With winter now here, you may start to notice some changes in how your system behaves. Cooler temperatures and shorter daylight hours can impact both your solar generation and battery performance.
This is where our optimisation software can provide significant value - helping ensure your system operates as efficiently as possible and minimises energy use from the grid during peak pricing periods.
When you sign up to a Zelora monthly subscription plan, you get access to this optimisation software, as well as a real-time view of your energy usage and estimated bill savings in the Zelora App.
How does the smart-tech work?
Our optimisation software uses a range of inputs, including:
Based on these factors, you may occasionally notice your battery charging from the grid at times you may not have seen before. This is expected behaviour - please be assured the system is working to help reduce your overall energy costs, so you can sit back and enjoy the savings.
Because the system relies on forecasts and patterns, it won’t always be perfect. Variations can occur due to:
If something doesn’t look quite right, we recommend reviewing performance over a longer period rather than focusing on a single day. Looking at trends across a week or more will give you a much clearer picture of how your system is working for you.
An example of how this could benefit your bill savings
Here's an example to demonstrate how our optimisation software performs during periods of poor weather, compared to when optimisation is not enabled.
The top graph shows an example of how someone's battery would discharge the solar energy it has stored, without using Zelora's optimisation. You'll see that during off peak energy prices & peak energy price periods, it doesn't intuitively discharge the stored power.
In the second graph, you'll see that the battery is proactively discharging energy during a peak tariff period. This is because the system had forecasted lower solar generation for that day and proactively charged the battery during the off-peak period to help avoid higher energy costs later in the day.
Getting the most out of the optimisation software when you subscribe
Time of use tariff is an energy plan from your retailer where your electricity prices change based on the time of day. Our optimisation software works best when you are on one of these plans.
It means you could store energy when it’s cheapest and use your stored energy when prices peak: maximising your savings.
If you're not sure if you are on one of these plans, contact your energy retailer (the company that sends your electricity bills) and ask about their Time of Use tariffs. It's also worth comparing to other retailers. Most retailers can make the switch for you quickly.
If you don't yet have a bill, ask your energy retailer for their 'Rates card' which shows your plan details.
Just a quick reminder: if your tariff changes or you receive updated rates from your electricity retailer, don’t forget to upload your latest bill in the app (the page that displays the rates). This helps us keep your system optimised correctly and ensures the savings shown are accurate and up to date in the app.
We're here to support you with the Zelora app. Just call us on 1800 ZELORA (935 672) if you have any questions.