What is the new IQe technology?

IQe is an energy-saving technology built into every MyPlaceIQ system that helps you use excess solar energy to cool and heat your home. It automatically runs your air conditioning when surplus solar power is available, pre-cooling or pre-heating your home before you arrive.

Instead of exporting unused solar energy to the grid for a relatively small feed-in tariff, IQe helps you put that energy to work, reducing how much electricity you may need to purchase later in the day.

How does IQe technology work?

IQe forecasts how much solar energy your home is likely to generate throughout the day and estimates how much electricity your household and air conditioner will need.

It then works in three simple steps:

1. Estimates: Forecasts your home’s solar energy production based on your location and solar system.

2. Decides: Identifies when there’s enough excess solar energy to run your air conditioning, taking into account the size of your solar system, your air conditioner’s power requirements and your household’s estimated energy consumption.

3. Saves: Automatically pre-cools or pre-heats your home when conditions are right, helping reduce your reliance on grid electricity later.

IQe aims to keep air conditioning consumption within your available surplus solar energy. It can also adjust how hard your air conditioner operates to make better use of changing solar conditions throughout the day.

Why does pre-cooling or pre-heating your home save money?

Imagine arriving home at 5 pm on a hot summer day.

Your house is warm, your solar panels are producing very little electricity, and you switch on your air conditioning. If you’re on a time-of-use electricity plan, you may also be paying peak electricity rates.

Earlier that day, however, your solar panels may have been generating excess electricity that was exported to the grid for a relatively small return.

IQe helps you use that energy when it’s available, rather than buying more expensive electricity later.

By cooling your house during the day using surplus solar energy, IQe helps you arrive home to a comfortable temperature without needing to run your air conditioning as hard during the evening.

The same principle applies in winter, when IQe can use available solar energy to pre-heat your home.

How is IQe different from a standard air conditioning timer?

A traditional timer turns your air conditioner on at a scheduled time, regardless of how much solar power your home is producing.

IQe takes a smarter approach.

It considers the relationship between your solar system’s output and your air conditioner’s electricity consumption, while accounting for changing weather conditions throughout the day.

For example, a timer might turn your air conditioner on at midday even when cloudy weather has reduced your solar production. Your air conditioner could then consume more electricity than your solar panels are generating, requiring additional power from the grid.

IQe uses solar forecasts and your system’s energy requirements to help avoid this situation, making more informed decisions about when and how hard your air conditioning should run.

Can IQe use three hours of free electricity?

Yes. IQe isn’t limited to households with solar panels.

Some electricity plans offer three hours of free electricity during the day. IQe can be configured to use these periods to automatically pre-cool or pre-heat your home, reducing the need to run your air conditioning during more expensive periods.

If you have both solar panels and an eligible free electricity plan, IQe can be configured to take advantage of both.

How much money can IQe save?

Independent energy modelling cited by MyPlace has estimated potential annual savings of:

• Up to $617 per year for a Brisbane home.

• Up to $804 per year for a Perth home.

These savings come from making better use of excess solar energy and reducing the amount of electricity purchased from the grid.

Importantly, these aren’t just one-off savings. By reducing air conditioning running costs year after year, IQe has the potential to deliver meaningful savings over the lifetime of your system.

Actual savings will depend on your solar system, electricity tariffs, air conditioner, home and usage patterns. Because IQe uses forecasts and estimated consumption, it cannot guarantee that your air conditioning will always run entirely on solar power.

How does IQe work with MyPlaceIQ’s other energy-saving features?

IQe is just one of the ways MyPlaceIQ helps reduce air conditioning running costs.

While IQe focuses on when your air conditioning runs, MyPlaceIQ’s smart zoning and optional individual room temperature sensors help control where air conditioning is needed.

Smart zoning means you’re not wasting energy heating or cooling rooms that aren’t being used. For example, if you have three bedrooms but rarely use the guest bedroom, you can create separate zones to avoid unnecessarily conditioning that space. Air can instead be directed to rooms that need it, helping them reach their desired temperatures faster.

Individual room temperature sensors provide more precise control. Not every room experiences the same temperatures throughout the day. An upstairs west-facing bedroom might get significantly hotter in the afternoon than a shaded downstairs room. Individual sensors help prevent some rooms from being over-cooled while others remain too warm.

Together, these features help MyPlaceIQ reduce unnecessary energy use while improving comfort throughout your home.

Make more of your solar energy with MyPlaceIQ

With IQe, your air conditioning can work around your home’s available solar energy or eligible free electricity hours, rather than waiting until you get home.

Combined with smarter zoning and individual room temperature control, it’s another way MyPlaceIQ helps Australian households enjoy greater comfort while getting their energy bills closer to zero.