South Australian owner-occupier households that are interested in transitioning to an energy-smart home that could reduce their energy bills and carbon footprint.

Eligibility criteria to be considered as one of the 500 Energy Masters households is available on the Eligibility page of this website.

By accepting a place in Energy Masters, households will:

• trial at least one type of home energy optimisation
• trial flexible import and export limits for their home electricity (through a flexible network connection)
• participate in research
• comply with the Energy Masters eligibility criteria
• accept the Energy Masters Terms and Conditions.

Review the What to expect page for more details on these requirements.

Households selected to join Energy Masters access:

• a free home energy management system
• subsidies on energy-smart appliances
• energy plans that reward flexible energy use
• insights and flexibility with a mobile app
• low-cost finance if they wish.

Read more about the offer

In return, selected households agree to participate in research that will strengthen South Australia's position in the global energy transition.

Energy Masters is a research project trialing new models of home energy optimisation and demand flexibility, with funding to support 500 households.

This provides a diverse group from which to collect data and feedback, enabling the demonstration of a simple, reliable and cost-effective way for all South Australians to become masters of their energy use.

Express your interest in joining Energy Masters using the Energy Masters Expression of Interest form.

Places are limited and interest has been high. Consider  the eligibility criteria, terms and conditions, and what to expect before expressing your interest.

Places in Energy Masters are not ‘first come first served’. Households will be carefully selected by the project team to make sure the research is representative of as many South Australians as possible.

Participating households receive subsidies that in most cases are expected to cover between 50 and 90 percent of the cost of eligible appliances, including installation. Higher subsidy places have also been set aside for Priority Households.

Participating households receive a free Home Energy Management System (HEMS), which will help them automate and optimise their energy use.

The savings that a participating household may achieve on their energy bills will depend on a range of factors. This includes how much energy they use and when they use it, how many and which appliances they upgrade, how flexible they are happy to be with their energy use, how much they choose to make use of automation features and energy usage recommendations, and whether they participate with an Energy Masters partner energy retailer.

Whilst there is an expectation of lower energy bills through Energy Masters, there is no guarantee.

Our research partners, RACE for 2030, include specialist energy researchers from around Australia, based at University of South Australia, University of Technology Sydney, and University of NSW. By signing up to Energy Masters, households consent to participating in the research program.

The research team will be engaging directly with participating households at regular intervals to find out more about how they use and think about energy, as well as any changes that might have come about due to their individual circumstances or involvement in the program. This engagement could take the form of a survey or interview.

At a minimum, as an Energy Masters households are:

• consenting to their household electricity meter data being shared with and analysed by the researchers
• required to complete at least three research surveys which require them to share information such as (but not limited to) the age and gender of people in their household, how their house is constructed and how they use it, how and why they use energy, and what their motivations and challenges are about energy and related topics, and
• agreeing to participate in the trial of SA Power Networks’ flexible imports, which includes sending network signals (through flexible network connections) to their new HEMS to enable flexible energy use of opted-in devices to support the network.

These minimum research requirements are reflected in the Energy Masters Terms and Conditions and the Research Participant Information Sheet (PDF, 536.3 KB) and are a condition of continued participation in Energy Masters.

All appliances and technology offered through Energy Masters have been selected based on quality, performance, and reliability. Project partner MAC Trade Services will assist every household with considering the options that are best suited to their home and their needs, and all appliance installations other than a home energy management system are voluntary.

Every household receives a free Clipsal Cortex home energy management system to maximise the flexibility and minimise the running costs of their electrical appliances.

Yes.

Energy Masters households get access to energy plans designed to reward flexible energy use, from partner electricity retailers Energy Australia and Amber.

The expectation is that participating households will be able to improve their savings by being on one of these exclusive energy plans.

It is not mandatory to be an EnergyAustralia or Amber customer to participate in Energy Masters. You can participate whilst being a customer of any electricity retailer.

Yes.

Smart meters are the new standard in electricity meters. A smart meter gives you more options on how you use and manage your electricity and access to a wider range of energy services, all of which are important to Energy Masters.

Smart meters are digital and record your electricity use at least every 30 minutes. This data is critical for the research collected through Energy Masters to demonstrate a simple, reliable and cost-effective way for all South Australians to become masters of their energy use.

You can say no to having smart meter installed but your household will not be able to participate in Energy Masters.

You can read more about smart meters on factsheets from the Energy & Water Ombudsman SA and the Australian Energy Regulator.

A home energy management system (HEMS) is a combination of hardware and software that can monitor and display your energy usage, and optimise the operation and running costs of different electrical items around your home.

HEMS hardware typically consists of a small box mounted on your home’s switchboard, connected either by your existing electrical wiring or by your home’s wifi to different items around your home.

HEMS software typically consists of smart programming and algorithms that can read, monitor, and optimise your electrical items automatically, or when guided by settings you choose. The software also typically includes an interactive interface to help you learn and understand your energy through a mobile app or website.

Every Energy Masters household will receive a free Clipsal Cortex HEMS and free access to the Clipsal Cortex app, tailored for Energy Masters households, to help maximise the flexibility and minimise the running costs of their home's electricity.

The Clipsal Cortex HEMS may be connected to any or all of the following items in your home:

• Rooftop solar system
• Home battery storage
• Heat pump hot water system
• Split system air-conditioning unit/s
• Smart electric vehicle (EV) charger

You will always have the ability to choose which items your HEMS is connected to and how automatically or manually it operates.

An energy-smart air conditioner is an air-conditioning unit that can be connected to the internet and operated by an app, smart device, or home energy management system (HEMS).

Energy Masters households will be able to access subsidies for energy-smart split system air-conditioners and have them installed by project partner MAC Trade Services. In some cases, households will also be able to upgrade their existing split system air-conditioners to energy-smart versions by the addition of a small wall-mounted controller.

Energy Masters households will then be able to connect their energy-smart air-conditioners to their Clipsal Cortex HEMS and use the Clipsal Cortex app to understand the running costs of their connected air-conditioners and automatically or manually control their operation.

Only if you also already have at least one electric split system air-conditioning unit at your house, or are willing to have a unit installed as part of your Energy Masters journey.

This is because Energy Masters is researching new ways of household energy flexibility by incorporating, combining, and orchestrating appliances that are or can be made 'smart' and can communicate with home energy management systems. Split system air-conditioning units meet these requirements thanks to the way that they operate and how they receive signals (typically through infrared light, for example via a remote control). At this stage, ducted air-conditioning systems do not meet these requirements as they generally rely on a hard-wired wall-mounted controller, and therefore cannot be involved in Energy Masters.

Households that need to install a split system air-conditioning unit to be able to join Energy Masters are supported with subsidies that cover between 50 and 90 percent of the cost of eligible appliances, including a standard installation. Through Energy Masters, 2.6 kW smart air-conditioning units are available from as little as $199 for Priority households and $473 for all other households. More details of the units and subsidies can be found in the Energy Masters Price Guide available at https://mactradeservices.com.au/energy-masters.

A heat pump hot water system is a highly energy efficient way to provide hot water to your home. These systems work in a similar way to reverse-cycle air conditioners when run on a heating cycle, but heat water instead of the air inside your home.

Heat pump hot water systems typically use less electricity than a conventional electric hot water system and can also be cheaper to run than a gas hot water system. This is because the energy is used to operate the heat pump and doesn’t heat the water directly with an element.

Energy Masters households will be able to access subsidies for heat pump hot water systems and have them installed by project partner MAC Trade Services.

Energy Masters households will then be able to connect their heat pump hot water system to their Clipsal Cortex HEMS and use the Clipsal Cortex app to understand the running costs of their hot water system and automatically or manually control their operation.

Electric vehicle (EV) smart chargers can connect not just to the EV being charged, but also to a home energy management system to receive direction from you, or your electricity retailer or the grid if you allow it. This is different to a regular EV charger, which just supplies electricity to the car’s battery in a simple ‘on/off’ manner.

This means your EV charging can be optimised based on your needs, preferences, and lifestyle. With an EV smart charger, you can direct your car to charge when electricity is cheapest, when renewable energy is available, to make sure your car is fully charged and ready to drive at a certain time of day, or a combination of all of these.

Energy Masters households will be able to connect their EV smart charger to their Clipsal Cortex HEMS and the Clipsal Cortex app to understand the charging costs of their electric vehicle and automatically or manually control how it charges.

At its simplest, compatibility or "integrations" make sure your devices and your HEMS can talk to each other. Think of it like making sure they both speak the same language, or at least have an automated and accurate interpreter always sitting between them.

By being able to speak to each other, your HEMS can read accurate data from your solar and/or your batter system at any time, and can coordinate the behaviour of your solar and/or batter systems based on:

• what the HEMS is seeing across your whole home
• the instructions you give it
• your retail tariff
• the capacity of the distribution network, or grid
• any advanced features you wish to use, like your devices automatically responding to real-time energy market conditions that could save or even make you money.

Without an integration between your solar or battery and your HEMS, we believe there might be a risk of you being exposed to higher bills or inefficient use of your own solar or stored energy. In simple terms, this risk is because your HEMS can’t manage the “full picture” of some of your home’s most important energy infrastructure – it’s like trying to solve a puzzle without having all the pieces.

As a project team, we don’t believe it’s right for Energy Masters to be exposed to this risk. If you are an Energy Masters household and are concerned this risk might be present at your home, please contact the Energy Masters team to discuss.

If you already have or are thinking about getting solar or a battery, ensuring your system is compatible with the Clipsal Cortex Home Energy Management System (HEMS) is key to taking full advantage of what's on offer to you through Energy Masters.

The thing is though, not every solar or battery system is currently compatible. The Clipsal Cortex HEMS we've selected for Energy Masters has one of the longest lists of compatible systems on the market, but even then, it still doesn't cover all of them.

We know that's a problem, and it's one of the issues we are trying to solve as part of Energy Masters. It's a well-known problem called "interoperability", and the research that comes out of Energy Masters will be critical to delivering true interoperability for all Australian energy users, to make sure all their smart appliances can communicate and work together seamlessly.

The following list details the solar and battery inverters that are already compatible with the Clipsal Cortex HEMS. If you have multiple inverters or systems at your home, please get in touch with our team to check if that combination is compatible.

If you don't see your solar inverter or battery on the list right now, that doesn't mean it won't be compatible in time - we just can't guarantee any timeframes for when it will be compatible. As new integrations become available, we'll add them to this list.

Note that all of these inverters and batteries are single phase systems. There are no three-phase systems compatible at this time.

Compatible single-phase solar inverters:

• Alpha G3 3.6-5kW and Smile5 5kW
• eCACTUS WH Series 5-6kW
• ESYSun HM Series 5-6kW
• FIMER Uno-DEM 3.3-5
• Fronius Primo Gen24 3-10kW and Primo Snap 3-8.2kW
• GE GEH-Hybrid 5-10kW and GEP 5-10kW
• Goodwe DNS-30 3-6kW, MS-30 5-10kW, DNS 3-6kW, EH 3.6-6kW, EH Plus 3.6-10kW, MS 5-10kW, and NS
• Growatt Min 2.5-6k-TL-X and Min 7-10k TL-X
• iStore 1P5K-4G 5-6kW and HYB 5-10kW
• SAJ H2 kS2 3-10kW, R5 3-8kW, R6 5-10kW, and HYD EP 3-6kW
• SMA SB 3-6kW and Smart Energy (SE) 5-6kWSofar KTLM 3-10kW and ES-6K-S1 3-6kW
• SolPlanet ASW-SA 5-10kW and ASW H-G2 3-6kW
• Sungrow SG KD 3-6kW, SG ORD 5-10kW, and SH ORS Hybrid 8-10kW

Compatible single-phase batteries:

• Alpha G3 3.6-5kW and Smile 5 5kW
• BYD with Fronius GEN24
• Esy Sun Homes HM Series 5-6kW
• E-Cactus WH Series 5-6kW
• SAJ H2 KS2 3-10kW
• Sigenergy SigEnerStor 3-6kW
• Sungrow SH ORS HYB 8-10kW
• SMA SMA-SE
• Tesla Powerwall, Powerwall 2 and Powerwall 3

Let your electrician know that you have a HEMS device, and that it is connected to specific appliances in your home for monitoring and management (e.g. hot water system, solar/battery inverter, electric vehicle charger). Changes in the wiring of your switchboard may impact the functionality of the HEMS device.

If you need specific advice for electrical works, please call us on 8429 3100 or email info@saenergymasters.com.au

If you notice issues with your HEMS or Clipsal Cortex app after having electrical work done at your home, please contact us on 8429 3100 or email info@saenergymasters.com.au

We love this for you – we all know solar can save you money and of course makes you even more renewable.

However, without an integration between your solar and your HEMS, we believe there might be a risk of you being exposed to higher bills or inefficient use of your own solar. You can read more about why in this FAQ.

To avoid this risk, before you lock in the details of your new solar, check out our list of solar and battery systems that are compatible with Energy Masters.

This list is updated regularly, but if you'd like to double check the status of a particular model, you can also contact use via phone on 8429 3100 or email info@saenergymasters.com.au

Like any major purchase, this list shouldn't be your only consideration when deciding what to buy. However, choosing a system with one of the listed inverters will mean your system can be integrated with your HEMS and you can make the most of your Energy Masters flexibility.

After you have had a compatible system installed, let us know about your new solar via phone on 8429 3100 or email info@saenergymasters.com.au.

By doing this, we may be able to help you get additional value out of your solar by connecting it to your HEMS.

If you have installed a non-compatible system, please still let us know as we may still be able to support you in monitoring the generation, self-consumption and export from your system.

That's awesome - thousands of South Australians are installing home batteries and it's great to hear you'll be one of them.

However, without an integration between your battery and your HEMS, we believe there might be a risk of you being exposed to higher bills or inefficient use of your stored energy. You can read more about why in this FAQ.

To avoid this risk, before you lock in the details of your new battery, check out our list of solar and battery systems that are compatible with Energy Masters.

This list is updated regularly, but if you'd like to double check the status of a particular model, you can also contact us via phone on 8429 3100 or email info@saenergymasters.com.au

Like any major purchase, this list shouldn't be your only consideration when deciding what to buy. However, choosing a system with one of the listed inverters will mean your system can be integrated with your HEMS and you can make the most of your Energy Masters flexibility.

After you have had a compatible system installed, let us know about your new solar via phone on 8429 3100 or email info@saenergymasters.com.au.

By doing this, we may be able to help you get additional value out of your solar by connecting it to your HEMS.

If you have installed a non-compatible system, please still let us know as we may still be able to support you in monitoring the charging and discharging of your system and help you get the most value from your Clipsal Cortex app.

If you get an electric vehicle after joining Energy Masters, please let us know via phone on 8429 3100 or email info@saenergymasters.com.au.

This is so we can understand and measure the effect of your new car on your home's energy use, and provide extra tips on charging your EV at home.

Energy Masters is a project led by SA Power Networks, and supported by a partnership of trusted government and private organisations in the energy industry.

Project partners in Energy Masters are:

• Project lead: SA Power Networks
• Household Engagement Partner: Department for Energy and Mining Government of South Australia
• Research Partner: RACE for 2030
• HEMS Technology Partner: Clipsal Cortex (part of Schneider Electric)
• Installation Partner: MAC Trade Services
• Energy Retail Partners: Amber and Energy Australia
• Delivery Partner and Finance Provider: Plenti

The project has also received funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

All households will be contacted with an outcome regardless of whether they have been selected or not. If you expressed your interest but have not heard about your outcome, contact us to learn more.

Places in Energy Masters are not ‘first come first served’. Households will be carefully selected by the project team to make sure the research is representative of as many South Australians as possible.

Households that are not selected to join will still be supported to learn more about energy and their household energy needs through information, resources and tools from the Government of South Australia. As part of expressing interest, they can also choose to be advised of similar future opportunities from the Government of South Australia.