DON'T SETTLE FOR "DUMB" SOLAR – TRANSFORM IT INTO A SMART MONEY-SAVING POWERHOUSE
South Australians are upgrading their solar systems into intelligent, battery-ready assets. Join the smart solar revolution with a hybrid inverter + Jousto Energy Hub, and supercharge your savings and energy independence.
WHY STANDARD SOLAR ISN'T ENOUGH
Most solar owners already know the truth: traditional solar is leaving money on the table.
YOU'RE SELLING ENERGY FOR CENTS AND BUYING IT BACK FOR DOLLARS
In South Australia, feed-in tariffs have plummeted to near $0–$0.06/kWh, while you pay up to 30–50¢ per kWh from the grid. Ouch. That means every unit of solar you don't use yourself is basically a giveaway to your retailer, and you later pay a premium to buy power at night.
A "dumb" solar system only works when the sun is out. Come evening, you're back to full-price grid electricity. All that great solar output from noon? Without storage or smart controls, it's gone or sold for a pittance.
South Australia's sunny success has a flipside: on mild, bright days, the grid sometimes can't handle the flood of solar. New rules now require inverters to support dynamic export limits. If your system can't adjust, you risk being throttled down or even remotely switched off during critical times – losing generation you paid for.
Want to run your dishwasher at lunch to use solar? Or charge an EV cheaply? With a standard setup, it's manual effort (set timers, hope for sun) and often inconvenient. Many folks simply can't shift enough usage to daytime, so excess solar still goes to the grid for peanuts.
Imagine looking at your power bill and seeing charges for electricity you could have gotten free from your roof – if only your system were smarter. It's frustrating and feels like a missed opportunity.
1 in 4 new solar installations in South Australia are replacements or upgrades of older systems as people demand better performance and ROI.
The good news? There's a solution that fixes all of this. By upgrading to a smart solar PV system – combining a hybrid inverter with a Jousto Energy Hub – you can turn things around. Instead of feeding the grid for pennies, you'll feed your own savings.
MEET YOUR SOLAR'S UPGRADE: HYBRID INVERTER + JOUSTO ENERGY HUB = SMART SOLAR
This isn't just another solar system – it's an intelligent energy ecosystem built for the future.
HOW EACH PIECE WORKS TOGETHER TO DELIVER BIG BENEFITS
A smart solar system combines cutting-edge hardware with intelligent software to maximise your energy savings and self-sufficiency. Here's how it all works together:
- Hybrid Inverter: The heart of your system, ready for batteries and future expansion
- Battery Storage (Optional): Store excess solar for use when you need it most
- Jousto Energy Hub: The "brain" that orchestrates everything for maximum savings
- Smart Automation: Runs appliances when solar is abundant, minimises grid usage
- Real-Time Monitoring: See exactly where your energy is going and how much you're saving
THE KEY COMPONENTS OF YOUR SMART SOLAR SYSTEM
Each element plays a crucial role in transforming your solar experience.
GOODWE & FRONIUS HYBRID INVERTERS (BATTERY-READY)
At the heart is a state-of-the-art hybrid inverter from top brands like GoodWe or Fronius. These devices replace your old solar inverter. They don't just convert sunlight to usable power – they also manage battery storage seamlessly.
A hybrid inverter lets you charge a battery when there's surplus solar and draw from it when needed. It's designed for efficiency and easy expansion. For example, the GoodWe ET series supports high DC oversizing and has built-in UPS backup capability. The Fronius Gen24+ is renowned for quality and offers instant backup power via its PV Point and full-home backup option.
In short, these inverters are ready for whatever you throw at them – batteries, EVs, you name it – making your system truly future-proof.
BYD OR COMPATIBLE BATTERIES (OPTIONAL)
Pair the inverter with a robust battery bank (we offer globally trusted BYD batteries among others). This is your personal energy storage. Store excess solar power at lunchtime, use it at dinnertime – simple.
Modern batteries like BYD come in modular sizes (e.g. start with ~5 kWh, expand to 10+ kWh as needed). They use safe LiFePO4 chemistry and can discharge 100% of their capacity. What does that mean for you? More usable energy and more savings.
With a ~10 kWh battery, a typical SA home can save around $1,000+ per year on bills by avoiding peak rates. Plus, you gain protection from blackouts (keep the lights, fridge, and WiFi on when the grid goes down).
JOUSTO ENERGY HUB – THE SMART BRAIN
Think of this small device as the conductor of your home energy orchestra. It's built on the powerful Home Assistant platform and acts as the central controller for all your energy devices.
What does it do? In short, it monitors, decides, and acts – all automatically:
- It monitors your solar production, battery level, household energy use, and even external factors like electricity tariffs or weather forecasts.
- It decides the best way to use your energy in real-time. For example, if your solar is flooding in and your battery is full, the Hub can trigger your hot water heat pump or start charging your EV right when there's surplus.
- It acts by sending commands to devices: turning on smart plugs or appliances, adjusting EV charger flow, toggling your heat pump, or controlling the inverter's charge/discharge settings – all based on what will save you the most money and keep you comfortable.
With Jousto Hub, your solar system becomes proactive. It doesn't just sit there; it optimises every watt. The Hub's open integration means it can talk to hundreds of devices. So as you add an EV or smart appliance, it's all seamlessly integrated into one brain.
Result: more of your solar is used by you, and less is wasted or exported cheaply. In fact, Jousto-enabled homes dramatically boost their self-consumption (using 70–90% of the solar they generate, versus ~50% in unmanaged systems) – meaning dramatically lower bills.
In summary: A hybrid inverter + battery gives you the hardware to store and use solar energy on your terms, and the Jousto Energy Hub gives you intelligent automation to maximise the benefit. Together, they turn an ordinary solar array into a smart solar power plant for your home.
Get My Smart Solar QuoteKEY BENEFITS: WHY "SMART SOLAR" PAYS OFF FOR YOU
When you upgrade to a smart solar PV system with Jousto, you're unlocking a suite of benefits that directly tackle the pain points of old-school solar.
DRAMATICALLY LOWER POWER BILLS
By increasing your solar self-consumption, you cut how much expensive grid electricity you need to buy. Every unit of solar you use yourself is one less unit you pay ~35¢ for.
With smart controls, we ensure you use as much solar as possible through daytime automation, battery prioritisation, and peak shaving strategies.
FAST PAYBACK & FUTURE REBATES
With current electricity prices, a typical solar+battery setup can pay for itself in ~7–10 years through bill savings – and that's without any extra incentives.
If you're upgrading an existing system, you still get the federal STC solar rebate (~30% off upfront in SA), plus any applicable battery rebates or loans.
BACKUP POWER & INDEPENDENCE
South Australia knows the pain of blackouts. With a hybrid system, you can keep critical circuits running for hours or days during an outage.
Beyond blackouts, many of our clients simply love the peace of mind that comes with producing and managing their own power. You'll buy minimal energy from the grid.
EV & FUTURE-READY
Planning an electric vehicle? A smart solar system is your car's best friend. The Jousto Hub can schedule your EV charger to juice up when solar production is high.
All our offered hybrid inverters meet SA's dynamic export compliance requirements – they are smart grid ready for the future.
EFFORTLESS CONTROL
You get a unified app/dashboard to see it all – solar production, battery charge, household consumption, and what devices are running. It's intuitive and actually fun to watch.
The system optimises things in the background, eliminating the guesswork of when to use, store, or export your solar energy.
SMART HOME INTEGRATION
Because the Jousto Energy Hub is built on Home Assistant, it can integrate far beyond just solar. You can link your smart air conditioning, lighting, and appliances to respond to energy events.
Create a truly intelligent home that automatically adjusts based on your energy production and consumption patterns.
HOW SMART SOLAR COMPARES TO STANDARD SOLAR
See the dramatic difference between traditional solar and a smart solar system with Jousto.
| Feature | Standard "Dumb" Solar | Smart Solar with Jousto |
|---|---|---|
| Solar Self-Consumption | ~30-50% (most solar exported) | 70-90% (maximised usage) |
| Evening Power Source | Grid only (expensive) | Battery power (stored solar) |
| Blackout Protection | None (shuts down) | Backup power available |
| Appliance Control | Manual timers only | Automated based on solar output |
| Battery Ready | Requires retrofit or replacement | Built-in battery compatibility |
| EV Charging | Manual scheduling required | Automatic solar charging |
| Dynamic Export Control | Limited or none | Full compliance with SA requirements |
| Tariff Optimisation | None | Automatic (uses cheap rates, avoids peak) |
| Monitoring | Basic production data | Comprehensive energy flows & savings |
| Future-Proofing | Limited | Ready for VPPs, EVs, new tech |
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Absolutely. In fact, a significant number of our clients are homeowners who replace or retrofit their older solar systems. We can often use your existing panels and simply replace the old inverter with a new hybrid inverter (which immediately makes you battery-ready).
If your panels are 10+ years old or undersized, we might suggest adding or updating panels for maximum benefit, but we'll tailor the solution to your situation. The goal is to boost your savings with minimal hassle.
And don't worry – we handle the changeover process, including safely removing old equipment and ensuring you don't lose your feed-in tariff eligibility (unless you're upgrading from a very old legacy FiT – we'll advise case by case).
You can absolutely start with just the hybrid inverter (and the Jousto Hub) and add a battery later – that's the beauty of going hybrid. Your system will be fully prepared to "plug and play" a battery whenever you're ready.
In the meantime, even without a battery, the Jousto Hub can still smart-switch your appliances to use more solar in real time (increasing your self-consumption).
That said, adding at least a small battery now will unlock the full range of benefits (nighttime use, backup power, tariff arbitrage). Many customers take advantage of our bundle deals (which effectively give a discount on the battery when purchased with the inverter).
Remember, installing a battery at the same time as the inverter can save on labour costs overall. But if now's not the right time, rest assured your system is future-proofed for an easy battery addition later.
Great question. Most inverters or batteries come with basic monitoring apps and maybe some limited controls, but they operate in a silo. The Jousto Energy Hub is like a maestro that brings all the parts together.
It not only monitors solar/battery data, but also actively controls a wide array of devices in your home in response to that data and external signals (like electricity prices, weather forecasts, etc.).
For example, your inverter's app might show you how full the battery is, but it won't automatically turn on your electric water heater when there's surplus solar – Jousto will. It's also highly customisable – built on open Home Assistant tech – meaning it can integrate with over 1,000 products and services.
The Hub is essentially the brain, making real-time decisions to maximise your savings and comfort. Without it, you'd have to manually program a patchwork of timers and settings across different apps (and constantly update them). Jousto simplifies all that into one coordinated system.
As the saying goes, traditional solar gives you data, but Jousto gives you action.
Yes, the Jousto Hub is a small hardware device (plugged into your router) that runs the Home Assistant platform with our special Jousto smart energy profile on it. It's about the size of a TV streaming box. We ship it pre-configured and our technician will set it up during installation.
It does use the internet – for things like pulling electricity price data, weather info, and enabling you to control/monitor remotely via an app. However, all core automation can run locally if needed, so even if your internet drops, your Hub can continue executing schedules (your home stays smart).
An internet connection is recommended for best functionality and for us to provide remote support. Don't worry, the data usage is minimal (it's not streaming video or anything). And yes, it's secure – built on a trusted platform with encryption.
Think of it as a dedicated smart home controller focused on energy, sitting quietly on your network making clever choices for you.
We take care to ensure your transition is smooth. In South Australia, if you're on an older 44¢ feed-in tariff (from the early 2010s era), adding capacity or altering the system may affect that scheme – we'll advise you on the best course (some folks wait until that scheme expires in 2028, others find it's worth upgrading sooner for the new benefits).
For standard feed-in arrangements, a new inverter just needs to be re-registered with your retailer – we handle all paperwork, and you'll continue to get whatever feed-in rate your plan offers (likely much lower than it used to be, which is why we emphasize using your solar rather than exporting).
As for warranties: if we're replacing your old inverter, the new hybrid inverter comes with its own manufacturer warranty (often 5 to 10 years, extendable – e.g. Fronius offers up to 10-year warranties). Batteries also have 10-year performance warranties.
All work we do is by Clean Energy Council accredited installers, so your new system will be approved and under warranty. We also include a workmanship warranty on our installation. So you're covered on all fronts. No nasty surprises – just improved performance.
Very little. Solar PV systems in general are low-maintenance – no moving parts in the panels or inverter. Adding a battery and Hub doesn't change that much.
We recommend an annual check-up/clean for your panels to keep them efficient (dust and grime can reduce output). The hybrid inverter might send alerts if any issue arises, but typically they run without intervention.
The Jousto Hub is solid-state and doesn't require maintenance; occasionally software updates (which we can do remotely for you as part of support) to add features or security patches, much like updating an app. Batteries are also maintenance-free – just keep an eye on their performance via the app.
We design everything to be as hassle-free as possible. Of course, our team is always on standby if you have questions or need help optimising settings as your life changes (say, you get an EV or change electricity plans – we can help adjust the automation).
But overall, think of it like upgrading to a smart car – it mostly takes care of itself and just keeps on saving you money every day.
READY TO TURN YOUR SOLAR PANELS INTO A SMARTER, MORE PROFITABLE ASSET?
Join the savvy South Australians who have already made the switch to Jousto-enabled smart solar.
We'll analyse your energy usage and design a custom solution (hybrid inverter, battery, automation) to maximise your savings. No obligation, just actionable info.
Stop settling for less. Make your solar work for you 24/7 with a smarter setup – it's easier and more affordable than you think!
Smart Energy Automation: Big Savings for Aussie Homes
As energy prices climb across the country, more Australians are looking for smarter, more sustainable ways to manage their power consumption. One of the most powerful tools in this shift? Automated smart home energy controls.
From real-time energy insights to wholesale pricing integration, this technology is giving homeowners more control than ever—cutting costs, improving sustainability, and making energy management virtually effortless.
Why Smart Energy Controls Matter in Australia
Rising electricity bills and a growing focus on sustainability have made energy efficiency a national priority. Australians are increasingly investing in smart home devices to manage consumption and reduce waste. Government incentives have only accelerated this trend, supporting the installation of energy-efficient systems and solar technologies.
In this context, automated smart controls—devices and systems that respond dynamically to occupancy, usage habits, and real-time electricity prices—are becoming a game-changer. Not only do they reduce bills, they optimise the way we use energy, supporting grid stability and environmental targets.
What Are Automated Smart Controls?
Automated smart controls include devices and platforms that intelligently manage energy use. These range from smart thermostats and plugs to integrated Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS). Here’s a quick snapshot of common technologies:
Smart meters: Track usage in real-time
Smart thermostats: Optimise HVAC based on occupancy
Smart plugs and appliances: Eliminate standby energy drain
Smart lighting: Use motion sensors and schedules
Smart heat pumps: Offer efficient, programmable heating and cooling
Solar inverters and batteries: Optimise on-site energy generation
HEMS platforms: Centralise and automate control of all devices
When combined, these tools can dramatically improve energy efficiency and reduce reliance on the grid.
Jousto’s Approach: Smart, Seamless, Strategic
South Australian company Jousto is leading the charge in integrated smart energy automation. Their approach centres around automated optimisation based on wholesale electricity market signals, offering advanced tools that go beyond typical smart home solutions.
Price-Based Automation
One of Jousto’s standout features is the ability to shift energy use to periods when wholesale electricity prices are low or negative. This is particularly powerful for high-use appliances like water heaters or pool pumps.
Solar Optimisation and Curtailment
For solar-powered homes, Jousto ensures that every kilowatt counts. It automatically redirects excess solar power to appliances or batteries, and—crucially—curtails exports during negative pricing periods. This maximises on-site solar usage and avoids penalties from oversupplying the grid.
Smart Battery Charging & Grid Sell-Back
Jousto also enables intelligent battery charging during low-price periods. When energy prices spike, stored power can be sold back to the grid—offering not just savings, but the potential to earn income from energy storage.
Energy Usage Insights
Real-time appliance-level data gives homeowners and short-stay hosts (like Airbnb operators) granular insights into consumption. These insights can shape smarter decisions and more efficient habits.
Broader Market Trends: What Else is Out There?
While Jousto’s solution is comprehensive, the wider Australian market offers an array of modular smart devices. A review of top Google search results reveals growing adoption of:
Smart Meters
Widely installed across Australian homes, smart meters provide the baseline data for most smart energy technologies. They enable time-of-use billing, track solar exports, and identify phantom loads.
Smart Thermostats
Devices like Emerald’s AC Link can reduce heating and cooling costs by up to 23%. Features like geofencing and self-learning algorithms adjust temperatures based on when you're home—and when you’re not.
Smart Appliances and Plugs
Modern appliances and smart plugs can be scheduled to operate when electricity is cheapest. For solar households, this often means running during daylight to consume self-generated energy.
Smart Lighting
Smart LED bulbs combined with motion sensors and scheduling can cut lighting costs by as much as 50%. While lighting isn't the biggest energy draw, the savings add up.
Smart Heat Pumps
These high-efficiency systems replace traditional hot water and climate control solutions. In some cases, families have slashed hot water bills by up to 80%.
The Role of HEMS: Centralising Smart Control
Home Energy Management Systems tie everything together. They monitor usage, apply automation rules, and align device operation with energy tariffs, solar availability, or grid needs. The real power of HEMS lies in integration—it enables homes to behave more like a self-sufficient microgrid.
Real-World Results: What Are Aussie Homes Saving?
Smart controls aren’t just theoretical. Case studies show that:
A Queensland family saved $200/year using a smart plug to manage gaming console standby.
A Hervey Bay homeowner cut energy bills by 20% using smart plugs during solar peak hours.
Households using smart thermostats have seen HVAC savings of 10–23% annually.
The Daniels family reduced hot water bills by 80% with a smart heat pump.
Smart LED upgrades cut lighting costs by 50–65%, even for councils and commercial setups.
Savings vary, but consistent patterns emerge: the more integrated the system, the higher the return.
What Sets Jousto Apart?
Compared to the broader market, Jousto’s strength lies in its wholesale market integration and full-suite automation. While many solutions rely on time-of-use retail tariffs, Jousto’s ability to respond to real-time market conditions makes it one of the most advanced systems available.
It’s particularly valuable for solar-plus-battery households, where the timing of usage and storage has a massive impact on bill outcomes—and even income potential.
Challenges and Considerations
Despite the benefits, several challenges still face smart home energy adoption:
Upfront costs: Devices and installation can be expensive, although rebates help.
Technical complexity: Less tech-savvy users may find full system integration daunting.
Privacy and data: Smart devices raise concerns around data collection and connectivity.
Interoperability: Ensuring all devices work together seamlessly remains a challenge.
The key? Choosing the right mix of controls tailored to each household's energy usage, budget, and goals.
The Road Ahead: Smart, Automated, Sustainable
Looking forward, smart home energy will continue to evolve with:
AI-driven learning: Predictive energy usage patterns
Greater solar uptake: More homes adopting solar + battery solutions
Grid participation: More homes feeding power back into the grid
Standardisation: Easier integration across platforms and brands
As these trends accelerate, the role of smart automation will be central to creating affordable, resilient, and sustainable energy systems at the household level.
Final Thoughts
Smart controls are no longer just nice-to-haves—they’re becoming essential tools in the battle against high energy costs. Whether through incremental upgrades like smart plugs or full-scale systems like Jousto, Australians now have more ways than ever to take charge of their power bills and carbon footprint.
With the right strategy, any household can benefit from the shift to smart energy—and help pave the way toward a cleaner, smarter energy future for Australia.
🔋 Ready to Cut Your Power Bills?
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👉 Explore Jousto’s smart energy platform to learn more.
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✅ Let Jousto do the heavy lifting and start saving sooner.
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