Richard & Joan, Barossa Valley

Nuriootpa retirees, Richard and his wife Joan are setting the standard for solar savings in South Australia.

The duo started their solar journey four years ago when they installed rooftop solar panels. When their existing gas water heater failed, the couple saw an opportunity to achieve even better results by switching to a Solahart PowerStore and becoming part of the SA Smart Network.

In the six months since they combined their PV with solar electric water heating, the pair has generated 95 per cent of their hot water through their solar system, costing just $4.31 to heat the household water - or the price of a small coffee.

Solahart PowerStore is Australia’s first and leading solar electric water heater. It works in conjunction with a solar panel system to capture excess solar energy used, and then convert into hot water.

PowerStore monitors your electricity usage during the day and then delivers any excess solar power that is not being used by household appliances towards your water heater, rather than allowing it to be fed back into the grid.  

The system holds up to 315 litres of water and equates to approximately 13kWh of thermal storage capacity to utilise excess solar power generated.  

Real savings for your wallet and the environment

Solahart Mile End installed Richard and Joan’s new PowerStore and removed the failed gas hot water system. 

Richard describes the installation as professional and appreciates that the team invested time to ensure they knew how to set up and operate their PowerStore to get the best value.

“Solahart Mile End made the process extremely seamless with excellent service. They were there to help at every corner,” says Richard. 

“After seeing our power bills go up, year after year, I’m thrilled that we’ve made the move to solar PV and Solahart PowerStore. We’ve already seen huge reductions on our power bills and are looking forward to seeing savings for years to come,” says Richard. 

Cut energy bills further with Smart monitoring from home

Richard and Joan can continue to check just how much they are saving with solar through the Solahart AtHome App, and control their energy use to further reduce energy bills. 

Through AtHome App monitoring, Aussie households can save on rising power bills and maximise their solar investment by storing excess solar, controlling home appliance energy usage, and shifting power use away from expensive peak times. 

“The Solahart AtHome App is a great tool that allows me to see how much money we’re saving with the PowerStore, how much power certain household appliances use, and even shows us when we’re generating the most solar.

“This means that we’ll run certain appliances - like the dryer and washing machine - when we’re producing the most solar, and end up paying significantly less for the power used,” concludes Richard.