Location
- Sydney, NSW
Home energy set-up
- SolarEdge battery and inverter (9.7 kW)
- 8 kW solar system
- Cupra Born EV
When Chris and his wife Ingrid renovated their small terrace home in the arts precinct of Paddington, Sydney, they weren’t just thinking about aesthetics, they were thinking about the future. Driven by a desire to reduce their carbon footprint and take meaningful action against climate change, Chris invested in a solar and battery setup. But it wasn’t until he joined Amber that he felt like he was truly in control of his energy. And saving big on his bills.
“We see the risk of climate change… and we wanted to do as much as we could within our power and our budget to actually mitigate that problem.”
Like many inner-city homes, Chris's Paddington terrace had some unique installation challenges. Over time, he pieced together an 8kW, 20-panel rooftop system -10 on his garage and 10 on his house - supported by a 9kWh SolarEdge battery mounted in th basement. Combined with his EV, a Cupra Born, Chris had a potentially powerful clean energy set-up. But he wasn't seeing as much savings as he had hoped for.
“Our power bills were big, even though we had solar and a battery.”
Why Amber? A better way to make the most of his battery
Before Amber, Chris was with AGL, locked into flat pricing and low feed-in tariffs.
“We were getting a very low rate for the feed-in tariff. We weren't able to take any advantage of the energy market... I saw that as the worst-case scenario for a solar battery arrangement.”
After hearing about Amber from his SolarEdge installer, Chris made the switch and never looked back.
“When Amber came along, I jumped on it.”
From $1,000 bills to getting paid
With Amber’s smart battery automation and real-time pricing, Chris’s energy experience changed dramatically.
“I was paying $1,000 in the winter for one quarter’s worth of power. I’m down to about $100 now. And in summer, we get paid money.”
Some months, his energy bills are as low as $10 — and occasionally, he gets paid.
“There are lots [of months] where we’ve had a $10 power bill and some where we’ve had a negative $100 power bill.”
What enabled this turnaround? The Amber for Batteries algorithm and battery controls.
“Amber’s system gives me the ability to say, ‘Charge it now.’ And in the ninety percent of the time thatI’m too busy to think about it, the AI will cause that to happen anyway.”
Control, transparency, and confidence - without the complexity
Chris is a self-confessed energy geek but he stresses that you don’t need to be to make the most of having a battery with Amber.
“You could purchase this product and leave the default settings on and walk away, and you’d be well looked after.”
Amber’s app provides deep insight into market prices, feed-in forecasts, and energy reports, while also letting Chris take manual control when he wants to.
“It gives me a sense of control with the view of minimising cost. The AI is great - but if I’ve got a view that it isn’t doing well enough, there’s manual control.”
“It’s economical, it gives me a sense of control, and transparency, I can see what’s going on, and I think that’s really important.”
Accelerating battery payback
Chris expects his battery to pay for itself in about 8 years, even without a rebate.
“If I was to leave it at the 5 cent feed-in tariff, it would’ve been a very long payback. Maybe 15 years. Amber’s kind of halved that.”
What’s next? EV optimisation and vehicle-to-grid
With a mostly unused 77kWh EV battery sitting in the garage, Chris sees even more potential ahead, if and when he can use his car battery to support his home's energy needs and send excess to the grid, as he does with his home battery. It's something Amber is developing presently.
“That for us would be never having to pay for energy again.”
Final word: Why more people should get a battery and join Amber
“If you can afford it, you should get a battery. With the rebate in place, take advantage of it. For me, it’s been a fantastic decision.”
“Amber is a very important part of the battery payback period calculation. It’s powerful. It works. And it’s made a huge difference to us.”
