Bradford Energy has partnered with Western Australia’s oldest project builder Plunkett Home to include the 4.2kW Bradford Solar ChargePack in new home builds.
The partnership, which comes at a time when WA electricity prices are set to rise by 7 per cent this year, could see hundreds of new homes equipped with solar, a home battery and air conditioning for one tenth of the combined products normal value.
Plunkett Homes is the first major WA homebuilder to offer this solution, which gives consumers the option to have their homes equipped with the $30,000 worth of Bradford solar panels, Tesla Powerwall 2, inverter, smart app monitoring and reverse cycled air-conditioning for the total cost of $3000.
Bradford Energy and Plunkett Homes’ partnership will allow Perth households to save up to $2000 a year in electricity savings, or an estimated $23,000 over a ten-year period, while reducing carbon emissions by around 5600kg a year.
The solution will allow homeowners to achieve 80 per cent self-sufficiency on an average day.
Western Australia’s retail electricity prices increased 10.9 per cent last year, and at the same time the state government began to remove electricity subsidies.
The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has forecast the state will see further price rises in the next two years while other states are expected to experience price reductions.
“Throughout our 115 years in operation, we have constantly asked ourselves how we can build homes that will meet tomorrow’s needs of Western Australian homeowners,” Plunkett Homes CEO Tony Pritchett said.
“At a time when the state’s energy subsidies are being removed and West Australians are facing even higher costs of electricity, it’s clear that innovative solutions to reigning in our customers future energy prices are a natural next step for Plunkett Homes.
“This is an obvious partnership for us and links three incredibly strong brands.”
Bradford Energy Business Manager Ashleigh O’Brien said it was an exciting opportunity for WA homeowners to take advantage of a trend that is taking off in eastern states, allowing homeowners and occupiers to take control of their power prices.
“As Australians across the country are being hit with unprecedented electricity price rises, Bradford Energy is working hard to be part of the solution,” she said.
“This partnership will allow many WA homeowners to take their electricity generation into their own hands and reduce their household power bills by thousands of dollars every year, while also significantly reducing their carbon footprint.
“Across Australia, we are seeing soaring demand for household battery storage solutions as technology improves and the price of electricity continues to rise, these factors combined with electricity savings are driving incredible increases demand.
“In fact, the Climate Council recently estimated there were 20,000 new installations across Australia in 2017, around three times the number of new installations the year before.”
