01 July 2022
These professors and professionals will all be talking at Energy Next, a free-to-attend industry event focusing on the latest renewable energy and energy management technologies, that is being held in Sydney on the 19th-20th July.
Below are some consumer and business tips from some of those speakers:
Consumer Tip: Install a heat pump for your hot water – that’s >40PJ of saving for Australia right there (~60% of that would be gas). Just make sure you go for a quality name like Reclaim, Sanden or Steibel Eltron, otherwise you’ll get a noisy heat pump that doesn’t do enough heating in winter. If you have solar panels, make sure you can program the heat pump to come on during the day – that will double your return on investment. If you don’t have panels, make sure you can program the heat pump to only come on during off-peak electricity times.
Business Tip: What can you do in one day? Good maintenance – fix steam leaks, compressed air leaks, insulation damage etc. What can you do in one week? Get submetering installed for electricity, steam, gas and water – that will reveal waste, often fixed by simple behaviour changes (eg closing cool room doors).
Jarrod Leak, CEO, Australia Alliance for Energy Productivity (A2EP)
Consumer Tip: Find the best retailer for you via the government website https://www.energymadeeasy.gov.au/; manage cost by loading up washing machine and dishwasher before running, being aware of heater runtime; get quotes for solar PV and potentially batteries via solarquotes.com.au
Business Tip: Larger businesses can look at signing Power Purchase Agreements with renewable energy projects, providing long-term price certainty; switch from gas to electricity; get quotes for solar PV and battery storage, however review against your consumption profile; get an energy efficiency audit under way to reduce consumption.
Yannick Zapf, YZ Consulting
Consumer tip: Improve your self-sufficiency to rely less on the energy system to meet your demands by reducing your overall demand, switch to solar energy during the day and complement your solar with a battery system for peak demand times or night-time or when the grid is down.
Adrian Knack, Director of Engineering, Redback Technologies
Consumer Tips: Short-Term: Consider finding alternatives like getting a small UPS / generator, portable heating units depending on the size of the dwelling and the proximity of living (e.g. remote Australia vs. regional Australia). Long term: Implement an energy monitoring system that the state governments are sponsoring to track the power consumption in the house.
Business Tips: Short-Term: Invest in Surge protectors and idolaters to keep the equipment from malfunctioning when there is a sudden change in voltage. Long-Term:Engage with the new business models like Peer to Peer Markets e.g. The business park / industry hub occupiers/businesses can try for a collaborative approach of aggregating the power and using it among themselves.
Raja Ravi, Director, Swan Foresight
Consumer Tip: Selling energy to the grid can sometimes be the least effective use of energy generated from solar panels on your roof. Using that energy as it’s generated within your home can be a great way to extract the most value (and potentially save money) from rooftop solar. Simple changes like setting dishwashers, washing machines, pool pumps and other high energy use appliances to operate during the day – when solar panels are generating – can play a major role in reducing grid consumption and energy bills.
Business Tip: Keep in mind that batteries can be useful for much more than back-up power. Using batteries to store excess solar-generated energy during the day then using it at night is one way to lower grid consumption (and usage charges) while maintaining operations. Another great use for batteries in businesses that have high ‘spikes’ of energy usage is to use batteries just to supply those spikes – potentially lowering the network charges and saving on bills.