solarcity adds a mobile app to award winning offering
Kristin Gillies, September 08, 2017
SEANZ member solarcity have added an app to their solarzero offering for which they won last year’s SEANZ “Most innovative new initiative” award last year.
The solarZero app uses Vodafone's global "Internet of Things" networks through a cellular connection. It enables homeowners to manage their home's appliances using their smartphone from anywhere in the world, at any time.
The solarZero IoT app uses a cloud-based network to give homeowners personal insights into their electricity use, to determine how to most effectively manage energy.
The platform will allow users to control appliances by switching them off when they are not needed and scheduling heavy loads such as hot water systems, heat pumps and pool pumps, washing machines and dryers to run at optimal times.
This will save the user money but also reduce peak loads on the electricity network, eventually allowing network operators to reduce capacity and therefore logically reduce electricity costs for all consumers.
The platform connects machines, devices and objects to the internet, turning them into 'intelligent' assets which can communicate their usage and respond to activity around them in real-time.
The solarZero app will be able to remotely manage and control over 50,000 appliances in the home - such as whiteware and the hot water system. It allows the homeowner to maximise their use of solar, allowing them to use appliances, batteries and smart electric water control to automatically modify energy usage based on how much solar power is available. It also integrates with electric vehicles to help manage and optimise charging times.
