How to support renewable energy at home

This is a sponsored article from SustainabilityTracker.com member GloBird Energy.

Did you know that by choosing when you use energy, you can help the planet?

GloBird Energy is constantly monitoring all aspects of the Australian energy landscape, from government policy through generation and supply all the way to usage.

We look at the challenges, the changing patterns, the plans, and the projects that are underway to determine what we can do to make things better for our customers and the planet.

Our mission is to support the logical transition from traditional energy to sustainable, affordable, reliable energy.

While every stakeholder in the energy industry is trying to figure out how to manage the energy transition, most consumers simply want cheaper energy now.

GloBird Energy has come up with a way to make that happen while also helping the planet.

Shifting your usage times is logical

We know that Australia’s take-up of rooftop solar leads the world. We also know that the future is more solar.

However, the reality is that so much solar-generated electricity is available during the day that it’s not being used efficiently. Until the technology and capacity for storing that energy for later use becomes as affordable, efficient, and prevalent as the solar panels themselves, a lot of solar power is going to go unused.

As there’s an abundance of solar being pumped into the grid in the middle of the day on most days, not only is it available then, but energy prices are generally lower at that time.

We want to encourage people to use more energy in the middle of the day, wherever possible, particularly if that means using less in the evening and overnight.

If you can run your washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, and any other “non-time-sensitive” appliance when it’s most likely being powered by renewable energy, that also means that you’re not using an equivalent amount of electricity that’s almost certainly generated from non-renewable sources after the sun goes down.

So, you are using energy when it’s cheaper and not using energy when it’s generated by the legacy resources responsible for greater emissions.

We call that a win-win.

That’s why we offer the Free Lunch

You’ve probably heard the expression “there’s no such thing as a free lunch”.

The basic principle is that you should beware of anything that you get for nothing, because there’s usually a catch. The adage suggests you’ll end up paying, somehow.

That’s absolutely false when it comes to GloBird’s Free Lunch.

Between the hours of noon and 2pm each day, residential customers with an eligible smart meter are charged an electricity usage rate of $0 for your normal household usage (does not apply to dedicated circuit).

Two hours of free electricity every day. That’s 14 free hours per week. We’ve been impressed with the variety of ways customers are using the product to maximise benefit.

Pocket savings while doing your bit for the planet

Free Lunch aims to reward Victorian households for using power when renewables make up a considerable mix of grid electricity.

Because there is usually all that excess solar entering the grid between noon and 2pm, using lots of power during this period should be better for the environment because the power is more likely to be from a renewable source, whereas using that same amount of energy to do the same things later in the day will probably require electricity generated using more traditional sources.

If you can take advantage and pre-heat your home, or run appliances like the dishwasher, washing machine, or oven during the free period, you both take advantage of and contribute to the win-win of reducing your bills while doing your bit for the planet.

It’s just one of the ways GloBird Energy is supporting the logical transition from traditional energy to sustainable, affordable, reliable energy.

This is an article from a SustainabilityTracker.com Member. The views and opinions we express here don’t necessarily reflect our organisation.