Make Your Solar Energy Count: When You Use It Matters
Solar panels only produce during daylight hours — but your biggest loads often run at other times. Load shifting is the strategy that closes the gap and maximises your savings.
Solar panels produce electricity when the sun shines, which is typically between 9am and 4pm. But most Australian households run their heaviest loads in the morning and evening. The result is a mismatch: you export cheap solar energy to the grid and then import expensive electricity a few hours later. Load shifting is the strategy that fixes this.
What Is Load Shifting?
Load shifting means deliberately timing electricity use to coincide with solar production or cheaper off-peak periods. The term 'load' is just technical jargon for any electricity consumption — your dishwasher, washing machine, pool pump or EV are all loads.
In Australia, the financial case for load shifting is particularly strong. Feed-in tariffs — what your retailer pays for exported solar — typically sit at 5–12c/kWh. But if you import electricity instead of using your own solar, you pay 25–40c/kWh. Shifting a load from evening to midday is effectively worth the difference.
| Scenario | Import rate | Export credit | Savings per kWh shifted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flat tariff (no TOU) | 28c/kWh | 6c/kWh | 22c/kWh |
| Time-of-use (peak hour) | 45c/kWh | 6c/kWh | 39c/kWh |
| Wholesale pass-through (Amber) | Variable | Variable | High on sunny days |
Biggest Loads to Shift First
- Pool pump — run during solar hours instead of overnight; easy to automate via timer
- Hot water system — a 3.6 kW element running for 2–3 hours uses your midday solar effectively
- Dishwasher — delayed start means solar does the heating cycle; dry cycle uses little energy
- Washing machine — hot washes during solar hours avoid importing electricity for heating
- EV charging — schedule to start at 10am if possible; a 7 kW charger is an excellent solar sponge
- Air conditioning — pre-cool or pre-heat during solar hours so the home holds temperature into evening
How Batteries Change the Equation
Batteries reduce the urgency of load shifting by storing midday solar for use in the evening. But even with a battery, load shifting has value: running large loads during solar hours means the battery stays fuller longer, giving you more evening capacity. A battery-only approach without shifting still leaves money on the table.
Time-of-use tariffs amplify the value of load shifting significantly — if your retailer offers peak/off-peak pricing, shifting loads away from peak hours compounds your savings on top of solar self-consumption gains.
Automation Makes It Easy
Most load shifting can be automated. Smart hot water controllers, pool pump timers, appliance schedules and EV charging apps all let you set-and-forget. EnerLogic tracks your solar production in real time and can alert you when excess solar is available so you know when to run high-draw appliances manually.