Congratulations on installing your SigEnergy Solar Battery! While solar power is the primary way to charge your battery, leveraging grid power during specific times can boost your savings even further. By switching to a Time-Of-Use (TOU) electricity plan, you can take advantage of lower-cost Off-Peak and Super-Off-Peak tariffs.
There are two key benefits to switching to a TOU electricity plan:
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Extended Savings Through the Night: If your battery’s charge does not last the entire night, you will continue to achieve savings using lower-cost overnight Off-Peak grid power.
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Reliable Charging on Cloudy Days: On days with limited sunlight, your solar panels may not generate enough excess power to fully charge the battery. By scheduling AC charging during the ‘Super Off-Peak’ period, you can top-up your battery affordably, ensuring it reaches 100% charge every day, regardless of the weather.
Setting up an automatic AC charging schedule for your SigEnergy Battery during these cost-effective windows guarantees energy reliability and savings.
synergy TIME-OF-USE PLANS AVAILABLE
Positive Energy Solutions is a Perth based company where the majority of residents are on the Synergy ‘Home A1’ plan which offers a flat tariff of 33.26 cents/kWh.
However, Synergy also offers some TOU plans to encourage or discourage grid power usage during certain times.
SYNERGY ‘MIDDAY SAVER’
https://www.synergy.net.au/Your-home/Energy-plans/Midday-Saver
- Super Off-Peak (9am to 3pm) = only 8.85 cents/kWh.
- Peak (3pm to 9pm) = 55.32 cents/kWh. Fortunately, your Solar & Battery system provides power during this expensive window.
- Off-Peak (9pm to 9am) = 24.34 cents/kWh.
Or for those with an Electric Vehicle or Plug-in Hybrid…
SYNERGY ‘EV ADD ON’
(similar to the Midday Saver plan, but with an even lower overnight off-peak rate)
https://www.synergy.net.au/Your-home/Energy-plans/Electric-Vehicle-Add-On
- Super Off-Peak (9am to 3pm) = 8.85 cents/kWh.
- Peak (3pm to 9pm) = 55.32 cents/kWh.
- Off-Peak (9pm to 11pm / 6am to 9am) = 24.34 cents/kWh.
- Overnight (11pm to 6am) = 19.91 cents/kWh.
*Note: These Synergy TOU plans have a higher daily Supply Charge of 132.78 cents per day. In comparison, the standard Synergy ‘Home A1’ Supply Charge is 119.24 cents per day. This is a $49.40 per year difference.
A real-world example
Our customer, Steve, recently had a 24kWh SigEnergy Battery installed on his home in Padbury. Paired with a 10kW SigEnergy Energy Controller (inverter) + 10.5kW of SunPower solar panels, the battery is easily charged to 100% on sunny days using excess solar power.
However… on a cloudy Winter’s day with low solar production and reverse-cycle heating keeping the home toasty warm, excess solar can fall short of fully charging the battery.
Steve has set an automatic daily force charge schedule from 1pm – 3pm. This topped-up the battery to nearly 100% using ‘Super Off-Peak’ grid power for only 8.85 cents/kWh.
With a charged-up battery, Steve does not have to worry about his battery becoming depleted before the night is over.
quick guide: SETTING AN Automatic CHARGING SCHEDULE
After you have switched to a TOU electricity plan, log in to your SigEnergy MySigen app. From the dashboard, select the 3 dots at the top right of the screen.
Under ‘Energy Management Settings‘, click ‘Operational Mode‘
Click ‘Current Mode‘
Select ‘Time-based Control‘, then click ‘Schedule‘
Select ‘Charging‘, then set a start & stop time. This is the time window that your battery will force charge using lower-cost ‘Super Off-Peak’ grid power.
TIPS:
*Allow enough time to charge your battery with the desired amount of energy. For example, a 10kW inverter can charge at 10kW max power. Therefore, Steve’s two hour charging window ensures his battery is charged with at least 20kWh of energy before 3pm*
**On sunny days, the battery may already be fully charged using excess solar power before the automatic charging period. In that case, the battery will not use grid power to top-up**
***Be sure the charging Stop time is no later than 15:00 (3pm). This is when the expensive Synergy Peak tariff begins. The goal is to run on stored battery power after 3pm***
Select ‘Self-Consumption‘ twice to autofill the time periods on either side of the charging window.
This tells the system to prioritise self-consumption i.e. use solar to power the home and charge the battery. And use the battery to power the home when there is insufficient solar power.
Lastly, click ‘Next’, save the settings, and the setup is complete.
If you have any trouble, our Positive Energy team will be happy to help.
NEED A BATTERY EXPANSION?
If your battery is often not lasting the entire night, you may want to consider a Battery Expansion. Especially if your battery is being depleted before 9pm.
Fortunately, SigEnergy is one of the most scalable batteries on the market, allowing up to six 9kWh battery modules per stack = up to 54kWh.
