Pylon’s Co-Founder sheds light on how the company’s new tool ‘Battery Adviser’ is helping solar retailers design a smarter solar-plus-storage system.
Australia’s solar retailers are entering a new phase of complexity. The sector is being reshaped by sharper consumer expectations, changing retailer obligations and the rising importance of behind-the-metre storage. Against this backdrop, Pylon, a solar design platform, has introduced a new digital tool called ‘Battery Adviser,’ with a promise to give installers a technical leg up. One of its biggest advantages is the ability to calculate the ideal battery size for any home-based on real usage patterns and household energy goals.
For a platform already relied upon by hundreds of retailers and installers to produce fast, high-resolution proposals, Battery Adviser marks a meaningful progression toward data-driven, tailored solar-plus-storage design.
“Battery storage is one of the fastest-growing segments in solar, but sizing it correctly has always been a major hurdle for solar installers,” says Nelson Zheng, Co-Founder of Pylon.
“Because households can now shift major loads into that free power window, the right-sized battery becomes even more critical. Battery Adviser gives solar retailers a data-driven way to design systems that deliver real value for homeowners with the changing energy offer landscape,” he adds.
Alignment with Solar Sharer initiative
Battery Adviser arrives as the Federal Government prepares to launch the Solar Sharer initiative, which will require energy retailers from July 2026 to offer households in New South Wales, South-East Queensland and South Australia with a free three-hour daytime electricity window.
This policy shift will reshape household energy use to encourage people to run appliances during the free power period and rely on storage for the remainder of the day. For retailers and installers, the challenge will be configuring systems that suit those new behaviours.
Battery Adviser automates this process. It analyses a home’s existing solar system, consumption patterns, load-shifting opportunities, and homeowner goals like maximising bill savings. It then provides a tailored recommendation for the ideal battery size, helping avoid over or under-sizing by matching capacity precisely to real household behaviour and the emerging policy landscape.
Grounded in real installer feedback
Pylon’s success in meeting the needs of solar installers is a credit to their community-first approach. The team regularly attends global solar conferences and speaks with installers across Australia and New Zealand. This theme was explored in Pylon’s recent appearance on the ‘Tassie Solar Man’ podcast hosted by George Auchterlonie of REST Energy Tasmania.
In the episode, Zheng revealed that it was only after speaking directly with installers that Pylon recognised the glaring gap in the industry when it came to the offering of design tools for installers to do their job more effectively and accurately.
Many of Pylon’s most popular features have come directly from installer requests to solve everyday workflow frustrations. From smarter drawing tools to streamlined proposals, the platform has evolved through thousands of conversations held on rooftops, at trade expos and in workshop training sessions.
“Honestly, Pylon wouldn’t even exist if we hadn’t chatted with a bunch of installers first. You really have to be obsessed with your users’ problems and really listen. Everyone has a different way of providing feedback, so we try to meet them wherever they are,” Zheng says.
“One installer told me he was working on an install next door when a curious neighbour called him over. He ended up closing the deal right at the neighbour’s kitchen table using Pylon’s all-in-one platform – he designed the system on the spot, got the e-signature, and even collected a deposit then and there. When I heard that, I knew we’d built something that truly streamlines the whole process,” he adds.
The podcast also touches on the shift away from near-map-only design workflows, as well as the seasonal nature of solar sales – highlighting why many retailers prefer not to commit to fixed software fees or long-term contracts. Pylon’s pay-as-you-go credit model means businesses only pay for what they use, a structure Zheng describes as a “no-brainer” in a competitive market where efficiency and fast proposal turnaround times can determine a sale.
Pylon’s global conference calendar remains central to its success, giving the team concentrated, face-to-face time with installers and early visibility of emerging trends.
Trends shaping solar across Australasia
In the recent podcast, Nelson also discussed the sharp contrast between the Australia and New Zealand market. Australia is one of the world’s leading solar adopters, whereas New Zealand has a slower uptake due to lower feed-in tariffs and a more cautious regulatory environment. For installers working across both countries, Zheng notes that policy frameworks, incentives and consumer behaviour can significantly influence technology adoption. He also comments on the residential versus commercial market.
“Right now, we’re seeing battery installs really take off. It’s probably the biggest trend in residential solar. At the same time, feed-in tariffs have dwindled, so the old ‘solar-only’ model is fading. Homeowners care more about self-consumption and storage now than ever before,” Zheng said.
“Selling to a homeowner versus a business is a whole different ball game. Homeowners might be swayed by a neighbour’s install or a rebate, while businesses pore over the investment numbers. Both markets are booming, but you have to approach them very differently,” Zheng added.
Zheng also highlights what makes the Australia market particularly dynamic.
“Australia has always been the home of solar innovation going back to the 1980s. In recent years, we have benefited from a remarkably stable regulatory environment for rooftop installations. We’re seeing that Small-Scale Technology Certificates are one of the best-designed policies to increase solar uptake across the world, and they’ve worked extraordinarily well,” he said.
Next phase of home energy design
As energy retailers, consumers and policymakers continue shifting toward more dynamic models of consumption and storage, tools like Battery Adviser will become more essential. With Battery Adviser now integrated into Pylon’s workflow, more retailers will have the opportunity to produce richer, accurate and future-ready proposals in minutes.
Battery sizing – once a mix of guesswork and generic assumptions – can now be determined through precise and household-specific modelling. According to Pylon, this shift will accelerate battery adoption and reduce mismatched systems across Australasia.
As Zheng emphasises throughout the podcast: “The future of solar design lies in listening closely to installers, understanding local market nuances, and building tools that evolve fast.”
With Battery Adviser, Zheng believes Pylon is putting that philosophy into practice.