Help the environment - and your wallet - with Powerpal

Find out if it’s time for an upgrade, to change your energy-usage habits or install solar with Powerpal.

The average Australian has a carbon footprint of around 14 tonnes of CO2 each year, and part of that comes from our electricity usage.

Of course, using electricity is a must. But, there is a way to reduce your costs - and your household CO2 emissions - with Powerpal.

Powerpal is an energy monitor that’s attached to your smart meter, and it provides real-time access to your energy consumption via an easy-to-use app. You can see exactly how much money your appliances are costing you, and how much power they’re using.

If you identify certain appliances that are using a lot more power than they should, it could be a sign that it’s time for an upgrade.

In fact, that’s exactly what happened to Powerpal customer Tara Laursen.

“We had a literal light bulb moment when we realised we had a really old lightbulb that was using way more power than all the other ones,” she said.

“Through better understanding our use, we were able to identify which devices needed to be upgraded to reduce our power usage and also be better for the environment.

“It gets quite addictive because it also gamifies your power usage, and you always want to get just a little bit more efficient.”

As part of the Victorian Government’s Energy Upgrades program, Powerpal is free for eligible Victorian residents, and compatible with most digital electricity metres - as long as you don’t live in an apartment or some regional areas.

If you don’t already have a digital electricity metre, you can call your energy retailer and ask for an upgrade! And, if you live outside of Victoria, you can still purchase a Powerpal energy monitor.

It can also help users reduce their energy use, and save up to 15 per cent on their energy bills each year. In fact, to date, Powerpal has helped users save a combined $7,340,192 on their bills and over 22,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

If you want to reduce your emissions even more, you could consider solar panels. These are great for the environment because they produce no greenhouse gases whatsoever.

After learning your usage over the first few weeks, the Solar Simulator becomes available in the Powerpal app to help you consider the benefits of solar installation. It can tell you how much different sized systems could save you over the next 10 years, and how much they cost to install, making any decision to invest a lot easier.

If you do opt to go solar, Powerpal will track the times your home has spare solar energy available. All you need to do is look for the flat spot in the middle of the day that shows times when no energy was required from the grid to power your home. This is a great time to run any occasional appliances, like your washing machine or dishwasher, utilise spare solar energy and maximise your benefits.

The Federal Government just revealed its plans to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, which includes plans for ultra-low-cost solar. The solar will produce electricity for less than $15 per megawatt hour - about half of what it costs now. As a result, solar could generate around half of Australia’s electricity by 2050.

It’s so easy to get a Powerpal energy monitor installed, all you need to do is register on the Powerpal website and within a few weeks a specialist installer will be out and install the device. The whole process takes less than 10 minutes and is completely free.

Just have a recent electricity bill handy, downloaded the app, and the installer will set up the app for you with current rates so you can view your energy consumption immediately.

Claim your FREE Powerpal smart energy monitor in Victoria today.