Are Solar Sharer Plans Worth It?
If you’re considering switching to these plans because “3 Free hours of electricity” sounds appealing, please pause and evaluate carefully. Depending on your situation, these plans might not be cost-effective and could end up costing more than alternatives.
The most important question to ask is: What is the true value of these plans?
To determine this, you need to understand:
- How your current bill amount is formulated,
- Your usage patterns,
- The rates applied to your usage.
- And how they all impact each other.
Only with this information can you accurately compare whether Solar Sharer Plans with 3 free hours of electricity are actually better than other options.
How to Understand Electricity Bills and Plans.
There is one thing that provides the greatest clarity about your bill – Your Usage Data which is an hour-by-hour record of your electricity consumption. It tells you:
- How much electricity your home and appliances are using.
- When that electricity is being used.
- The patterns in your energy use, allowing you to connect your habits with your consumption.
For example, if you switch on the heating, you’ll often see a noticeable spike in your usage for that period. Viewing your data this way helps you better understand how your day-to-day activities affect your electricity usage.
Once you understand your usage patterns, comparing electricity plans and their rates becomes much easier.
Rather than looking only at the price per kilowatt-hour, you can evaluate whether a plan actually suits when and how you use electricity.
- However, because the energy plans differ in configuration with each retailer, calculating the actual cost of each plan seems (on the surface) to be made even more difficult and complex because to compare plans side-by-side, you have to factor in the many variations of: Single Rate, Off-peak, Peak, Shoulder configurations across NSW, ACT, SA, QLD, VIC (increased from those in May 2026). The rates for these are at https://PowerBill.app/rates.
- Conversely! difficult and complex is no longer the case.
Through PowerBill®, Calculating Bills, and Plans is extremely easy. (The Why and How are explained later in this article).
Before switching to a Solar Sharer Plan, ask yourself:
- Will I be able to make use of the free solar hours if I’m not at home? If so, how? (One option is to use timer plugs to run suitable appliances during the free 3-hour period).
- Which devices or appliances could I run during those hours to make the most of the free energy? A slow cooker, A washing machine?
- Is it safe to leave those appliances running while I’m away? Always consider whether an appliance is safe to operate unattended, particularly those that generate heat.
- How much energy do those appliances use? Keep in mind that some Solar Sharer plans include usage limits. For example, the first 24 kWh during the free period may be free, but once you exceed that limit, normal usage charges may apply.
A Shift in Thinking is Needed
One of the biggest misconceptions people make when evaluating Energy plans is comparing themselves against another persons bill and plan.
This leads away from an accurate judgement and closer to a random guess because that person does not use their devices/appliances exactly like you do, and that person is more than likely to not have the exact same make/mode/year of manufacture devices/appliances that you have.
- Moving away from this type of thinking is the biggest shift people need to make so they can stop choosing ill-suited energy plans, and find the one that really suits there needs and budget.
- Moving away from making random guesses with generalised data and assumptions that do not reflect your usage, is another step towards choosing correct plan.
It is better to obtain your usage data (from you Distributor or your Retailer) then go to https://PowerBill.app and use it to make better choices, that will save you money – especially if you are pondering whether 3 Free Hours of Electricity will work for you.
PowerBill® is a platform that uses a new method of operation. All you need is your meter’s usage data, upload it and the app’s take care of the rest.
Be wary of the conventional methods that use generalised data and irrelevant assumptions. You will not reach the clarity that PowerBill® provides.
- The Compare app – will tell you whether or not the lure of 3 Free Hours of Electricity is a cheaper option or not, as it takes your meter’s usage data and provides you with an instant report of ALL the plans provided by the retailers (i.e. 250+ each for NSW, SA, QLD) – not the small selection you get elsewhere. i.e. the less than a handful of final results. There is no comparison to the PowerBill® platform.
- The Bill Check app – takes your meter’s usage data and provides you with a direct calculation of your bill, and will provide you with the proof if the bill price is wrong.
If you would like a demonstration of the apps at PowerBill®, watch the instructional videos at https://PowerBill.app/instructional-videos or contact me through the contact form at https://mysaas.website/contact-me/
