• Plentify and Herholdt’s have paired up to create and distribute SolarBot.
• This technology uses several data points to maximise the efficiency of home solar power systems.
• With SolarBot homeowners can monitor their systems in real-time and make adjustments to their consumption or system accordingly.

Owners of solar power solutions have to carefully balance their consumption with how much power they are able to store and produce. This can become a tricky process when one has to balance all of these factors.

To help solar power solution owners maximise the efficiency of their systems, Plentify and Herholdt’s have paired up to create and distribute SolarBot.

The duo say that SolarBot is a first-of-its-kind intelligent controller for home solar and battery systems. The technology is developed by Plentify while Herholdt’s will leverage its network of installers to spread the technology through the market.

SolarBot analyses weather patterns, loadshedding schedules as well as customer demand to manage the charging and discharging of batteries. This has the intention of both minimising dependence on the grid and maximising the efficiency and ultimately the life of the batteries.

This solution, Plentify and Herholdt’s say, will help companies which rely on selling solar solutions which may now be experiencing a decline in sales.

While the instinct may be to jump ship, if solar continues to become cheaper, it will be more attractive to South Africans. Given the fact that electricity tariffs are only going up, solar power systems may prove useful for many South Africans before too long.

Make no mistake though, moving your entire home off of the power grid is quite the investment and homeowners would want to maximise their spend to get the most out of the system.

With SolarBot homeowners can monitor their systems in real-time and make adjustments to their consumption accordingly. It may also help in knowing whether its time to add more batteries or solar panels to the system.

“The rapidly declining costs of solar panels and batteries have gotten us a lot of the way there. But that is not enough – as many solar owners are finding out, after interrogating their solar performance with more scrutiny with load shedding receding. It really matters how effectively you use your solar system. You could have 50 panels on your roof in the middle of a summer’s day, but if that energy has nowhere to go – if your battery is full and home demand low with no grid exports – it will not produce,” explained Jon Kornik, chief executive officer of Plentify.

For installers, Plentify will soon be launching its Plentify platform which will provide fleet monitoring. This should prove to be a fantastic value add for installers looking to offer their customers, particularly business customers something extra.

As mentioned, Plentify’s tech will be available through Herholdt’s network which you can peruse here.

“At Herholdts, we believe the future of solar lies in intelligent energy management. Our partnership with Plentify represents our commitment to delivering advanced technology that allows installers to provide customers with smarter, more efficient systems,” technical manager at Herholdt’s Lukas Stoltz said in a statement.

This may be worth a look especially if your current system isn’t really living up to your expectations.