Welcome to the participants’ page. This section is for participants in the trial, for those who are interested in participating, and for contractors involved in the trial.

A participation application pack and FAQ is now available here.

What is the Bruny Island Battery Trial?

The Bruny Island Battery Trial (CONSORT) provides an opportunity for residents to participate in an innovative 3 year research project, where approximately 40 batteries will be installed together with solar energy systems in the homes of residents of Bruny Island.  The batteries will include Reposit’s ground-breaking energy management software that allows homeowners to sell their power back to the grid.

Bruny Island has been chosen for the Trial because of the nature of the electricity network on the island, because of the regular demand peaks that occur during holiday periods, and because a deployment of batteries of this size can make a real and measurable difference. Bruny has a good solar resource by global standards, better than many locations around the world where solar energy has been successful. Bruny Island presents a fantastic opportunity to “teach” the rest of Australia (and beyond) how batteries should be put to their best use in future.

Let’s take a look at how your batteries will work with the Reposit system installed.

Am I eligible to participate in the Trial?

To participate in the Trial, you must:

• Have a constant, reliable internet connection at the property (or be willing to connect to the internet if you are selected to participate in the Trial); and

• Be connected to the southern feeder of Bruny Island. You can check your NMI by using this NMI checker.  Your NMI (e.g. 8000123456) can be found on your electricity bill.

If you are unable to find your NMI, please call TasNetworks on 1300 137 008 and they will be able to check this for you.

What happens if I am selected to participate in the Trial?

Participants will install  a battery storage system at their home. For most participants, this will include solar panels or be an upgrade to their existing solar system. CONSORT will provide a large subsidy to make the technology widely accessible for Bruny residents. Householders will in-turn contribute a small part of the total system price. Householders will own their systems, and it will remain after the trial completes. Participating householders will be required to take part in the Trial until the completion of the project in mid 2019, during which time your system will be required to provide energy data to, and receive price signals from, the CONSORT project team.

The Bruny Island Battery Trial Fact Sheet, Participant Information Sheet and Participation Application Fact Sheet provide more information about participating in the Trial, including the eligibility requirements, the technology to be installed, the subsidies provided, the costs for householders, how to apply and the selection process.  After the application and selection process, selected households will sign an agreement with CONSORT and TasNetworks, will enter into a normal purchase contract with their chosen solar power / battery installer (from an approved installer list) and will then have the technology installed in their homes.

What will I need to do throughout the Trial?

All households taking part in the Trial also take part in the household (social) research component of the Trial. So, when you agree to take part in the trial, you also agree to take part in the household research for the Trial.

A representative from each participating household will take part in 4 interviews (held over 2 years) and fill out an ‘energy diary’ for a period of two weeks. A subset of households in the Trial will also take part in 1 or 2 focus groups and digitally recorded ‘energy tours’ of their homes.

The interviews will be spread out so we can record your initial and your long term responses to the installed technology. The first interview will be held just before the battery and solar power technology is installed in your home. The second one will be held about 2 weeks after the technology is installed. Another will be held one year after the installation and the final interview will be held 2 years after the technology is installed. At least two of these interviews will be conducted face-to-face and in your home so that we can talk directly to the technology and see how it is all set up. The other two interviews will most likely be carried out over the phone. The first interview may take around an hour. The other three interviews should take approximately 30 minutes. Interview times tend to vary house to house as each household has differing subject matter to discuss.

We plan to record interviews wherever possible because it helps us to recall the detail of the conversations we have. If you do not want to be recorded in the interviews, we can take notes instead. Please be aware that note-taking tends to take a little more time during the actual interview.

Sometimes it is useful to take photos as it helps us recall and analyse information and to communicate ideas and contexts. We will ask you if we can take some photographs of the installed technology and elements of your house. You can say yes or no to this request.

What are the benefits of participating in the Trial?

Households who participate in the Bruny Island Battery Trial will be provided with a large subsidy to install solar power and a ‘smart’ battery storage system. Participating households will then be able to generate solar power for their own immediate use, store it for later use, sell it back to the grid when the electricity network needs it (or even possibly when the wholesale (generation) cost of electricity is high).

The battery management software works to ensure the best financial outcome for the householder. This benefit will likely be seen via savings on electricity bills both during and beyond the period of the Trial and possibly from additional ‘network support payments ’ provided by CONSORT during the trial. Further information on the technology that will be installed as part of the Trial, and about the costs and subsidy provided, will be contained in the Factsheet available at the community forums and from this page soon after the forums.

Participating in the UTAS household research ensures that the CONSORT team learns from household experiences with the installed technology. Participant feedback is important. With your input we can ensure that any future projects understand householder needs, the way householders like to use the solar power and battery technology and the types of feedback information that best support household decisions.