New user interface monitors both home generation and consumption, allowing homeowners to save money on grid-supplied energy while also maximizing Feed-in-Tariff
Power Gauge, a new product from the UK’s leading home solar monitoring provider PassivSystems, is a home-energy platform that monitors overall energy consumption as well as generation from renewable installations – showing homeowners when they have free power available to use in the home and when they should cut back as they are importing energy from the grid. By building in this essential element of home balancing, homeowners are able to marry incentives from their Feed-in-Tariffs to cost savings on their energy bill – improving the net returns from their renewable-energy installations in the process. The system is designed to complement the company’s market leading solar-monitoring platform, PassivLiving, which has been purchased for use in more than 20,000 homes.
“With new lower Feed in Tariffs about to hit the UK market, it is very important that those homeowners with an interest in local generation should focus across their homes and get smart about when they are using power,” says Colin Calder, CEO of PassivSystems. “A very large number of people who have installed solar panels are paying for electricity off the grid by using their appliances at the wrong time. Wiping out that cost with smart-home balancing as offered by Power Gauge could be the make or break factor for whether your renewable installation really hits the bottom line of the household finances.”
A key component of the solution is the new Power Gauge display, which provides customers with a rich, visual real-time display of their available free electricity, in the palm of their hand (see right). This shows when there is sufficient unused solar generated electricity available to run appliances at zero additional cost – or when expensive electricity is being purchased from the grid.
The systems can also be upgraded to include PassivEnergy, the company’s leading heating and hot water control platform that has been shown to generate 23% average savings by analyzing and automating boiler control around systems efficiency and individual lifestyles. PassivSystems has been operating in the UK energy market since 2008, with a focus on empowering consumers to take advantage of renewable energy using smart technology that also enhances their daily comfort and convenience. For more information, see www.passivsystems.com
Source: PassivSystems