Lack of household renewables can impact the rollout of new technology

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Experts are warning a lack of common standards with household renewables could impact the rollout and uptake of new technology. They're calling for regulatory and planning reform to make sure Australia’s grid and homes are ready for an increasing uptake.

Transcript

00:00Robyn O'Reilly is like many Australian pensioners.

00:05She's long lived in her own home.

00:07In her case, in the portside Adelaide suburb of Ethelton.

00:10She's a creature of habits and she adores her pet dog.

00:14In other key ways, Robyn is not like your typical retiree.

00:18Thanks to a trial being run by Poles and Wires firm, South Australia Power Networks,

00:22her house is fully electrified.

00:24A heat pump provides her hot water,

00:26while reverse cycle air conditioning keeps the house warm or cool as needed.

00:31And she uses an app to monitor these systems in real time.

00:35I really like the heat pump.

00:36I run it between 10 and 3 every day.

00:39Always got hot water.

00:42I think it's quite economical at the moment anyhow.

00:46Yeah, I recommend it.

00:48Coordinating it all is a system that can harmonise various household appliances to keep bills low.

00:54Experts say such systems are going to be vital to Australia's efforts to reduce emissions by up to 70% by 2035.

01:02But they warn the market for these systems lacks standards,

01:05with too many devices that cannot be operated by other firm's systems or software.

01:10We're also seeing a lot of barriers when it comes to something called interoperability,

01:14or how different appliances talk to other appliances.

01:17They're calling for simplified and universal standards to make it easier for households to swap and change when needed.

01:23So really simply it's sort of like how Samsung had one type of charger and Apple had another,

01:30and now they have the same.

01:31But South Australia as the site of this trial is no coincidence.

01:35The state is a world leader in its adoption of rooftop solar and other clean tech.

01:40It means South Australia is having to solve some thorny problems before anywhere else,

01:45and the lessons being learned here are likely to be applied elsewhere.

01:50We've got a problem here, a management issue.

01:53Whether it's kettles, dishwashers, whatever it might be, the entire system needs planning reform.

02:00We need standard reform.

02:02Retiree Robin O'Reilly is happy to leave the decisions to the technology, so long as it benefits her.

02:08I didn't want to be one of these people too, that doesn't put heating, can't afford to put heating on,

02:14or, you know, I want to be able to enjoy life too.

02:20Hoping that in technology we can trust.

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