SunHour Planner
A scheduling app for Australian households that automatically routes big energy loads (EV charging, hot water, pool pump, dishwasher, dryer, battery top-up) into the new 11am–2pm free window, tracks the 24 kWh cap, and projects dollar savings against your current tariff.
Australian households — especially renters, retirees, and people without rooftop solar — who want to capture the new free daytime window without manually babysitting appliances
- Smart load scheduler that pushes eligible appliances into the free window and falls back to off-peak overnight when the 24 kWh cap is near
- Real-time solar/grid mix indicator that explains how much of the free window you have left each day
- Per-appliance savings estimator that shows $ saved this week, month, and year based on your actual plan and usage history
- Retailer compatibility check that confirms your current plan is signed up for the Solar Sharer Offer and flags better ones in your state
The Solar Sharer Offer takes effect 1 July 2026 across NSW, South-East Queensland, and South Australia, with Victoria flagged for October 2026 and the rest of the country by 2027 — every month of delay is a month of free electricity households leave on the table because they don't know when the window opens or how to use it.
Government-mandated Solar Sharer Offer launching 1 July 2026 across NSW/SEQ/SA with 24 kWh daily cap is generating heavy mainstream coverage (ABC, Choice, energy.gov.au) and the referenced Hacker News thread (135 pts / 217 comments) confirms strong tech-savvy interest.New energy plan with daily window of free electricity ↗Do you qualify for three hours of free electricity? Here's how it works ↗
No dedicated SSO scheduling app surfaced; adjacent tools exist (Ocular/Evnex EV chargers with built-in solar timers, retailer education pages from Red Energy, SolarQuotes explainers) but none orchestrate EV + pool pump + hot water + battery together against the 11am-2pm window and 24 kWh cap.3 hours of free power? The new Solar Sharer Offer explained ↗Solar Sharer: 3 Hours Of Free Power Explained ↗
24 kWh cap at typical 25-35c/kWh = ~$6-8/day or $180-240/year per household in bill reduction, but retailers are offering SSO as a free standing offer and manual scheduling works, so willingness to pay for a $5-10/mo automation app is plausible but unproven.Solar Sharer Offer - energy.gov.au ↗Red Energy - Solar Sharer Offer: 3 Hours Free Energy Explained ↗
Offer is a regulated Default Market Offer reform rolling out NSW/QLD/SA July 2026, Victoria Oct 2026, rest of country by 2027 — multi-year government program with structural rather than promotional backing, giving a 3-5+ year relevance window.Australia's Free Midday Power Plan Starts July 1: Who Gets 3 Hours of ... ↗Free Daytime Electricity Is Coming. How It Actually Works ↗
A scheduling/recommendation web app is buildable, but full automation requires smart-meter API access from retailers (CIS access is restricted), plus integration with diverse smart EVSEs, pool timers, smart hot-water controllers and battery BMS — non-trivial but a useful MVP can ship without hardware control via manual schedules + bill-import savings projections.Smart Charging and App Control - EVSE Australia ↗