{"id":42765,"date":"2020-09-02T15:08:01","date_gmt":"2020-09-02T04:38:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=42765"},"modified":"2025-12-08T11:37:34","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T02:07:34","slug":"divert-solar-air-conditioning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/divert-solar-air-conditioning\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Diverting Solar To Air Conditioning Help Reduce Overvoltage? Paladin Says Yes."},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

With a smart 3rd party controller, your air conditioner can help a solar-laden grid balance supply and demand.<\/p><\/div>\n

While regulators fret about the impact of solar power on low voltage distribution networks, developers are looking at ways to use household loads to relieve the stress.<\/p>\n

Last week, I chatted to an NZ-founded company called Paladin, whose focus over the last four or five years has been a controller that diverts excess power from PV to a customer\u2019s electric hot water service. It\u2019s a double-win: the customer gets cheap hot water, and the diverter provides a load to soak up electricity that would otherwise stress the grid.<\/p>\n

Innovations like this solar diverter are important at a time where AEMO has decided SA Power Networks needs the power to switch off customers\u2019 solar systems<\/a> if needed to avoid \u201cnegative demand\u201d events (a power it says will be used only rarely).<\/p>\n

As Paladin<\/a> boss Mark Robinson pointed out, power companies don\u2019t want exports happening between 10 am and 2 pm, because that\u2019s when the overvoltage happens – when local areas reach 257V, inverters start shutting down.<\/p>\n

The Genesis Of An Idea<\/h2>\n

With the advent of the COVID crisis and while Paladin\u2019s chief developer Ken Smith was working on giving the controller a wireless interface to the water heater\u2019s temperature sensor, he also pursued the idea that air conditioning can do the same thing as a hot water service – act as a load that consumes excess solar energy on-site.<\/p>\n

For the wireless, Smith said, he wanted to avoid WiFi because it asks too much of the owner. Instead, he turned to the radio standard called LoRa, a low-power long-range wireless standard (here\u2019s<\/a> the Wikipedia entry).<\/p>\n

\u201cIt fits roughly in the same frequency band as old pagers – excellent range, but low data rates. Once I got around the limitations of LORA, without compromising the performance, I can send a short data stream telling me all Paladin can see.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That fed into Smith\u2019s thinking about making use of air conditioners. For some time, he said, modern air conditioning units have included a \u201cDemand Response Enabling Device\u201d, or DRED.<\/p>\n

The DREDs were implemented at the request of electricity companies so that if there\u2019s a shortage of power (for example, during a heatwave or when electricity supply is disrupted), the network can turn air conditioners down or off.<\/p>\n

Smith told us his idea was the inverse of what the networks do – turn the aircon on or up to soak up excess solar electricity from a household PV system.<\/p>\n

He said at first glance it looked like a really knotty problem, because the air conditioner\u2019s compressor has so many possible settings using different amounts of power.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took a couple of sleeps and a few pots of coffee to realise – the complexities don\u2019t matter. We\u2019ve developed a box that receives the broadcast [from the existing Paladin controller – SolarQuotes<\/i>]. Just turn it on, and you\u2019ve got control over the aircon.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Paladin controller \u201cmodulates the compressor power that matches the sun, so you don\u2019t have to spend a lot of money at peak rates.\u201d For the end-user, most of the air conditioning can happen using 12 cent (per kWh) electricity instead of 30 cent electricity.<\/p>\n

And, just like diverting excess solar to the hot water service<\/a>, it helps the grid, because it reduces the export during peak times.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you can run multiple units – when compressor one backs off, the second unit can start, and so on.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There\u2019s another benefit, he said: by matching the power of the aircon to the excess solar, getting a house to the desired temperature might happen more slowly than without the controller, but a big unit with a 4kW compressor won\u2019t hit the customer\u2019s bills so hard.<\/p>\n

Paladin boss Mark Robinson added that the Paladin controller responds quickly enough to a whole household\u2019s load that \u201cas clouds go over, it reacts\u201d – or if someone puts the kettle on, the controller cuts the amount of solar electricity going into the air conditioner.<\/p>\n

Coming Soon To A Home Near You<\/h2>\n

Paladin states development has gone smoothly and Smith said the first units are in the Paladin workshop now.<\/p>\n

Robinson commented: \u201cAfter final testing, we hope to have this on the market by Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the timing is important as just a couple of years ago, feed-in tariffs were high and curtailment unheard of, so there was no real need to divert power to local loads. But so much household PV is now live (and more is coming), the situation has changed.<\/p>\n

Smith said until recently, users have focused on \u201chow much we made from export\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re exporting, you\u2019ve got it wrong\u201d, he stated. \u201cThe conversation should now be how much I can consume of my own power because I\u2019m managing it better.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For more, read our detailed guide to air conditioning.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While regulators fret about the impact of solar power on low voltage distribution networks, developers are looking at ways to use household loads to relieve the stress. Last week, I chatted to an NZ-founded company called Paladin, whose focus over the last four or five years has been a controller that diverts excess power from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":42784,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[792],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-air-conditioning","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCan Diverting Solar To Air Conditioning Help Reduce Overvoltage?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Using a smart controller available soon, solar owners' air conditioners will be able to help a solar-laden grid balance supply and demand.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/divert-solar-air-conditioning\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can Diverting Solar To Air Conditioning Help Reduce Overvoltage? Paladin Says Yes.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Using a smart controller available soon, solar owners' air conditioners will be able to help a solar-laden grid balance supply and demand.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/divert-solar-air-conditioning\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SolarQuotes Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-09-02T04:38:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-08T02:07:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/aircon.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Richard Chirgwin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@solar_quotes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@solar_quotes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/divert-solar-air-conditioning\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/divert-solar-air-conditioning\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Richard Chirgwin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2e4d6f75c9033945224b9de834d9be6\"},\"headline\":\"Can Diverting Solar To Air Conditioning Help Reduce Overvoltage? Paladin Says Yes.\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-09-02T04:38:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-08T02:07:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/divert-solar-air-conditioning\/\"},\"wordCount\":850,\"commentCount\":43,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/divert-solar-air-conditioning\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/aircon.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Air Conditioning\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/divert-solar-air-conditioning\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/divert-solar-air-conditioning\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/divert-solar-air-conditioning\/\",\"name\":\"Can Diverting Solar To Air Conditioning Help Reduce Overvoltage?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/divert-solar-air-conditioning\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/divert-solar-air-conditioning\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/aircon.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-09-02T04:38:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-08T02:07:34+00:00\",\"description\":\"Using a smart controller available soon, solar owners' air conditioners will be able to help a solar-laden grid balance supply and demand.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/divert-solar-air-conditioning\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/divert-solar-air-conditioning\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/divert-solar-air-conditioning\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/aircon.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/aircon.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":628},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/divert-solar-air-conditioning\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Air Conditioning\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/air-conditioning\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Can Diverting Solar To Air Conditioning Help Reduce Overvoltage? Paladin Says Yes.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"SolarQuotes Blog\",\"description\":\"An independent reckoning of the Aussie solar scene\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"SolarQuotes\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png\",\"width\":592,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"SolarQuotes\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/solar_quotes\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/solarquotes\/\",\"https:\/\/au.linkedin.com\/company\/solarquotes\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SolarQuotesAustralia\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2e4d6f75c9033945224b9de834d9be6\",\"name\":\"Richard Chirgwin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c8c88b57f89cd5928211105579c715a4131736eea9b88222359e97824cb5917b?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c8c88b57f89cd5928211105579c715a4131736eea9b88222359e97824cb5917b?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c8c88b57f89cd5928211105579c715a4131736eea9b88222359e97824cb5917b?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"caption\":\"Richard Chirgwin\"},\"description\":\"Joining the SolarQuotes blog team in 2019, Richard is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience covering a wide range of technology topics, including electronics, telecommunications, computing, science and solar. When not writing for us, he runs a solar-powered off-grid eco-resort in NSW\u2019s blue mountains. Read Richard's full bio.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/author\/rchirgwin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Can Diverting Solar To Air Conditioning Help Reduce Overvoltage?","description":"Using a smart controller available soon, solar owners' air conditioners will be able to help a solar-laden grid balance supply and demand.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/divert-solar-air-conditioning\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Can Diverting Solar To Air Conditioning Help Reduce Overvoltage? Paladin Says Yes.","og_description":"Using a smart controller available soon, solar owners' air conditioners will be able to help a solar-laden grid balance supply and demand.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/divert-solar-air-conditioning\/","og_site_name":"SolarQuotes Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/","article_published_time":"2020-09-02T04:38:01+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-12-08T02:07:34+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/aircon.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Richard Chirgwin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@solar_quotes","twitter_site":"@solar_quotes","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/divert-solar-air-conditioning\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/divert-solar-air-conditioning\/"},"author":{"name":"Richard Chirgwin","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2e4d6f75c9033945224b9de834d9be6"},"headline":"Can Diverting Solar To Air Conditioning Help Reduce Overvoltage? Paladin Says Yes.","datePublished":"2020-09-02T04:38:01+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-08T02:07:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/divert-solar-air-conditioning\/"},"wordCount":850,"commentCount":43,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/divert-solar-air-conditioning\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/aircon.jpg","articleSection":["Air Conditioning"],"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/divert-solar-air-conditioning\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/divert-solar-air-conditioning\/","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/divert-solar-air-conditioning\/","name":"Can Diverting Solar To Air Conditioning Help Reduce Overvoltage?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/divert-solar-air-conditioning\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/divert-solar-air-conditioning\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/aircon.jpg","datePublished":"2020-09-02T04:38:01+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-08T02:07:34+00:00","description":"Using a smart controller available soon, solar owners' air conditioners will be able to help a solar-laden grid balance supply and demand.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/divert-solar-air-conditioning\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/divert-solar-air-conditioning\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/divert-solar-air-conditioning\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/aircon.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/aircon.jpg","width":1200,"height":628},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/divert-solar-air-conditioning\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Air Conditioning","item":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/air-conditioning\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Can Diverting Solar To Air Conditioning Help Reduce Overvoltage? Paladin Says Yes."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/","name":"SolarQuotes Blog","description":"An independent reckoning of the Aussie solar scene","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization","name":"SolarQuotes","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png","width":592,"height":600,"caption":"SolarQuotes"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/","https:\/\/x.com\/solar_quotes","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/solarquotes\/","https:\/\/au.linkedin.com\/company\/solarquotes","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SolarQuotesAustralia"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2e4d6f75c9033945224b9de834d9be6","name":"Richard Chirgwin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c8c88b57f89cd5928211105579c715a4131736eea9b88222359e97824cb5917b?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c8c88b57f89cd5928211105579c715a4131736eea9b88222359e97824cb5917b?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c8c88b57f89cd5928211105579c715a4131736eea9b88222359e97824cb5917b?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","caption":"Richard Chirgwin"},"description":"Joining the SolarQuotes blog team in 2019, Richard is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience covering a wide range of technology topics, including electronics, telecommunications, computing, science and solar. When not writing for us, he runs a solar-powered off-grid eco-resort in NSW\u2019s blue mountains. Read Richard's full bio.","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/author\/rchirgwin\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/aircon.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2FF2s-b7L","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14223,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-hot-water-diverter-comparison\/","url_meta":{"origin":42765,"position":0},"title":"Comparing Solar Hot Water Diverters Available In Australia","author":"Ronald Brakels","date":"September 5, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Update: since publishing this article commenters have made us aware of 3 other hot water diverters on the Australian market, the 'Dimplex\u00a0Free-E' and, The Fronius OhmPilot and a unit from SolarEdge. We'll add these to the comparison table as soon as we have enough info. If you know of any\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Solar Hot Water"","block_context":{"text":"Solar Hot Water","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-hot-water\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/hot-water-diverter-comparison.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/hot-water-diverter-comparison.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/hot-water-diverter-comparison.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/hot-water-diverter-comparison.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":26637,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/catch-power-diverter-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":42765,"position":1},"title":"The New Catch Power Green Hot Water Diverter Reviewed: Smaller, Cheaper, Cuter","author":"Ronald Brakels","date":"January 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi everyone.\u00a0 Happy New Year!\u00a0 This is a short article about a new hot water diverter developed by Australia's Catch Power.\u00a0 I'm just letting you know it's available and because I don't really have anything bad to say about it this may seem like an advertisement.\u00a0 Regrettably, I have little\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Solar Hot Water"","block_context":{"text":"Solar Hot Water","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-hot-water\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"catch power green catch review","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/grren-catch-review.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/grren-catch-review.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/grren-catch-review.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/grren-catch-review.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/grren-catch-review.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14165,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-hot-water-diverters-vs-batteries\/","url_meta":{"origin":42765,"position":2},"title":"Solar Hot Water Diverters Beat Batteries On Energy Storage","author":"Ronald Brakels","date":"August 22, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Update: Compare all the hot water diverters available in Australia here. How A Diverter Can Give You Solar Hot Water And Store Energy At A Lower Cost Than Batteries A solar hot water diverter is an electronic device that sends surplus electricity from your rooftop solar to your electric\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Solar Hot Water"","block_context":{"text":"Solar Hot Water","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-hot-water\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"battery vs hot water cylinder","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/battery-vs-hot-water.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/battery-vs-hot-water.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/battery-vs-hot-water.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/battery-vs-hot-water.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":35881,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/sunmate-solar-diverter-mb1339\/","url_meta":{"origin":42765,"position":3},"title":"AWS Spruiking New SunMate Solar Diverter","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"December 23, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Update August 2023: AWS have been removed from the SolarQuotes diverter comparison table. It appears as of 16\/8\/23, AWS's parent company is in liquidation. ----- Australian Wind and Solar (AWS) is readying for the release of its new solar diverter model - the SunMate 3.0. According to the Australian Government's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Solar & Storage News"","block_context":{"text":"General Solar & Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"SunMate solar diverter","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/sunmate-solar-diverter.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/sunmate-solar-diverter.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/sunmate-solar-diverter.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/sunmate-solar-diverter.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/sunmate-solar-diverter.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":43228,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solarimmersion-diverter-recall-mb1684\/","url_meta":{"origin":42765,"position":4},"title":"Malabou Limited SolarImmersion PV Diverter Recall","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"September 16, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"An electrical safety recall notice has been issued for SolarImmersion MKIV power diverters. Announced on Sunday on the Product Safety Australia website, the recall applies to SolarImmersion MKIV Power Diverter units sold in Australia from 3 March 2016 to 27 July 2018. While it doesn't appear this PV diverter has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Solar & Storage News"","block_context":{"text":"General Solar & Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"SolarImmersion MKIV power diverters recall","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/diverter-recall.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/diverter-recall.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/diverter-recall.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/diverter-recall.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/diverter-recall.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4534,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/divert-excess-solar-pv-hot-water-cylinder\/","url_meta":{"origin":42765,"position":5},"title":"How To Divert Your Excess Solar PV to a Hot Water Cylinder.","author":"Mark Cavanagh","date":"February 25, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"This guest blog post has been written by experienced solar installer, electrician, solar company owner and all round good guy, Mark\u00a0Cavanagh from MC Electrical in Brisbane. Mark answers a\u00a0really common question we are getting here at\u00a0SolarQuotes: \"Can I divert my excess\u00a0solar energy into my hot water cylinder instead of selling\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Solar Hot Water"","block_context":{"text":"Solar Hot Water","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-hot-water\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"a diversion sign","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/solar-diversion.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/solar-diversion.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/solar-diversion.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42765"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42765\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96423,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42765\/revisions\/96423"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}