Australia’s energy system is going through one of the biggest transformations in its history. Solar is now on more than one in three Australian rooftops. Home batteries are gaining traction. Electric vehicle (EV) adoption is accelerating. And government incentives are pouring into the sector to speed up the shift to renewables.
But adding more solar panels and EVs isn’t enough on its own. To make the transition work, for households and the grid, we need smarter homes. Homes that don’t just generate or use energy, but respond to the market, store excess power, and contribute back when it’s needed most.
That’s where the right combination of tech, tools and timing comes in. And that’s where Amber’s platform plays a critical role.
In this blog, we unpack how solar, batteries, EVs and Amber work together to unlock value for households while supporting a cleaner, more resilient grid.
Solar was just the beginning
Over 3.6 million Australian homes have installed rooftop solar, giving households more control over their energy use, cutting their bills, and lowering demand on the grid.
But while solar has been a huge step forward, there’s still a fundamental challenge: timing.
Most solar generation happens in the middle of the day. But most household energy use happens in the evening, after the sun has gone down. That means households without a battery often end up:
- Exporting their solar to the grid during the day for a low feed-in tariff
- Buying energy back from the grid in the evening at a much higher retail rate
This mismatch not only affects household bills. It creates problems for the grid, which struggles to balance oversupply during the day with high demand in the evening.
Batteries are shifting the equation
A home battery gives households the ability to store solar energy during the day and use it later when it’s more valuable - either because prices are high or because demand on the grid is peaking.
That means:
- Less reliance on expensive evening grid energy
- More self-consumption of your own solar
- A way to protect against price spikes and blackouts
- And, when paired with the right automation, a way to earn money by exporting when the grid needs it most
But a battery alone isn’t enough. Without smart automation, many batteries still follow simple rules: charge from solar, discharge in the evening. That’s a good start, but it doesn’t unlock the full potential.
To truly benefit, and support the grid in the process, batteries need to respond in real time.
Enter Amber: real-time pricing meets smart automation
Amber gives customers access to wholesale energy prices, which change every 30 minutes based on supply and demand. That means:
- When there’s too much solar in the grid, prices often go negative - you get paid to use energy
- When demand surges, prices spike and exports can earn you far more than a flat feed-in tariff
By combining this live market data with smart automation, Amber enables your battery or EV to:
- Charge when prices are low or negative (either from your solar or the grid)
- Discharge to your home or the grid when prices spike
- Hold charge when it’s not worth exporting
- Optimise performance based on forecasted weather, usage patterns, and grid conditions
This kind of dynamic behaviour is what the future grid needs, and what makes battery ownership not just an environmental decision, but a financial opportunity.
Your EV is more than just a car
Electric vehicles are quickly becoming the next big player in the home energy mix. With batteries that can hold 5-10 times more energy than a typical home battery, EVs aren’t just transport - they’re powerful mobile energy assets.
In the future, EVs will play an even greater role in the grid via vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, which allows two-way charging. That means:
- Charging your car when energy is cheap and green
- Powering your home or exporting to the grid when energy is expensive or in short supply
Amber’s early V2G trials are already showing the potential of this shift. And as the tech becomes more widely available in Australia, smart EV charging will become a crucial part of home energy optimisation.
Even today, EV owners can benefit from Amber’s real-time pricing by setting their charging to occur during low-price periods - helping reduce both their energy costs and their impact on the grid.
How it all fits together: one connected, intelligent system
Here’s what the future looks like - and what Amber is building toward today:
- Solar panels generate electricity during the day
- Your battery stores excess energy for later use or export
- Your EV charges when prices are low or excess solar is available
- Smart software makes real-time decisions about when to charge, discharge or hold
- Your household earns money during market events by selling stored energy back to the grid
- The grid stays more stable and renewable, thanks to thousands of homes like yours acting as flexible, decentralised energy hubs
This is no longer theoretical. It’s already happening in homes across the country. Amber customers with solar, batteries and EVs are reducing their energy bills, sometimes getting paid to power their homes, and contributing to a cleaner energy system - all without needing to monitor prices or fiddle with settings.
Why this matters now
Several key changes are making this shift more urgent, and more valuable, than ever:
- The end of minimum feed-in tariffs in Victoria means solar exports will no longer have a guaranteed value - making storage and timing even more important
- Federal and state battery rebates are bringing down the upfront cost of batteries for more households
- EV adoption is rising, bringing new storage capacity into homes across Australia
- Wholesale price volatility is increasing, especially during extreme weather or grid constraints, creating more opportunities to earn from stored energy
- Coal power is retiring fast, and flexible demand from homes will be critical to keeping the lights on as we shift to renewables
The takeaway? The sooner households can plug into this new model - with solar, storage, EVs and smart software - the more they stand to benefit.
Smart homes, smarter grid, better outcomes for everyone
The transformation of the grid can’t happen without the transformation of our homes. Every smart battery or EV that responds to market signals makes the entire system more efficient, more resilient, and more renewable.
With Amber, it’s not just about saving money or going green. It’s about putting households in the driver’s seat of the energy transition - giving them the tools and incentives to actively shape the grid of the future.
So whether you’ve got solar and are thinking about adding a battery, or you’ve already got an EV and want to make smarter charging decisions, Amber helps you get more out of your setup, while helping the whole system work better.
Because a smarter home isn’t just good for your bills. It’s good for the planet, too.
