This SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.
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1. THE BEGINNING
This innovation initially came to life when…
…founders Neal Stewart and Richard McIndoe recognised that the electricity industry is being challenged by a new disruptive generation of technologies at the ‘grid-edge’ such as Solar and storage. They recognised the opportunity to optimise the performance of these technologies through advanced electronics and software. Thus they assembled Edge Electrons, a team with extensive industry leading experience in utilities, electronics and software, together with the manufacturing excellence of Flex, one of the largest OEM providers in the world. Over the past 3 years, Edge has developed unique, patented, affordable energy efficiency technology solutions such as the eSaver product range.
2. WHAT & HOW
The purpose of this innovation is to…
…provide a unique AC-AC voltage optimisation solution that delivers a constant voltage to customers, reducing costs by up to 10%, enhancing solar and storage yield (~5-10%), extending equipment operating life, protecting from voltage spikes and providing data monitoring and analytics.
It does this by…
…regulating voltage supply at the premise level to appliance standards of 220v. This reduces energy consumption from high grid voltage supply, prevents solar inverters from going into ‘Over-voltage-lockout’ and provides energy data feedback using Edge’s patented software and power electronics.
3. PURPOSE & BENEFITS
This innovation improves on what came before because…
…there currently exists no ‘premise-level’ voltage optimisation solution which provides the solution directly at the ‘Point-of-Load’. Current VO technologies exist at either the pole-level or at utility scale and therefore cannot provide as high-resolution data or voltage control. They also cannot provide the equivalent kWh savings, and require large roll-out before they can be beneficial.
Its various benefits to the customer/end-user include…
Reduced energy costs
Improved solar and battery performance
Energy consumption and solar/storage data feed back provides monitoring and analytics capabilities
Voltage spike protection up to 10 kV
4. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
In the past, this problem was solved by…
…voltage optimisation, it has traditionally been a large utility scale solution kept out of the hands of consumers. The eSaver gives the benefits of voltage optimization directly to the consumer with its innovative residential size solution.
Its predecessors/competitors include…
Varentec & GridCo
5. TARGET MARKET
It is made for…
…customers looking to reduce electricity costs, improve power quality, or enhance renewable performance. These include innovative energy retailers, energy networks, Solar and DER providers, or end consumers looking to take back control.
They face rising costs, frustration, and desire to adopt leading technologies to deliver new solutions, or manage the new challenges that distributed generation causes the grid.
It is available for sale through…
…a range of electrical distributors and wholesalers across Australia. http://www.edgeelectrons.com
Our marketing strategy is to…
…create partnerships with a range of channels including wholesalers, energy retailers, solar installers and electricity networks.
FINE PRINT: This SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.
