and battery storage systems.

The funds for the pilot come from an Australian Energy Regulator scheme to encourage electricity distributors to research and investigate innovative techniques for managing peak demand.  

The pilot is expected to run until April 2021.

BACKGROUND

A HEMS tracks and records the flows of electricity in the home using hardware installed in the property and software connected via the internet. Users connect and interact with it via an online dashboard (or interface) or through an app. Some HEMS also have control capability and use data about solar generation or tariffs to determine when to switch appliances such as air conditioners, hot water systems and pool pumps on and off to meet pre-set monthly budgets.

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Eds: Download photos of a mobile showing a HEMS management screen.

Media contacts: Dr Lynham’s office – Jan Martin 0439 341 314

Energex – 3664 4420