Energy efficiency needs monitoring, which is the only way to ensure that the electrical equipment at home performs within our expected parameters. Your house has several pieces of electrical equipment that you use daily, but once installed, it is unlikely that you paid close attention to how many hours it runs and exactly how much electricity it consumes. We all attempt to buy the most efficient equipment when we purchase a product, but that isn’t the complete picture of our electrical consumption. This is why we are surprised by high electricity bills, which have been the case of late due to higher electricity tariffs. How can the Clipsal Pulse app help you with this? The Clipsal Pulse app allows you to visualize your energy consumption, which is the ability to quantify infographically;
- How much electricity you are consuming in real-time
- Control when and the duration for which these devices operate
- Understanding where you could make savings
In order to better manage your electricity consumption without sacrificing comfort.
Clipsal
Clipsal is a reputed Australian brand for home & commercial electrical equipment with a 100 year legacy. Clipsal Australia is part of the Schneider Electric group of companies that provides solutions for electrical switches & sockets, lighting, HVAC, electrical safety equipment, and Smart Homes solutions. The Australian market is one of the leading solar residential markets globally and growing tremendously. Clearly, the influence of Australia’s vibrant residential solar sector has fostered the development of a robust solution that is equally applicable to customers in the US market.
One of the unique features of the Australian market is the number of available VPP solutions. A virtual power plant (VPP) solution is an excellent method for communities to generate their clean energy and share it equitably amongst their fellow neighbors. So that they may all benefit from the different consumption patterns within the community. The Clipsal Solar solution allows you to do that, and the Clipsal Pulse app will enable you to keep a close watch on the financial returns.
Clipsal Solar and Clipsal Pulse App
A solution from Clipsal Solar is an integrated solution capable of performing more functions than just solar panels on your roof. The Clipsal Pulse app is part of this solution from Clipsal Solar. Unfortunately, Clipsal Solar systems’ specific components are not described on their website. The focus is more on providing a solution that effectively generates clean electricity, stores the surplus, and reduce electricity consumption; and allow the experts at Clipsal Solar to deliver the best solution for your home. The Clipsal Solar solution is an integrated solution with battery storage but does not include electric vehicle charging. Clipsal Pulse app works with this hardware solution to provide monitoring and analytical capability. The Clipsal solution includes current clamps that are fixed around your electrical supply cables, allowing you to monitor the flow of the electricity between the four components of your home’s electrical supply equipment.
Electricity Monitoring, Utility Tariff Rate Plan & Energy Conservation
Any monitoring of your electrical system for your home is in aid of balancing four components to work together in harmony. These are
- your home’s electrical equipment,
- solar,
- battery storage,
- and the electrical supplied by your utility provider.
The flow of electricity from solar to your electrical equipment, battery storage, or the grid is determined by the time of use, the amount of solar-generated electricity, and the prevailing tariff rate of electricity at that time; through analytical prioritization to achieve the best economic outcome.
Depending on your rate plan with your utility provider, you are subject to different tariff rates for different load and consumption patterns. Therefore, it pays to know which rate plan is ideal for you. When you better understand how much electricity you are consuming and when you are consuming it, you can choose a rate plan that is more suitable for you. Thus, a monitoring & control solution is essential for an environmentally conscious home, the first step in conservation & reduction of your consumption by better managing your existing electrical equipment. The next stage would be energy efficient replacement of existing electrical equipment. An energy monitoring allows you to analyze the more efficient equipment’s upfront cost and, crucially, whether the savings in electricity consumption would justify the upfront cost for your particular usage. Perhaps you are considering solar for your home and are not sure which rate plan is suitable for your home, and perhaps, you are considering battery storage to reduce the effects of outages. For all these reasons, energy monitoring and control are essential.
Clipsal Pulse App Features
The Clipsal Pulse app gives you a quick visualization of the flow of electricity in real-time; for example, if you were to log in at midday and your house is not consuming an excess amount of electricity, you would be able to see the amount of electricity your solar system is producing, the status of your battery charge, how much of your electricity from solar is being used to charge your batteries, and how much of your electricity is being consumed by your home. Any excess electricity that is not being consumed immediately by your home is used to charge your battery or supplied back to the grid where you are benefiting from net metering policies.
An important differentiation between the Clipsal Pul app and other solutions is the ability to look at your consumption in dollar values which is helpful to understand the returns and savings. For example, you can configure your electricity tariffs and identify your home’s major electrical equipment. Which means that you can see how much your water heater is consuming in dollar terms. Seeing the dollar value allows you to compare your electricity bills to your consumption, connecting the dollar consumption to the dollar investment. This means that you can see how much savings you have had from self-consumption and reduce that against your upfront investment in the solar, battery storage, or energy-efficient electrical equipment; you can quantify how far along you are towards recovering your initial investment.
With the Clipsal Solar and the Clipsal Pulse app, the solution is merely the beginning of your journey in energy efficiency. For example, you are perhaps on a time-of-use tariff rate plan, which means you are being charged the higher electricity tariff at peak times. The Clipsal Pulse app would allow you to recognize the operational electrical equipment at the peak tariff periods. You could then choose to shift the equipment usage to times when the tariff rate is lower or to operate the equipment only when the electricity generation from solar is the same as that consumed by the electrical equipment. Similarly, you could choose to charge the battery storage when the electricity tariff is lower and export it to the electricity grid at times of higher tariff. This will maximize the net metering credit you receive for the electricity exported. In some cases, utility providers prevent net metering credit during peak tariff rates. That could be the case, but you could still prioritize self-consumption, storage of surplus electricity generated by solar, and charging of battery storage from the electricity grid at times of lower tariff rates to maximize the economic returns.
Clipsal Solar & the Clipsal Pulse Recommendation
The benefits of Clipsal Solar and the Clipsal Pulse app are undeniable, and it is highly recommended to have an integrated solution for your home. The differentiation benefit of their solution is subjective and depends entirely on your preference because the Clipsal Solar solution isn’t necessarily different from other solutions available to you. The unique aspect of the solution of the Clipsal Pulse app is its prioritization of ensuring a compelling return on investment in the Clipsal Solar solution. We cannot particularly comment on the effectiveness of this support over other solutions in the market. Our considered opinion is that it is unlikely to be significantly different than other similar solutions.
Nevertheless, it is assuring that Clipsal Solar has its customers’ best interests in mind. The lack of information on compatibility with other smart home solutions and the lack of information on EV charging is disappointing but not a deal-breaker. Schneider Electric being the parent company, suggests that the Clipsal Solar and Clipsal Pulse app will be compatible with the solutions from Schneider Electric for EV charging and their WISER Smart Home solution. It would be good to have more details about this, and due to its unavailability, it is once again our well-informed conjecture. In conclusion, we recommend the Clipsal Solar and Clipsal Pulse app solutions for your home. We recommend the Clipsal solution, particularly if you are constructing a new home because you will be well served by buying multiple electrical components for your home’s electrical system from Schneider Electric. Purchasing a solution from the same group of companies improves the likelihood of the solution functioning well together.