Construction is underway on a smart residential development in Western Sydney’s Norwest.
Expected to be completed in 2020, the development will become Australia’s first residential development with more than 74 homes that have a fully integrated home battery storage solution, allowing residents to have their appliances and home consumption automated through battery power.
Each of the homes will be powered by a 5.13kWp solar system, with a 10kWh sonnenBatterie to store excess daytime solar production, allowing customers to fully maximise the power produced.
In addition, homeowners will have the ability to charge their battery on off-peak power purchased from the grid and utilise the power directly from the battery at times when it would normally be more expensive.
Households will no longer have to pay for power in the traditional sense, with a monthly fee model that will limit electricity bills.
In a $1.5 million installation deal signed between Australian company Natural Solar, and global developer Mulpha, Natural Solar will be providing both home batteries and solar panels in the new Essentia development.
Chris Williams, CEO and Founder of Natural Solar, said, “Commentary on ‘the home of the future’ has been rife, but it’s clear to see the concept of the future is already here in Australia.
“A relatively new technology to the market has been transformational, with home battery storage solutions no longer a ‘dumb’ battery or storage device, but fast becoming a central hub within a smart home ecosystem.
“These townhomes will have the ability to add state-of-the-art home automation, giving residents the ability to communicate with the sonnenBatterie direct,” he said.
Each battery has a smart learning algorithm, learning from household consumption patterns and able to predict and adjust how and when the battery discharges its power.
The sonnenBatterie will also be able to modify its behaviour based on the weather forecast, anticipating which time of day and the precise appliances the residents will utilise in order to best maximise savings and offer return-on-investment.
“While homeowners will have the ability to access and remotely turn appliances on and off using the sonnen app, the capabilities of the sonnenBatterie extend far further than this.
“Each sonnenBatterie will have the intelligence to decide when to turn appliances on and off in order to maximise self-consumption and savings. Essentially, your home will be able to make the tough decisions when it comes to power usage for you.
“In an increasingly competitive housing market, we are seeing consumers gravitate toward more energy efficient homes with properties that have a higher energy rating fetching a considerable premium. The energy savings are a vital component, while at the same time households with intelligent devices and home automation are key drivers in decision making process when purchasing a property,” Mr Williams said.
According to Natural Solar, the shift towards battery power has been mammoth, with a 2500 per cent increase in the rise of residential battery enquiries in the past 36 months, and a 1100 per cent increase in commercial battery power storage solution enquiries across Australia in the past eighteen months.
Essentia in Norwest is the first large-scale development to move wholeheartedly to technology-led solar and battery storage solutions for residents, and is a key milestone for both renewable energy and alternative energy solutions.
