Customer Success Story · RESIDENTIAL
How Kylie From Cannonvale Turned Her $700 Power Bill into a Monthly CREDIT and no longer worries about Blackouts.
As a single mum with two teenagers and rising power bills, Kylie wanted lower costs, blackout protection and one less thing to worry about. Today, her power bill is $0, her account is in credit and her home has a complete blackout protection system.
KYLIE THOMSON
Solar
15.51kW of Panels
Battery
22.4kWh
Bill before
$700 / Quarter
Bill after
$70.65 CREDIT
Payback
[X years, DELETE IF UNKNOWN]
MEET KYLIE
SINGLE MUM OF 2 TEENS LIVING IN A TREEHOUSE
Kylie lives in Cannonvale with her two teens and three cavoodles in what she affectionately calls her “treehouse.” Like many families, power usage adds up quickly, especially with teenagers who seem determined to turn on every single light in the house and leave them on.
With electricity bills sitting around $600–$700 per quarter and rising, Kylie felt like the resident “Power Police" in her own home. “The kids love to turn my house into an airport landing strip!”
She had even put off installing air conditioning because she was worried about what it would do to the power bill. For Kylie, the goal was simple: find a smarter way to power her home, ditch the power bill and create a reliable blackout protection plan so she no longer had to worry about power outages in storms and cyclones.
The Problem
KYLIE'S BIGGEST WORRY WERE BLACKOUTS
While Kylie was feeling the pinch from rising electricity bills, blackouts were her bigger concern. During outages, Kylie relied on a generator to keep essential appliances running, including the refrigerator used to store her son’s medication. That meant cyclone warnings came with an extra layer of stress...
Get fuel. Move the heavy generator up to the deck. Get the generator started. Keep it running. Hope everything stays powered. As a single mum, Kylie wanted a much simpler solution, especially when severe weather rolled through the Whitsundays. Kylie's biggest worry was having to try and start the generator in the middle of a cyclone.
But there was one big question that was holding her back: "Could she actually afford solar and a battery?“
Being on a single income, Kylie was worried about the cost. Her budget was already stretched, she didn’t have any spare cash sitting around and knew she would have to finance the system.
The Solution
A SYSTEM BUILT FOR TODAY AND THE NEXT CHAPTER!
Chris went out to the treehouse, reviewed Kylie’s electricity bills and assessed both her current energy use and what she wanted the home to look like in the future. We designed a system with 15.51kW of solar panels and 22.4kWh of battery storage, giving Kylie enough capacity to cover the way the family lives now and with room to grow for her future plans.
Thanks to the rebates available, Kylie was also able to significantly reduce the upfront cost, and with zero-upfront finance, she didn’t need any cash to get started. The real game changer? Her finance repayments are less than what she was already paying for electricity. Instead of continuing to hand that money over to Ergon every quarter, she could put it towards her solar and battery system she would actually own.
The system was designed to help future-proof her home for her next chapter: Air conditioning, a pool, an Airbnb studio downstairs and eventually an electric vehicle. So rather than adding more power costs later, the treehouse is already set up to handle her future plans. And one day, that could mean ditching her fuel bill too.
The Outcome
FROM POWER POLICE TO PEACE OF MIND!
Since installing solar and battery, Kylie’s power bill hasn’t just dropped to $0 - her Ergon account now gives her a monthly credit. That means the days of following teenagers around turning off lights and worrying about electricity bills are finally over! Her family can use the home the way they want to use it, without that constant mental calculation of, “What is this going to cost me?”
And the financial result is only part of the win! Kylie now has blackout protection, giving her peace of mind during storms and cyclones without having to drag out a generator, find fuel or worry about keeping essential appliances running. Kylie says it’s one less thing to worry about, and for the first time, she actually feels prepared for future cyclones.
Even better, the system has been designed with the future in mind. Air conditioning, a pool, an Airbnb studio and an EV are all part of the plan and Kylie already has the solar and battery capacity in place to support it all. What started as a way to reduce electricity costs has become something much bigger:
Zero $0 bills. More security. More freedom. Peace of mind.
“I remember waking up a few weeks after the install and every light in the house had been left on. Pre-Solar that would have lead to a Mumma Meltdown resulting in me screaming at the kids. Instead I just laughed and thought, ‘Thank goodness my home is now powered by the sun!’”
“I no longer have an electricity bill, I now have a monthly CREDIT. My only regret is that I wish I'd done it sooner!”
KYLIE THOMSON, CANNONVALE QLD
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