Your solar panels may generate the most electricity while you're at work.
Meanwhile, your home's biggest electricity loads may happen later in the afternoon or evening.
This creates a simple problem:
Solar generation and electricity consumption don't always happen at the same time.
Home automation can help coordinate when certain equipment operates.
Australian Government guidance explains that smart homes can automate equipment such as heating and cooling, hot water, lighting and appliances, while a home energy management system can monitor and control generation, storage and consumption.
Imagine your home doing this automatically
Instead of manually switching appliances on and off, an automated system could be configured to:
run hot water during suitable solar-generation periods
schedule appliances
control selected lighting
adjust heating or cooling
monitor electricity consumption
coordinate compatible solar and battery equipment
Solar + automation
For example:
Solar production increases - system detects available energy - selected load operates
This can help make better use of electricity generated on-site.
It doesn't mean every appliance should automatically run whenever solar is available. The system needs to be configured around the household's actual requirements.
What is a HEMS?
A Home Energy Management System (HEMS) can monitor and coordinate multiple energy sources and loads.
Depending on the system, this can include:
solar PV
batteries
EV charging
hot water
heating and cooling
appliances
grid electricity
The Australian Government describes HEMS ranging from monitoring-only systems through to systems capable of automatically optimising energy use.
Is a smart home just about convenience?
No.
Automation can also be used for energy management, comfort and security.
The key is designing the system around what the household actually needs rather than adding smart devices simply because they are available.
Meanwhile, your home's biggest electricity loads may happen later in the afternoon or evening.
This creates a simple problem:
Solar generation and electricity consumption don't always happen at the same time.
Home automation can help coordinate when certain equipment operates.
Australian Government guidance explains that smart homes can automate equipment such as heating and cooling, hot water, lighting and appliances, while a home energy management system can monitor and control generation, storage and consumption.
Imagine your home doing this automatically
Instead of manually switching appliances on and off, an automated system could be configured to:
run hot water during suitable solar-generation periods
schedule appliances
control selected lighting
adjust heating or cooling
monitor electricity consumption
coordinate compatible solar and battery equipment
Solar + automation
For example:
Solar production increases - system detects available energy - selected load operates
This can help make better use of electricity generated on-site.
It doesn't mean every appliance should automatically run whenever solar is available. The system needs to be configured around the household's actual requirements.
What is a HEMS?
A Home Energy Management System (HEMS) can monitor and coordinate multiple energy sources and loads.
Depending on the system, this can include:
solar PV
batteries
EV charging
hot water
heating and cooling
appliances
grid electricity
The Australian Government describes HEMS ranging from monitoring-only systems through to systems capable of automatically optimising energy use.
Is a smart home just about convenience?
No.
Automation can also be used for energy management, comfort and security.
The key is designing the system around what the household actually needs rather than adding smart devices simply because they are available.