Another sweltering summer is on the way, with The Bureau of Meteorology forecasting 2018 to be one of the hottest years on record.
While the Morrison Government has vowed to bring down energy prices, many households are taking things into their own hands.
Rooftop solar installations soared by almost 50% in the first half of 2018, and there’s no sign of a slowdown.
Now, one Sydney-based start-up is shaking up the industry.
Dubbed the Airbnb of solar, Shinehub is an online platform that streamlines the installation process, making solar power easier and more affordable to access.
Founders Alex Georgiou and Jin Woo Kim founded the company in 2016 when they spotted a niche in easily accessible solar.
“We wanted to create a platform where people can get all the information in one go instead of trying to call different companies and look up different products and manufacturers,” explains Jin Woo.
Co-founders Alex Georgiou and Jin Woo Kim founded Shinehub in 2016. Source: Supplied
But it was Australia’s soaring energy prices that made the business viable.
“This is the first place in the world where solar and batteries are going to be cost-effective and for me, that’s been the Holy Grail of solar energy,” says Alex.
“I’ve been waiting for this for the last 10 years to make solar and batteries cheaper than grid power.”
Panel and battery costs have declined in recent years, but Alex says the high upfront costs are still a major barrier, with the average solar and battery installation costing around $12,000.
To ease the financial burden, Shinehub offers a fixed rate solar plan, which it claims can halve household power bills.
Shinehub uses programming for panel design to consider shading issues from trees. Source: Supplied
“They can buy a system outright, they can get a personal loan, or they can use our fixed-rate plan where they just pay for the power that’s being generated,” explains Alex.
The business has been experiencing rapid growth, expanding from two to twelve fulltime staff in the past year.
“I see the company doubling in size, I’d like to see 24 fulltime staff by this time next year,” says Jin.
Although the company is growing at a rapid rate, it comes from humble beginnings.
Shinehub is completely self-funded by Jin and Alex, but now, the founders are looking to take the platform offshore.
“We’ve gotten a number of inquiries from Africa, Europe, Canada to bring the platform there and actually a few start-up accelerators have invited us to come into their programs that are connecting with utilities around the world,” says Alex.
“We’ve held off on that because we want to make sure the software is built properly first, but the interest is definitely there and the market is ready for this conversation.”
