Technology Archives - Darryn Van Hout

Digital Detox Benefits And How To Do A Technology Cleanse in 2020

Darryn Van Hout — Sun, 13 Sep 2020 05:36:36 +0000

Technology is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it has made our lives too easy and more convenient while on the other, it has promoted sedentary lifestyles. However, regardless of its pros and cons, most of us are hooked to it with everything we need—meetings with friends and family, entertainment, news, map etc. just a click or tap away.

So, when do you ever take a break from your phone, television or computer? May be you think you don’t spend that much time relaxing. And perhaps you find it harder to resist checking or scrolling through your phone or computer. Don’t worry, you are not alone.

In this 21^st century, technology is ever evolving no wonder most people are always having a gadget in their hand to check what’s new. But now, it’s becoming vital to shut down all things digital once in a while and focus on you.

I am going to discuss a hand full of important ways to kick start your digital detox without quitting along the way, but first, let’s understand why you should consider it.

Digital Detox Benefits

Our tech gadgets are always handy—phones, laptops, tablets etc. That’s the reason why experts are advising that constant need and reliance on our digital toys can turn unhealthy.

No doubt, technology has become a necessity for most things. However, when your life becomes too dependent on it, you can easily start ignoring other more important things in your life.

If technology stands in your way of your relationships, job, education, finances or whatever, then this is a red flag for destruction. Carrying out a digital detox once in a blue moon is an effective way to spend more time socialising or doing more useful things that you’ve been yearning to do like relaxing during a ‘me time’.

A digital detox shouldn’t last for months. It could take a day or two and can greatly help you to focus on what matters in front of you and not just what’s on your smart screen.

You can choose to focus on yourself and those around you and not worrying, snooping around on social media to see what others have been up to lately or finding work-related emails when you are out of office. Take the digital detox for a day or two, every now and then.

Technology Cleanse Tips

It’s never an easy thing to lock your phone or laptop away and be completely cut-off from the rest of the world, but if you can ease into it by trying for a day first, you’ll feel the difference.

Change One Habit At A Time

To make the quest a bit realistic, try give up one thing at a time. You can start by leaving your phone at home when you’re going out or by checking your emails only once during the day. After choosing the one habit to change, try it out on your first detox adventure. Once you achieve this, focus on another and combine them in the next digital detox. This will help you stick with your digital detox program and ease the challenge the first day.

Alert Friends, Family and Colleagues

You may be discouraged from taking a digital detox because you’re worried about how your friends and loved ones will reach you especially in case of an emergency. Letting people know when and for how long you will take the digital detox challenge without your phone or laptop can help you feel more relaxed. When you do this, be sure to have the contact of someone who can reach you by other means in person or via landline in case of an emergency. You can also inform your social media contacts that you will be having a social media holiday so your friends and family will know what’s really going on. This will help you clear your mind of any worries, allowing it to just focus on yourself.

Log Out From All Social Networks

If you are taking a social media detox, it can be more difficult achieving success when your phone is constantly sending you notifications from various apps. This could make for a bait to get you back into the waters if it keeps vibrating or beeping next to you.

Be sure to log out of all your social media accounts. This will bar any notifications and you won’t have to be tempted to check your phone. If you can’t log off, then at least turn off your notifications so that you don’t receive them.

Make Deliberate Effort With Friends And Family

Have you ever tried to talk to someone while they are glued to their phone? Most often we consider that rude, however, so many of us do exactly that, in most cases unknowingly. With time, constant multi-tasking and self-conscious decisions lead to a lack of focus.

Try spend quality time with your family and friends. You can intentionally leave your phone at home, in the car or your bag so that you give your complete attention to others.

If you need to check something, schedule a time to do so and only check it then.

Spend Time In Places Where Use Of Phone Is Prohibited

When you begin your digital detox journey, visit places where phones are not allowed as this will make it easier for you. If you are a fan of yoga or meditation, this could be the ideal place to hang out. You can also consider some amazing self-care and relaxation time.

You can also take up swimming or jogging. This helps you avoid the temptation of checking your phone.

Be Easy On Yourself If You Really Have To

Sometimes totally shutting yourself from the use of technology can be a hard nut to crack particularly if it is your first digital detox. If you are afraid of stopping the detox altogether, you can go easy on yourself and take a short break. Give yourself specific time to use your phone or laptop such as 1 hour in the morning and another in the evening.

This will help you stick to your detox program without feeling too daunted. You can then shorten that time during your next detox until you are able to stop it completely for a day or two.

Try And Do Something Totally New When on Your Digital Detox

Digital detoxing can present opportunities for you to try out new things you’ve longed to do. Use the time you are away from your phone or computer to offer a helping hand to someone, focus more on parenthood, help your mum with grocery shopping or volunteers at a charity during the weekend. If none of these makes you tick, then you can as well focus on just relaxing by meditating or getting a massage.

Digital detoxing should not be stressful—it’s meant to be a positive and more relaxing period.

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What Are Electricity Substations?

Darryn Van Hout — Mon, 24 Oct 2016 02:29:15 +0000

Australia generates electricity from several energy sources. Coal fired power stations, oil, natural gas, hydro power and solar power among other renewables are all used to produce electricity. This is called the energy mix. But once generated in a power station, this electricity isn’t ready to be sent to homes and businesses. The appliances and devices that we use require a given voltage of electricity to run or charge safely. Enter the electricity substation.

In Australia, there are countless substations that are all connected to at least one power station across the country. At some point, the electricity flowing from these substations is connected with energy flowing from other substations. This is known as the grid. Historically, substations were connected to only one power station so it was easy to track where electricity in a given area had been produced. With today’s system it is impossible to track electricity sourced from renewable energy from electricity generated by non-renewable sources. A flow of electrons, once in the grid, become anonymous, so to speak.

A substation’s main purpose is to convert the voltage of an electric current from high to low, or from low to high, using a device called a transformer. Equipment that is commonly found is substations includes switching, protection, control equipment, transformers, and often power factor correctors and voltage regulators. An electricity substation may be located indoors or outdoors, above ground or below ground and varies greatly in size or capacity.

Skyscrapers may host several indoor substations (typically in the basement) while other substations may take up whole buildings for themselves. Electricity may flow through several substations before it reaches an end consumer.

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Run Your Hot Water System For Less – Alternative Options

Darryn Van Hout — Mon, 24 Oct 2016 02:20:07 +0000

If you are still using an out-dated traditional hot water system, you are wasting money. There are more efficient and innovative alternative technologies that will provide you hot water for a fraction of the cost.

Traditional Hot Water Systems

Traditional water heaters are not very efficient. They cause hot air from the bottom of the tank to rise up through its middle and out the chimney – this process continues all day. At the very least, you should install a fan to function as a power vent to prevent this waste of energy.

When you turn the water heater on, the fan will also turn on and blow the exhaust outside of your home. When you turn off the water heater, the fan also turns off, and you will not be continually venting the heat the whole day.

Statistics show that heating water takes up around one-fourth of the energy use of an Australian household. If the cost of electricity continues to go up, it makes perfect sense for families to think about making the household’s hot water system more efficient.

Solar Hot Water and Hot Water Heat Pump Systems

Right off, you can choose from two basic water heaters that are utilising alternative technology to increase energy efficiency and minimise emissions. These two options are solar hot water, and hot water heat pump systems.

A solar hot water system can provide between 50 – 95% of the hot water demand of a typical home. The actual amount depends on where you live. If you are living in Hobart, this system will supply 50% of your hot water needs. The amount is higher, about 95% if you are residing in Darwin.

Solar collectors are used by this system to gather energy from the sun. When the water passes through these collectors, it is heated. The water then flows into an insulated storage tank for later use.

Hot water heat pumps use the same technology as that of reverse-cycle air conditioners and refrigerators. The energy requirement of this system for one year is 80% less than the energy requirement of a standard hot water system.

This system extracts low-grade heat from the air, and then concentrates this heat and dumps it into the water in a storage tank. It can operate without the use of direct solar energy. However, it will be more efficient if higher ambient temperature is used.

Of course, changing from your conventional hot water to a hot water system using alternative technology will entail additional expense. However, to help you shoulder the initial cost, there may be government rebates available depending on your location.

You can check the government websites in your state to view the current available incentives.

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Electricity Demand Falling – Bad News for Electricity Utilities

Darryn Van Hout — Mon, 24 Oct 2016 02:15:53 +0000

Electricity consumption in Australia has been steadily increasing up until 2010. For more than a century, through the Great Depression and two world wars, Australians have increased their use of electricity year by year.

However, in the three years since 2010, statistics show the electricity demand falling. In other words, starting in 2010, the consumption of electricity in Australia was less than the year before. And the thing is: it appears that the trend will not reverse itself in the near future.

National Electricity Demand Falling

The electricity demand falling trend is particularly large in the NEM or National Electricity Market. This area covers the ACT and the five eastern states in Australia. But the reduction in electricity consumption is also being experienced in WA.

The financial year leading to 2013 was approximately eight terawatt hours (TWh) lower in consumption than in the peak year of 2009. This shows around 4.3 percent reduction in electricity consumption.

Potential Threat to AGL

One of the hardest hit in this situation is AGL along with other electric utility providers. Since these companies are banking on increasing electricity demand to maintain their operations and pursue their commercial objectives, they would be losing huge revenues and would eventually stop their development of more power plants if there is no great demand for their products.

Since AGL and other electric utilities generate electricity from power stations that use natural gas, hydroelectricity, thermal power, coal seam gas, wind power and so forth, the electricity demand falling trend endangers the existence of AGL and similar facilities – important cogs in the progress of Australia’s economy.

AGL claims that it has more than 3.8 million residential and business customer accounts distributed in places such as Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia. If the trend persists, their revenues in these places will drastically go down.

Many have assumed that the consumption of electricity will steadily increase. As the population grows, and more Australians getting prosperous each year, it is only natural that the consumers will be using more electricity. In fact, the electricity industry was built on that premise.

But this trend in reduced electricity consumption for the past four years cannot be ignored. This situation has really taken the industry by surprise. Naturally, it took the electricity industry two or three years to accept this trend.

If electricity consumption has continued to increase from 2005 up to this time, at the rate it has increased during the previous twenty years, the total consumption of electricity in Australia would have been 37 TWh by 2013.

But alas, it was not so. Some industry insiders have commented that the entire decline in consumption has been at the expense of coal-fired generators. The result is that many of these plants are now barely profitable.

The question that some industry insiders are asking is why this situation came about. They believe that there is a large combination of factors involved, and that Tony Abbott’s recent action against the carbon tax takes a large chunk of the blame.

Modern Solar is one of the largest home improvement companies in Australia. Modern works to provide Australian’s with solar energy products to minimise the cost of living and create a sustainable future. Read more about Modern Solar on their website.

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Tesla Motors new solar batteries exceed all expectations

Darryn Van Hout — Fri, 21 Oct 2016 02:00:56 +0000

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk was heard loud and clear in early May as he announced the initial response to his company’s latest product line of solar batteries. Intended for residential use, consumer interest in the product has surpassed expectations.

Tesla Motors is constructing a 5 million square foot solar battery factory expected to open in 2016 which, even with its significant size, may still not even be big enough to accommodate for the high demand if the initial figures are anything to go by.

Australia has the highest penetration of sunlight per capita in the world, making the potential impact of solar storage like the Tesla Powerwall a promising prospect for the Australian energy industry.

Australian energy retailers, like Natural Solar, are already expressing their strong support for Tesla’s innovation in solar storage. The systems are expected to complement existing solar installations and improve the Australian economy in a number of fields.

Natural Solar Director Chris Williams says that not only will the Tesla Energy battery technology benefit solar installers like Natural Solar, it will equally benefit consumers through the significant energy savings and asset growth over time.

If Tesla Energy’s recent announcements weren’t enough to excited the Australian electricity market, generous government rebates are also in place to assist households of lower income levels to access the technology.

Natural Solar’s Chris Williams says that the combination of Tesla’s technology and government incentives offers Australian retailers and consumers a win win solution to solar storage.

Tesla Motors new solar battery surpasses all expectation

According to Bloomberg Business, several days after Tesla Motors new solar battery announcement, $800 million worth of the products were on reserved.

Though the figures look really impressive, it must be said that reservations do not necessarily mean guaranteed sales at the end of the day. This is more so the case for the home batteries which are sold under the Powerwall brand.

Anybody is able to reserve one of Tesla Motors new solar batteries with no deposit required and absolutely no commitment to go through with the sale. However, this is unique to the solar battery and does not extend to the Tesla Motors vehicle line, whereby a down payment of up to $5,000 is required to secure the purchase.

Demand of the Tesla Motors solar battery predicted to outstrip supply

With $800 million worth of batteries already reserved, it would be impossible for Tesla Motors to supply more batteries, as they are predicted to be out of stock until mid-2016. The new $5 billion plant currently under construction would easily be at full capacity in the manufacturing of these batteries according to Musk. Two-thirds of its production capacity output was supposed to be used for manufacturing electric vehicle batteries, but Musk has considered making the already humongous factory even bigger.

Many analysts are not sure how to value such new business. Receiving an accurate estimate may even take a year or more according to Morgan Stanley. Baird & Co and Morgan Stanley both do not currently include battery product valuations from Tesla Motors.

JPMorgan Chase’s Ryan Brinkman has valued the new business at $15 a share or in other terms at around $1.9 billion.

Tesla Motors will make little if any profit from these early battery storage sales. Musk himself has admitted that gross margins will not be high but he is sure that it will rise to around 20% once production is in full effect at the new plant.

As energy costs rise, consumers turn to cheaper solar battery alternatives

Consumer interest in solar batteries is at an all-time high and Tesla Motors have managed to develop a well-rounded product. The company itself has never put a figure on their bookings thus far, so Bloomberg used the following information in order to arrive at the $800 million estimate:

According to Musk, the batteries have been created to pair in perfectly with rooftop solar systems which had a 38, 000 product reservations.
Many customers reserved more than one battery, with the average order per client between 1-1.5. Musk has claimed that close to 50,000 – 60,000 were booked. Bloomberg set the amount at 55, 000.
There are two designs to select from with varying prices attached. One at $3, 000 and the other at $3, 500. If the difference is halved, making it $250 a unit, then the total Powerwall orders amount to $178.8 million thus far.

Powerpack created as the commercial version of the residential Powerwall

Tesla is working on a product called the Powerpack with companies such as Amazon and Target as well as certain utilities. As most interest for the new storage batteries are from the utilities and bigger companies, the Powerpack comes in a 100 kilowatt an hour block of batteries to aid in commercial power storage.

Musk has stated that 2,500 bookings for the commercial battery storage products has been received. These all come with a minimum of 10 Powerpacks. Thus 25, 000 units equal 2.5 million kilowatts an hour.
A Powerpack is priced at $250 per kilowatt an hour.
Thus the total Powerpacks booked are $625 million.

The sum of $625M and $178.8M resulting in Tesla Motors’ predicted total of $803.8M worth of battery reservations.

Khobi Brooklyn, a Tesla spokesperson has even stated that Bloomberg’s stats look accurate. “In the coming months, we will work with our distribution partners to ensure that customers are well informed and know what to expect when deliveries start this summer,” she added.

Photo courtesy of JD Lasica on Flickr

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Australian Power Purchase Agreements — Diving Into Digital Solar

Darryn Van Hout — Thu, 19 May 2016 23:52:56 +0000

In the last decade, solar power adoption in Australia has greatly soared, making solar power the most popular source of renewable energy*. Around 15% of all Australian homes have rooftop solar panels installed, but the difference in figures between rental properties and owner-occupied properties is huge.

Reports say that 1% of the rental property market has solar PV panels installed, but thanks to Melbourne-based tech startup Matter, things are about to change.

Today, Australia’s 2 million rental homes are getting access to more affordable solar energy under an innovative Digital Solar scheme which enables landlords to make money while their tenants’ savings increase.

The scheme divides the savings between homeowners and their tenants. Similar PPAs (Power Purchase Agreements) have been rolled out throughout the US with great success, enabling a larger portion of the residential market to access renewable energy technology. The way Digital Solar works is as a broker that initiates deals between landlords and their renters. The property owner pays for the solar panel installation and then sells the power to the tenant at a cheaper rate than electricity from the national grid.

Generally, this arrangement saves tenants about $300 each year on their electricity bill, while the landlord makes an average of $1500 annually in profits — with solar installation costs fully covered within 4–6 years.

Clearly, this is an untapped market with massive potential, considering that only 1% of Aussie rental homes have solar panels installed.

The “Split Incentive” Issue

So why are rentals not turning solar into a revenue stream? The answer is that it has never been profitable for homeowners to invest in solar panels just so their renters can enjoy the benefits. This is a widespread problem in many countries, including the UK, the US, Japan and of course Australia.

“The problem has always been that if you’re a tenant you don’t want to pay to put solar on someone else’s roof while as a landlord you don’t want to pay for solar panels when you’re just giving the tenant free power,” says Simon Barnes, Matter co-founder.

This is where Matter comes in – it plans to make the system profitable for homeowners to install solar systems through the Digital Solar solution. Part service, part gadget, Digital Solar enables landlords to correctly meter the amount of solar energy tenants are using and then run their solar PVs like a micro-utility. No doubt, there are rental houses with solar systems installed already, even though such are a rarity.

The major problem with Digital Solar’s solution is that there are no existing standard procedures for either landlords or renters in solar-equipped properties. For example, some landlords may benefit from solar feed-in tariffs and still pass the entire cost of electricity bill to the tenant. Again, others may deduct all or some of the FIT from the power bill. Still, others may charge exorbitant rent and still pass all savings on to their tenant. In either situation, the landlord will generate only a trickle of profit from their utility, which is initially very costly to set up.

In the era of climate change, the use of clean energy is more important than ever before. By making it profitable for landlords to install solar panels on their investment properties, Matter hopes to increase the number of solar systems installed on rooftops of rental properties across Australia.

How Digital Solar Works

This system allows landlords to manage their solar panels as a ‘mini utility’. It monitors rooftop solar installations through small wireless smart meters made to work with any solar equipment brand (in-home batteries included), and the electricity provider.

Matter’s main objective is not to make Australian homes fully self-sufficient, but rather reduce their reliance on the expensive power grid. This solution is underpinned by Matter’s platform called Hana, which analyses the elements of each property, calculates the size of the solar panel and the expected savings as well as monitoring the system’s performance.

The Digital Solar system will be built on Matter’s existing software, which is used by water and electricity providers in thousands of Australian homes. This system is powerful enough to handle complex tariffs, including the feed-in tariff when electricity is exported back to the grid.

The company simply acts as a broker to help its customers get a good deal on solar installation and does not retail solar panels or inverters. It makes arrangements for solar installation even on homes with pre-existing systems and offers hands-on support to clients throughout the process.

The Digital Solar smart monitors can also be installed with new solar systems or retro-fitted to the existing solar power systems. The Digital Solar device accurately tracks renters’ use of solar-generated power and automatically bills them at a reasonable rate agreed upon by the two parties.

Pricing and Other Benefits

This scheme is beneficial to both tenants and landlords, with Matter claiming that by slashing power bills for tenants, earnings for landlords will in fact increase. This guarantees an attractive return on investment in solar within the first 5–6 years.

“It costs 8.5 cents per kilowatt-hour to install rooftop solar while in Australia your average grid electricity charge is about 24 cents,” says Barnes, the co-founder of Matter.

“We exploit that difference so the tenant gets cheaper clean power while the landlord recovers expenses and gains a new income stream.”

Landlords will pay $9 per property, as a monthly subscription fee to have access to Digital Solar. On the other end, tenants will only pay for the power they consume from the solar system and the grid — there are no out-of-pocket costs charged to the tenant.

One disadvantaged party in this arrangement will be tenants in homes that have already installed solar panels.

According to Australian tenancy laws, landlords should not charge more for utilities than what the relevant authority charges, and in the event of on-site generated solar, they must not charge more than what the local retailer offers. In this regard, Digital Solar suggests both parties agreeing on a 20% discount off the price paid on their grid-supplied electricity.

Obviously, most solar panels don’t generate enough energy to power all the household applications, and therefore, the excess energy required will be supplied by the grid and be billed as usual.

In the fall of this year, Matter plans to roll out a multi-tenant scheme which aims to offer support to apartment blocks, a practical move that will ensure another 400,000 homes across the country are installed with solar panels.

In Conclusion

Indeed, Digital Solar is a win-win situation for tenants and landlords, but especially for tenants who’ve never made the most of their solar energy. With this service, they can now accurately measure their electricity usage in real time — seeing how much is charged each day or on an hour’s use and allowing them to manage their power usage properly.

For property owners, Digital Solar is proving to be a pretty safe bet in terms of investment since they will make money out of it as long as the sun keeps shining.

Are you a homeowner or a renter at the moment? To see how installing solar panels can help you save money, click here.

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Behind the Scenes of the Solar Storage Revolution

Darryn Van Hout — Tue, 15 Mar 2016 23:50:24 +0000

Battery storage is increasingly becoming an attractive and viable option for homes in Australia. The disruptive technology, which is moving faster than expected, is set to revolutionize the way Aussies access electricity–helping more homes to stay independent of the national grid.

Storage batteries are indeed the holy grail of renewable energy and a significant element to the massive transition from fossil fuels. The lithium-ion battery to be precise is the future that is already here with us, a power revolution for our homes.

The storage device, the home battery, is taking power back to the consumer. With Australia being at the forefront of this energy revolution; you too need one of these to experience the potential of a 24-hour renewable power.

An Energy Revolution On The Horizon

While buying home energy storage systems was in the past, an option for most Australians, the batteries and other storage components have been cumbersome, expensive and difficult to operate and maintain. This is one of the reasons why residential energy storage has, up until now been largely confined to storage buffs and off-grid applications.

But, the emergence of the lithium-ion batteries and related technology is shifting all that. The next gen energy storage is expected to be cheaper, better and streamlined. In the near future, plug-and-play, set and forget battery storage for homes will become commonplace in Australian households that use solar.

Benefits Of The Lithium-ion Batteries

Lithium-ion batteries come in almost any device you can think of – tablets, power tools, cell phones, notebook computers, and electric cars. They have some inherent features that make them distinct from the wet-cell lead acid batteries like those found in your car. These features include:

Lighter
Higher energy density
Lower maintenance
Lower self-discharge
Increased cycle life
No “memory effect”

Battery Storage To Provide ‘zero dollar’ power bills

According to a report by the Climate Council of Australia, a combination of solar panels and home battery storage will be the cheapest way for Australians to power their homes and businesses.

With home battery storage estimated to grow 50-fold in the next 10 years, the report dubbed the Powerful Potential: Battery Storage for Renewable Energy and Electric Cars, predicts that as early as 2018, going off-grid will be cost-competitive with staying connected. The report further indicates that as the feed-in tariffs (FITs) are phased out and grid electricity cost increases, Australia could become the leading market for the solar storage within the same period.

“Anyone who has PV [photovoltaic cells] on their roof knows they’re paid a fraction – maybe a tenth – of what it costs them to buy power off the grid,” the Climate Council’s Andrew Stock said.

“If they have a tool, a battery, that can allow them to store the surplus power during the day and use it at night, it means they’re going to get greater control than they already have over their power bill.”

Bottom line…How Much Will It Cost?

Up until early last year, the cost of a seven kilowatt battery together with an inverter and installation was way above $15,000. However, in the past few months, prices have dropped rapidly by more than a third. The cost is expected to drop drastically with time.

Analysts predict that by 2020, the prices of storage batteries will have fallen and grid-supplied power charges will rise to a level that will make batteries the mainstream solar storage device. This will lead to lower power bills resulting savings in hundreds of thousands of dollars for consumers.

Why Australia Is Predicted To Adopt Home Battery Storage Faster

Half of all Australian households are expected to take up solar systems coupled with home battery storage, creating a potential market growth of $24 billion. Of course, this technology will be disruptive to network operators in the market, and in fact, some companies are already adjusting their power prices to discourage coupling of solar and battery.

The land under has a unique confluence. The country enjoys a lot of sunshine, has a tech-savvy community, its electricity costs have skyrocketed over time, and has a population that really wants immediate change in the energy industry.

“This is perverse, because battery systems, coupled with PV, can actually help networks get much better use out of their assets by smoothing out the demand on the grid,” the Climate Council’s Andrew Stock added.

“That should mean that network companies don’t need to invest anywhere near as much at adding capacity in the future, and they get better use out of the existing capacity.”

Understanding The Grid’s Superstructure

Australia has three main electricity grids- one in WA, another in the Northern Territory, and the Eastern Seaboard grid, which is currently the largest interconnected electricity system in the whole world. This is really complex and one hell of a job managing it.

Mention the term grid and what comes to the minds of most Aussies is energy storage—where power generated from coal or gas is stored and used as needed. Unfortunately, that’s not how the traditional grid works. Apparently, there’s little electricity storage. Generally, demand is met by turning up or down the power stations just the way we turn on or off our lights. However, with the grid, operators have to get it right on a minute-by-minute basis otherwise too much power would blow up our power poles and not enough power would mean blackout. And of course, when the safety mechanisms kick in, so does blackout.

So, how does this massive network keep accurate pace with our modern lives? Well, it takes a complex interaction between grid operators and power generators, all which work through the National Electricity Market (NEM).

What This Means For Power Consumers

This simply means that the more electricity people use, the more expensive it becomes. Based on demand, NEM, the wholesale price for electricity can either go up or down. Everything seems to be under control right now, but what if the energy consumption spikes instantly? Fortunately, the Snowy Hydro Scheme as well as the gas-fired plants can respond immediately to prevent a blackout. All they have to do is twist the tap up and more power is instantly churned out—at the end of the day, they earn a special premium for this. Now, this is where your battery storage comes in handy as a solution to earn you money.
Battery storage is an important element of the switch to renewable energy. As more renewable power is added into the system, the general influx of intermittent energy complicates further the management of the grid.

South Australia for example has encountered situations where more renewable energy is produced than what people require. The only option has been to export the excess power to others states like Victoria. If this was the case across the entire country, then there would be no place to export this power other than the batteries. Solar battery storage is expected to redefine the energy space. The home batteries are a fundamental game changer and part of the revolution predicted to make renewable power a 24-hour power. These devices will:

Smooth out the grid
Store excess power
Rapidly release power when needed

With over 1.4 million households in Australia having installed solar panels, topping this with battery storage would create the biggest power station in the country’s system.

Energy experts always told us that solar is good, wind is good, but they were not base load power. Well, he lithium-ion storage battery simply that; a battery revolution with base load power.

Want Solar Battery Storage?

You’re not alone—lots of Australian households are already embracing the battery storage to reduce their daily dependence on the conventional power companies that have for decades controlled and manipulated them.

Previously, consumers would pump their excess energy into the grid and get paid seven cents a kilowatt hour. They would buy the same electricity four times this price. With the lithium battery, you’ll earn more money without doing anything except exporting excess power to the grid.

In Summary

Well, this is where we are now. Batteries are the thing that is bringing the ultimate revolution to the 24-hour renewable energy. Fossil fuels will have to go, and with the solar storage, you and your family will contribute to the future we all want.

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Tesla Powerwall To Hit Australian Shores Before Christmas

Darryn Van Hout — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 00:48:50 +0000

It looks like Christmas has come early for Australian solar customers following Tesla’s announcement that its Powerwall battery storage system will be available in Australia before Christmas this year. Tesla Powerwall price This past week, the electric vehicle giant announced a number of Australian solar installers that will be distributing the Powerwall. These companies include energy retail giant Origin Energy as well as Simply Energy, Natural Solar, and CSR Solar, to name a few.

Australia is one of two countries outside of the US to be supplied with the revolutionary Powerwall systems, with Tesla’s interest due to Australia’s high per capita penetration of rooftop solar technology (highest in the world).

Natural Solar managing director Chris Williams said a partnership with Tesla has been developing for some time. Williams added that Tesla’s interest in the Sydney-based company is thanks to Natural Solar’s business model, which specifically caters to storage, and the Powerwall in particular.

Williams said Natural Solar will be offering a full solution of 20 x 250 watt solar panels, an inverter, and Powerwall installed for about $15,000. Adding a Powerwall to an existing solar installation would cost about $9,500. A Powerwall and inverter without installation would cost about $1000 to $1200 less.

On the incredible hype surrounding solar storage technology and the release of the Tesla Powerwall, Williams said that he sees this as an opportunity “to educate the public on this ground-breaking technology.”

Australia A Key Market For Tesla Expansion

After being named by Tesla Energy as one of the first key markets, the future of solar power storage is looking bright for the Australian renewable energy industry.

The Powerwall systems will be available to Australian buyers in two sizes — a 7kWh system designed for residential use and connected to a solar system, and a 10 kWh system for long-term backup purposes.

The systems have been predicted to cost around US$3000 for the 7kWh system and US$3500 for the 10kWh. Origin Energy has snagged the golden ticket as official supplier of the Tesla Powerwall systems.

The company’s Head of Energy Markets, Frank Calabria, described the collaboration as a move to “provide households with greater control over their energy use than ever before.”

When Elon Musk announced Tesla’s production of lithium-ion Powerwall systems in April of this year, reservations for the systems went through the roof. Tesla has reported taking nearly US$1 billion in reservations for the batteries since the announcement of the technology. If all current Powerwall reservations are to convert to sales, Tesla will make history with its battery range becoming one of the most popular product launches in American history.

Surprisingly, Tesla is not the first company to develop sophisticated battery storage technology. Tesla’s technology is also open source, meaning anyone is able to replicate it. Many are asking why then is Tesla still taking its time with releasing its systems to the market?

One would assume that, with replicable technology, competitors would have taken advantage of Tesla’s open source software by now. Companies like Juicebox, Sunverge, Greencharge Networks, AES Corp, and Stem, to name a few, are established as well as emerging Tesla competitors and have been producing similar storage technologies alongside the electric car giant. So, considering these large competitors, the question remains: why does everyone want a Tesla battery system and not any other brand?

The Tesla Powerwall can store energy both from the grid and from renewable energy sources like solar. It’s compact, rechargeable, and ideal for small-scale use in homes and businesses — however, so too are Juicebox, Sunverge, Greencharge Networks, and Stem systems. The answer comes down to both price and reputation. Although there are many models that match the performance and capacity of the Tesla Powerwall, what has customers hanging out for the Tesla battery system appears to be similar to the Apple effect of market dominance.

The battery storage market is a complex one, with elements of cycle lifespan and capacity equally as important a consideration as price. As an initial indication, however, price is useful starting point for many buyers. While a number of these competitors are yet to release concrete price points for their storage systems, it can already be seen that Tesla is at an advantage in terms of price per kWh of storage.

Solar Storage System Prices Per kWh

Tesla: US $350 per kWh
Juicebox: US $1,151 per kWh
AES Corp: US $1,000 per kWh

Customers are not just choosing Tesla Energy as their preferred battery manufacturer, they are happily waiting for the company, which is notoriously unreliable with its timeframes, to release its batteries despite similar technologies being already available on the market. Apple is often described as a monopolistic competitor in the technology market, and it can be seen that Tesla’s position in the energy storage industry is following the same path.

Elon Musk has maintained an even more competitive advantage by commissioning a US$5 billion, 10-million-square-foot “Gigafactory” in Reno, Nevada, that hopes to keep costs considerably lower than competitors. Despite the issue of price, consumers appear to be hanging out for Tesla’s Powerall release regardless of what is already on offer, though.

The Future of Energy Storage

No matter what company is dominating sales, one thing is certain — the global energy storage industry is booming. This comes down to three dynamics working together:

The price of energy storage technology is plummeting
Cheaper storage is on the verge of massively expanding the market
A growing market and increased competition further drives down the cost of energy storage

With governments the world over pushing for increased renewable energy capacity in an attempt to limit carbon emissions, the time has never been better for energy storage solutions. According to research from research firm IHS CERA, the global energy-storage industry, which was valued at just US$200 million in 2012 is predicted to grow to US$19 billion by 2017.

Another US study saw energy storage grow 40% to US$128 million in the last year alone, with energy storage installations expected to triple in 2015. Interestingly, even more progressive technologies are already emerging that could threaten the innovative lithium-ion battery, making the future of battery storage and energy production technology uncertain for companies with large investments, like Tesla.

This article was written for and originally posted on CleanTechnica on the 18th December 2015 by Darryn Van Hout.

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