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Harris Hutkin and his partner had installed solar panels in a home before, but when they moved they went bigger. He was excited to see the results.
And he could, in real-time.
An app linked to his panels, inverter and battery provides all the statistics on his output, storage, capacity and usage, he could possibly need.
“I am checking it way more than I would have ever thought I would be, probably at least once a day,” the 52-year-old AI adviser from Sydney said.
“If I look outside, and it’s cloudy, then it sort of triggers me to go, ‘Oh, I need to just have a look and see what’s going on.’”
The federal government in January announced over 200,000 households, businesses and community halls had installed batteries under its Cheaper Home Batteries program, introduced in July 2025. Under the scheme, a subsidy of around 30 per cent of the cost of installing a range of small-scale batteries is paid directly to suppliers.
Energy self-sufficiency has been on Australians’ minds since the recent cost-of-living spike. Like others, Hutkin was inspired to get more out of his second solar installation after seeing friends use an app to compare usage, tips and tricks.
“I’d been at barbecues and at friends’ places where people were pulling [an energy tracking app] up,” he said. “I’d never really paid much attention to my energy usage.
“Now I’m playing a game between myself and the power company to figure out how to not pay them any more money.”
Robbie Campbell, chief executive at Hutkin’s solar and battery provider, Plico, estimates hobbyist home solar users were about 15 to 20 per cent of his company’s customer base.
“But those are the types of customers who end up referring other customers to our company,” he said. “They are doing that gamification and showing their mates how much they can save.”
Campbell said the gamification pitch was convincing because most customers install solar for economic reasons, not for the environment.
“In the early days it was mainly customers who were interested in the green solution … it was good for the planet,” he said. “For 95 per cent of our customers now, the economics ... is the number one decision point.”
Energy stat tracking apps are generally tied to a customer’s set up. Hutkin uses AlphaESS. Sigenergy is the other major proprietary solution Plico works with, but there are other options.
Seeing what works also leads people to make smarter decisions around energy usage.
Hutkin, who has two children, one still living at home, has installed a bluetooth switch on his water heater to make the most of day-time sun and avoid draining his battery overnight.
He is looking into other add-ons that can squeeze more out of his battery.
John Boland, professor of environmental mathematics at Adelaide University, said while there was probably a gamification element of cost-saving “amongst us geeks,” the biggest thing driving uptake of solar in homes were government incentives.
Boland thinks the fact people often have to install an app to get their solar and battery setup running can lead to small changes, while events like major storms and power outages can change behaviours.
“About two-and-a-half years ago there was a big storm in South Australia … We had a tree come down in our street, and it took out the power lines,” he said.
Their street was without power for five days, but Boland and his wife could live off their battery, even letting neighbours charge phones and laptops. It made them more conscious of their own use.
“On the Sunday afternoon ... I looked at the app and said, ‘Oh my god, the battery’s full!’,” he said.
With the remaining hours of precious sun going to waste, he started vacuuming, and his wife put washing on.
Richard Keech runs Melbourne-based home energy consultancy New Energy Thinking, advising home owners on optimising their properties, from improving insulation to energy set-ups.
He said while apps and statistics can be a focus for some, for most people it was the first cold day of winter, or the first hot day of summer, driving them to improve their home’s energy efficiency.
Keech himself is an avid energy tracker.
He has a wholesale deal with his energy provider, and managed to get his total bill for 2025 down to $40 through feeding electricity back into the grid when the market was highest.
“My best day was on a Thursday evening,” he said. “It was a hot summer’s evening, the price was spiking, and I think I made like $60 in 20 minutes.”
Hutkin is looking into how to automate future savings through AI.
“I imagine that in the not-too-distant future... you get to the point where the system just manages itself,” he said. “And then I’ll discover more things.”
