How IAMMETER Helps You Save Under Australia’s Solar Sharer Scheme

1. Introduction: What Is the Solar Sharer Scheme?

The Australian government has launched a new nationwide initiative — the Solar Sharer Scheme — designed to let more households benefit from the country’s abundant daytime solar energy.

Starting from July 2026, energy retailers in New South Wales (NSW), South Australia (SA), and South East Queensland (SEQ) will be required to offer customers at least three hours of free electricity per day, typically during midday when solar generation is high, and wholesale electricity prices are lowest.

Even if you don’t have rooftop solar, you can still benefit — as long as you have a smart meter and subscribe to an eligible electricity plan.

The scheme’s objectives are clear:

Better utilize surplus solar energy generated during the day.
Encourage customers to shift consumption from evening peaks to daylight hours.
Reduce pressure on the grid and lower overall power costs.

2. How Households Can Benefit

During the daily free electricity window, users can run high-power appliances such as:

Washing machines and dryers
Dishwashers and air conditioners
EV chargers and home batteries

By aligning power usage with the solar-rich hours, households can significantly reduce their energy bills — even without owning solar panels.

3. How IAMMETER Helps You Get the Most from the Solar Sharer Scheme

While the Solar Sharer Scheme provides the opportunity, IAMMETER helps you take full advantage of it.

(1) Real-Time Energy Monitoring

IAMMETER’s Wi-Fi energy meters allow you to monitor both power consumption and solar generation in real time, giving you a clear understanding of your energy behavior and helping you adjust your usage strategy.

(2) Analyze Midday Energy Usage and Export

Compare the daily energy consumption of these three production shifts

The IAMMETER-Cloud platform includes a powerful report: Energy Consumption During Selected Hours.

This feature lets you compare energy consumption across different hourly periods for the same meter. 👉 Example use case: comparing energy consumption among three shifts in a factory (00:00–08:00, 08:00–16:00, 16:00–24:00).

You can freely define multiple time groups — for example:

Morning (00:00–08:00)
Midday (08:00–16:00)
Evening (16:00–24:00)

The system will then display daily or monthly comparisons of energy consumption in each period.

For solar-powered homes, this feature is especially useful:

Compare energy consumption vs. solar export during the three-hour free period.
Evaluate how much of your “free power” or surplus solar is actually being used on-site.
Assess how much you could save under the Solar Sharer Scheme.

In short, IAMMETER helps you answer the question: 💡 “Am I truly using as much free or solar power as possible during the midday window?”

Welcome to log in to the IAMMETER demo account to experience the features of IAMMETER-Cloud Pro

(3) Automation and Smart Scheduling

Through IAMMETER’s open API or integrations with smart-home platforms (such as Home Assistant or ioBroker), you can:

Automate device operation during the free-electricity window;
During that time, utilize your surplus solar energy to power high-resistive loads like tank boilers, thereby increasing your self-consumption ratio and reducing electricity bills. 🔗 Learn more about IAMMETER’s PV Heater Control solution

(4) Long-Term Energy Insights

IAMMETER-Cloud provides comprehensive historical reports and trend analysis, helping you track your actual savings from both solar self-consumption and free electricity hours over time.

4. Why This Matters for Both Solar and Non-Solar Homes

For Solar Owners: Use IAMMETER to ensure your self-consumption aligns with the government’s free-power window — maximize your daytime usage and minimize grid export.
For Non-Solar Users: Even without PV panels, IAMMETER helps you understand and optimize your consumption during the free-electricity period, ensuring you get the most from the Solar Sharer Scheme.

In both cases, IAMMETER transforms energy data into real financial savings.

5. Conclusion: Smarter Energy for the Solar Sharer Era

The Solar Sharer Scheme marks a turning point in how Australian households use electricity — shifting from just using power to using it intelligently.

With IAMMETER, you can: