Auzion PV system and the AuziMAX Power Consumption Management System helps reduce power consumption at home

By Lodi Pameijer of Curramore, Queensland

Since we decided to install a PV system at our place in Curramore, we have learnt a lot about the power we use and can generate.

After attending a couple of meetings of the Sustainable Maleny group, where I learnt about what was possible these days with respect to creating a smaller environmental impact, I participated in a plan to bulk purchase and install a PV system and a power management system as part of a project that Auzion was managing.

Now that the 1.4KW PV system is installed and operating even better than I expected, we are generating power everyday – even on cloudy and rainy days.  Obviously, less power is generated on the overcast and cloudy days. 

The advantages I see are as follows;

• Power is generated where it is needed and so reduces the need to transmit power over long distances.  This saves energy in itself at the power station end. 

• The power we generate offsets the power used in our home, so we need to buy less power and we have reduced our electricity bill amount. 

• The excess power we generate is shared among all the other users on the electricity grid and we get a per KW credit for this. 

• General power demand is likely to be highest during the day, when many offices operate their air-conditioners and office equipment.  This is also the time that the PV system delivers its maximum capacity.  Hopefully, a distributed generating capacity of which we are now a part, reduces the amount of transmission infrastructure required from power stations. 

• The PV system works completely automatically 7 days per week and 365 days per year while the mains power is on. 

Since we installed the PV system, we have also installed a Solar Hot water system so now we do not need to purchase electricity to heat water.

After the PV system was installed, Auzion contractors and staff installed the AuziMAX, a power consumption management system that allows me to see in detail the amount of power we are using, when we are using it, and what circuit it is being used in.  I especially like the way that this enormous amount of data is presented in the form of pictures and graphs.  This helps us to engage all the members of our household to relate to what is happening.  This information is password protected and is available from any internet connected PC.  So you do not even need to be home to see the power usage pattern.

Since we started using the AuziMAX system we noticed that we were always using around 100 watts of power, even when we were asleep or not home.  We were a bit perplexed about this.  My wife and I decided that we would track this anomaly down by using the AuziMAX “Log” feature, which shows the usage on each of up to 16 power circuits each minute.

We started by turning off all the power consuming devices around the house.  After a minute or two the log showed that 95 watts of power was still being consumed and we thought we had everything turned off! We could not believe that this much power was essentially being wasted since it did nothing for us.  Let’s leave 10 watts to power the AuziMAX gear and the Broadband router.  85 watts x 24 hrs x 365 days per year works out to be 744,600 watt hours or 744.6 KWH.  We are charged 17.13 cents each for each KWH.  That works out to be $127.54 per year for nothing. And then there is the 44 cents per KWH that we lose for the power not shared with others - maybe a total of around $180.00 per year all up. Not to mention the fact that someone needs to generate this power and transmit it to us and as we are all being told that this also generates the CO₂ gases that enter our atmosphere. According to my electricity bill which shows that 1.04 Kilograms of CO2 is produced to generate 1 Kilowatt hour of power, this means we could reduce production of 774.384 Kilograms of CO₂ gases per year.  Imagine if the approximate 8 Million households in  Australia did the same exercise! We would all achieve reduction of over 6 million tonnes of CO₂ and $1,020,000,000 per year in electricity bills.

So we stared switching off the power and lights circuit breakers one by one so see where the power was going.  This was a very easy task as all we had to do was watch the AuziMAX log for at least two minutes to see the result.  The problem was in the power circuit.  Then we tracked down all the power points to the TVs, computers, bedside lamps, clock radios, microwave oven etc. and turned them all off.  Yes, that did it.  Consumption was down to 10 watts or less – enough to power the AuziMAX gear and the broadband router. We used a power meter to confirm this.

This exercise took us about an hour or so.  Now, the AuziMAX “power” graph in the analysis section shows us the result.  Over time our electricity bill will show us a result too! And we know that we have done a little bit to achieve a healthier atmosphere. 

Having the tools to give us this information allowed us to take action.  Apart from the action taken of looking for the “hidden” power use, we as a family are also aware of the value of turning off lights and powered devices when not in use.  We want to be more efficient uses of power without compromising our lifestyle too much.  Over the next year or so we will know whether we can sustain our newly found “careful” habit.  We will be looking out for easier ways to depower devices when not in use without us having to, for example, reach in behind the TV to feel for all the switches to turn on and off the DVD, Video, TV etc, and when we purchase new things we will be thinking about the power use over it’s lifespan.

We have also heard of planned substantial rises in the cost of electricity over the next couple of years. These rises do not seem to include the increased costs due to the fact that most of Australia’s electricity is generated from coal, and one day we will have to pay for whatever measures, technologies, or system/s that are put in place to meet Australian commitments to reduce emissions.

So for a modest investment in the AuziMAX Power Consumption Management System of less than $900.00 (depending on the cost of the setup of the main switchboard), we have a very valuable tool.   We believe we can easily recoup this investment over the next 3 to 5 years.

The Auzion PV system, which increases our capacity to generate our own power, and the AuziMAX system, which helps us reduce our power wastage, together will help us be more efficient users of electricity.  We recommend these systems to others and can say that the contractors and staff that have been involved in the installation of all the components were very professional as well as considerate and careful while working in our home.

While the policy makers and politicians around the world are working hard to balance the economic needs of their respective countries and economies, and creating laws that all businesses will need to comply with, we as individuals can start work today and spend an hour or so reducing the 80-100 watts of “hidden” power use in our homes and the results are achieved immediately and the total result could be spectacular.

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