Questions, discussions and feedback about the AGL website, My Account page, and our online services
Hello Neighbourhood! I work at AGL, with a product development team, who work on My Account.
One of our favourite features, the Electrify Now tool (which calculates savings - both $ and CO2 through swapping out appliances or installing solar), has helped many customers when considering their next move.
Currently, we are designing a solution to help users better share the output - a short report with the savings, install costs, rebates and payback period etc.
In doing so, we want to understand, what method would be most helpful to you?
Would you prefer to download a PDF? Receive an email version of the report? Copy a URL (hyperlink) to your clipboard?
While we have solar, 15 months or so, and are very happy with the change, I guess we aren't going to be needing such a report.
But I can offer a few insights from my experience and knowledge of how it works / can work.
Unless someone has a smart meter and TOU for basing such a report, a report like this might be little value, as most people going onto solar will need to upgrade to a smart meter, and possibly have to go onto TOU tariff.
If AGL can't see the particular consumer's usage patterns with old analogue metering, the report would be almost useless to those customers.
That requires more guesswork from a solar company, based on the consumer's best advice on when they use power for what appliances.
Some with smart meters now are on old single tariffs, but AGL should still be able to see TOU and use that for the generation of such a report ??
It'd be best not to clutter up existing solar users life with such links, but older system owners might see a lot of benefit changing to a new system.
People buy homes with older systems too, and think that's great, seeing a small reduction on bills, but a modern system can almost eliminate bills in summer / shoulder, of course it all varies on kw system and a whole raft of factors, but that advice can apply most of the time in general.
It's not easy for AGL working out if a solar system is past its time, perhaps someone that's been an AGL customer for a decade or more, you can obviously see they have solar for that time, and they might get some use from such a report too.
Their systems might be almost useless now, unless very generous grandfathered FIT, but even then, old systems can be very unproductive, their usage might have changed to more self consumption, and the production of more modern solar might be a worthwhile upgrade.
For people on solar now (modern systems, compatible with a battery), a report on possible benefits of getting a home battery would be good to see too, how it can help eliminate bills altogether, how going onto a VPP might be a further benefit in both cost and any environmental benefits.
I don't think it matters how a report is delivered, perhaps a simple link on the app or web overview page, link there are currently links for other Electrify Now type promotions.
Something like "See your tailored report on solar savings here."
I also consider an email with a PDF report ok for most consumers, those that aren't interested might treat it as spam, but in today's world emails like that are dime a dozen anyway, so will not likely raise much angst receiving such.
Hope that helps with some input, feel free to ask for any further clarification.