CSIRO and the NSW Government have launched an initiative that could potentially unlock lower power bills for households and small businesses.
The Living Lab project offers participants the opportunity to gather personalised insights into their energy usage and learn how they can reduce their energy costs.
The two-year citizen science project will collect real-world data, observations and feedback from 1000 households and 60 small businesses across NSW, with the information to be used by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) to improve consumer programs aimed at reducing power bills, lowering emissions and enhancing grid stability across NSW.
“This is a direct opportunity for residents and small business owners to learn how to take control of their energy future,” NSW DCCEEW executive director – consumer energy Gill Goldsmith said.
“Whether you’re a homeowner or a renter or live in an apartment in the city or a farmhouse in rural Australia, we want to hear from you.”
Goldsmith said the Living Lab project, which forms part of CSIRO’s National Energy Analysis Centre (NEAC), could provide households and businesses tools to lower their energy costs.
“Participants in the NEAC Living Lab program will receive valuable information to learn ways to save money on energy bills and will be helping to inform future policies and programs that will benefit all of NSW,” he said.
CSIRO NEAC director Dr Stephen Craig said Australia’s national science agency is always looking at ways to learn more about consumer behaviours.
“At CSIRO, we are working to understand why and when people use energy the way they do, and how they want to interact with clean energy technology such as solar, batteries, electric vehicles, and transitioning from gas to electricity,” he said.
“We also want to understand how consumers would want to interact with solutions such as virtual power plants, and how these changes would impact the electricity grid.”
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