Almost 300 householders in Alice Springs will become smarter with their energy use from this week when new Alice Solar City In-house Displays are installed, allowing them to monitor their energy consumption and CO2 emissions every day.
It is part of the Cost Reflective Tariff (CRT) trial which many residents chose to participate in as part of their involvement with Alice Solar City.
“Having this information at their fingertips is something that has not been possible before, and thanks to the Alice Solar City project, Alice Springs is one of the few places in the country where this sort of technology is being trialed”, says Alice Solar City General Manager Brian Elmer
“Trying to save energy in your home using an in-house display is a bit like driving a car with a speedo – you know where you stand and it tells you when you should lift your foot off the accelerator, or in this case, curb your energy use.”
“Currently there are 270 households in Alice Springs that have changed from being charged a flat rate for their electricity consumption, to a peak / off-peak pricing structure instead.”
This means their power costs more during peak periods (9am – 6pm Monday to Friday) than in off-peak periods (6pm – 9am), encouraging them to ‘shift’ their power use, which in turn aims to reduce the peak load on the town’s generator.
“The In-house Display will help them make more informed decisions about when they choose to use their electricity and give them live information about their overall electricity consumption.”
“This is a crucial part of the Alice Solar City project; normally, the only feedback or information we get about our electricity consumption is once every 3 months when we get our electricity bill. This technology instead gives information in real time to householders, which can help them modify their electricity use behavior day to day”.
“By touching the portable LCD screen, householders can check their overall electricity consumption, a breakdown of their peak and off peak electricity use and CO2 emissions by day, week or month and indicative power costs for the current month.”
“For example, the Display might show a householder they have consumed 22 kilowatt hours (kWh) for the day, but it also shows what they could aim for to be considered an energy champion house, which is 11 kWh.”
“Knowing how much CO2 your household emits to the environment each day or week is also a powerful motivator to curb energy use and find those unseen power guzzlers, such as second or third fridges or standby power from electronic devices like televisions and stereos.
“We have seen CRT customers shift their power use for things like putting on a load of washing in the evening, making sure lights are off as much as possible during the day, and being mindful of the way they use the booster on their hot water system.”
Alice Solar City is looking for approximately 70 more householders to participate in the Cost Reflective Trial, who will also receive an In-house Display at no charge.
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