Specialized Solar & Electrical has partnered with Amber to help our solar battery customers – present & future – maximise the value from their battery; giving you more power over your power.
About Amber
Amber is a new type of electricity retailer that’s reinventing the way Australians buy energy. Set up in 2017 by two Aussie mates, Melbourne-based Amber is more than just an electricity retailer. They’re a tech company on a mission to help Australia reach 100% renewable energy by rewarding customers for putting more clean energy back into the grid when it needs it most.
Recognised as Victorian start-up of the year 2022, and with serious venture capital backing, Amber is giving the entrenched traditional energy retailers a run for their money. Amber has got to the crux of what’s not working with the national electricity market – the poor rates solar owners get paid for the Feed-in-Tariff. And they’ve turned the whole thing on its head – with the use of clever technology – to give solar and battery owners access to wholesale electricity prices enabling anyone with a solar battery to get paid the same high wholesale prices for their exports as the big energy retailers.
And they play fair. All they charge customers is a flat $22 monthly subscription. They don’t take any cut on the money you make trading electricity at wholesale market prices. You get every single cent.
Amber for Batteries
Amber for Batteries is a way of buying and selling electricity that’s 100% designed for solar battery owners. If you sign up for Amber for Batteries, you can say goodbye to your conventional electricity retailer and start making some proper money from your solar exports.
Amber for Batteries combines Amber’s wholesale pricing model with their battery optimisation technology, SmartShiftTM, enabling you to sell your stored solar energy when wholesale electricity prices peak. With Amber for Batteries, you can get paid as much as $15 per kilowatt hour for your solar exports – the same as the big electricity retailers get paid. Now that’s fair!
You can also top -up your solar battery with cheap green electricity from the grid when wholesale prices are low. Then sell it back to the grid when prices rise in the early evening.
You don’t need to be an electricity expert to use Amber for Batteries. It’s super-smart and 100% focussed on accelerating the payback on your solar and battery system.
How much extra can I earn with Amber for Batteries?
On average, Amber for Batteries customers in Victoria can save an extra $317 a year, on top of the savings they’re already making from their solar and battery system. With our product offerings and spikes in wholesale prices occur, there’s the opportunity to earn $50-$90 in a day.
How does Amber’s SmartShift tech work?
First, you sign up with Amber as your electricity retailer at a cost of $22/ month, with no lock-in. Then, you can enrol in Amber for Batteries which is free.
To join Amber for Batteries, you need an eligible battery like Tesla Powerwall, SolarEdge or Sungrow.
For $22/ month, you get access to wholesale energy prices and Amber’s battery technology. You also get the Amber app which gives all the control you want over your battery.
Use the app to choose when to charge, when to export, and when to preserve power. Or let Amber’s SmartShiftTM automation technology do it for you, based on your usage patterns, dynamic wholesale electricity pricing and your pre-set preferences.
Best of all, Amber doesn’t take a cut on your electricity usage. It’s honest, transparent energy retailing, like you’ve never seen before. See the app walk through video below:
I don’t have a SmartShift-compatible battery. What now?
If you do have a battery but find it’s not compatible with SmartShift tech, you can still join Amber for Batteries. Amber has also partnered with Evergen which – similar to SmartShift – also gives you access to the true value of your energy, in-line with Amber’s wholesale pricing.
The main difference? SmartShift just has a few additional control features.
Currently, Evergen is able to automate the following batteries:
- Energizer
- Eveready
- Huawei
- Redback
- Solax
Amber for EVs
In the coming months, Amber will launch its SmartShift technology for EVs. This technology will automate your EV charging so that it always takes place at the greenest and cheapest time—without you needing to do anything.
Amber has done the number crunching and found that if you had charged your EV during the cheapest two hours of each day last year (FY20-21), you would have paid 8.2 cents per kilowatt hour if you live in Victoria.
Amber for EVs will be free for all Amber customers.
How does Amber make its money?
Amber makes its money from the $15/ month subscription fee. This is the sole revenue for Amber to run the retail side of their business and develop their battery technology.
Partnership with Specialized Solar & Electrical
Specialized Solar & Electrical has partnered with Amber to help our solar battery customers maximise the value from their battery and minimise their energy costs. We’re right behind what Amber stands for and their goal to reward solar battery owners properly for putting more clean energy back into the grid.
Why choose Amber through Specialized Solar & Electrical?
By joining Amber through Specialized Solar & Electrical you are eligible for benefits exclusive to only our customers, in addition to the regular benefits from your subscription:
When you subscribe:
- Access to wholesale energy prices and FiT – use cheaper renewables in order to supercharge your savings and exports.
- Full use of the Amber app – have full visibility and control over your energy usage and your integrated solar and battery system.
- A smarter solar and battery with SmartShift™ – Amber’s SmartShift™ technology lets you use smart automation modes to give your solar and battery a serious power up.
Additional benefits:
- 2 months free subscription.
- We’re with you from start to finish – and beyond.
- Access to your own unique, holistic energy-usage plan.
- Access to both Amber and Specialized Solar & Electrical support teams – giving you peace-of-mind throughout the longevity of your Solar PV and Battery Solution.
How to sign up with Amber
Get in touch with us to become an Amber customer and subscribe. It’s super-easy and they handle everything for you – including the goodbyes with your current electricity retailer.
Enrolling for Amber for Batteries is the second step, and it takes up to two weeks depending on type of battery you have. Once that’s set up, you’re good to go.
Amber still needs a bit of time to learn your electricity usage patterns, so give it around a month to get to know you properly. After that, Amber for Batteries is fully personalised for your electricity usage habits and battery usage preferences.
Amber: a better way to buy and sell electricity.
