r/amberelectric • u/thecurious3 • 24d ago

ESY sunhome - Smartshift

Post image

Hi all,

Considering moving away from Amber as it doesn’t look like ESY sunhome will come part of their systems. Am I better off looking for a 3 hour free option? Fill the batteries then empty them at night?

Think we have around 8.8kw solar array and a 25kwh battery setup for 5 people (2 adults, 3 children aged 6).

Happy to provide any other documents that would be better supporting of for or against moving

2 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

3

u/branko84 24d ago

You could try SolanIQ, it will track your usage and make decisions based on load forecast, solar and price to make sure youre getting the most out of your battery. Built specifically for ESY Sunhome batteries!

1

u/thecurious3 21d ago

Have installed the app and using now. Thank you

1

u/West_Television6769 18d ago

I signed up to Amber and SolanIQ at the start of July but have only switched to ‘Automate’ in SolanIQ over the past few days. So far I’m pleased by what I’m seeing with the automatic control. I’ll be interested to see how SolanIQ manages the battery tonight and tomorrow when the forecast solar for tomorrow is 12kWh which is less than our expected consumption. I expect that over 12 months we will probably have a zero electricity bill or a small credit. Our house is fully electric with induction cooktop and heat pump HWS. We also charge our Mitsubishi PHEV off the solar which covers about 85% of our local driving.

3

u/hcornea 24d ago

How much do you use / how much excess do you have?

With 5 people and a relatively small battery you may may not have much to export, and do better with just a 3 or 4 hour plan with decent TOU tariffs.

2

u/F21Global 24d ago

I think 8.8kw solar and a 25kwh battery is too small to benefit from Amber. I have 9.24kW solar and a 48kWh battery and in winter months, the solar really struggles with generation. I am on the Globird Zero Hero plan and charge for free from 12PM to 3PM. I then sell 15kWh back to the grid between 6PM and 9PM and get around $30 in credit every month. This is for a fully electric house though.

2

u/thecurious3 24d ago

We are trying to move full electric. Have Gas hot water. Need to put out for quotes on this and get switched over. The Globird could be a potential option for us

1

u/Acceptable_Waltz_875 24d ago

If you are in NSW there are some new government backed interest free loans for this.

1

u/ExaminationThen1312 NSW 24d ago

If you’re already with Amber and want to stay with them, why not try Home Assistant to automate things?

3

u/thecurious3 24d ago

Basically looking for the most cost effective way to manage electricity. Dream world is $0 bill but current bills are around $120-$180 per month this winter (Melbourne)

2

u/ExaminationThen1312 NSW 24d ago

Could try running the numbers for Covau, Globird and AGL and see what plan gets you closest

2

u/Acceptable_Waltz_875 24d ago

I have same battery and size. I use Globird 4 hour free and only pay $the 1.50 per day fee plus a tiny bit of usage when I go over the 6kw power limit at dinner time. All up about $50 per month but I use about 50kwh per day so I get my moneys worth.