Australian solar energy software provider Solar Analytics has raised $2.1 million in grant funding from the federal government’s Australian Renewable Energy Agency to support the deployment of smart monitoring for residential solar.
The four-year project with ARENA will result in 25,000 homes benefiting from the smart solar monitoring technology by 2020.
The Solar Analytics funding forms part of ARENA’s Advancing Renewables Programme, a $50 million fund which aims to support projects that will reduce cost and increase use of renewable energy technologies.
The Solar Analytics monitoring technology can increase the energy yield of a rooftop solar system by more than 15%, increasing the financial return of residential solar power systems and driving increased solar uptake.
“We expect the increased energy yield resulting from Solar Analytics monitoring will translate to more than 300MW of additional solar generation across Australia, simply by optimising currently installed systems,” said Solar Analytics co-founder and director Dr Renate Egan (pictured).
“Our software monitors the performance of rooftop solar PV and provides solar owners with their energy generation and use data. With data, Solar Analytics empowers everyday Australians to navigate the changing energy landscape and take advantage of the enormous opportunities that come with new energy technologies including storage and energy trading.”
Solar Analytics’ monitoring service provides performance monitoring and fault diagnosis of residential solar PV systems. The business currently provides solar monitoring for more than 12,000 solar households across Australia, and has recently entered the New Zealand and US markets.