How does Amber Electric calculate battery quotes?

We've introduced an improved quoting method that better reflects real home and battery performance.

How does the new pricing simulation work?

We model two scenarios when estimating a quote:

1. Self-consumption (baseline): The battery just charges from excess solar and discharges to cover household use. There is no optimisation of when the battery charges, discharges, or stores energy.
2. Best case optimisation: The battery charges when prices are at their lowest and discharges when they’re at their highest.

The billing outcomes for real customers tend to sit between these two scenarios. This is why we adjust the results using SmartShift data from hundreds of households to estimate realistic outcomes. We don't have a crystal ball and can't perfectly predict what prices, solar generation and your future energy usage will be all the time, so we look at how close real customers’ outcomes are to a best case optimised battery and adjust the pricing simulation results accordingly.

What data goes into my quote?

• Solar output: Solar data from different AEMO regions.
• Household usage: Typical energy usage patterns for your region and scaled according to your inputs.
• Wholesale prices: Including rare but important price spikes
• Tariffs & charges: Network tariffs, Amber’s subscription fee, discounts
• SmartShift performance: An estimate of how close SmartShift performs compared to a perfectly optimised battery, based on historical customer data
• Timeframe: A full 12 months, so differences between energy usage and prices during different seasons are included.

Why are price spikes modelled?

A handful of high-price events often make up a significant proportion of the value you can gain from battery automation with Amber. We refer to these as price spikes. Our simulations separate normal prices from spike periods so we can show you where your battery saves the most.

How is this better than the old Get A Quote method?

• Realistic: Grounded in actual SmartShift customer data over the last 12 months
• Dynamic: Captures the reality of prices and demand that vary throughout the day and across the year
• Localised: Uses region-specific solar and usage profiles
• Tariffs: Utilises time-of-use tariffs

What do I actually see in my quote?

We give you:

• Your estimated annual bill
• Your average usage price (what you pay per kWh)
• Your average feed-in price (what you earn per kWh exported)

What does this mean for me?

You’ll get a quote that’s more personalised, more accurate, and more useful in making a confident decision about solar and batteries.

Simulation Assumptions

• Two battery behaviours:  Customers are modelled between a simple self-consumption battery and a perfectly optimised battery. We then scale results to a realistic level of performance.The difference between the self-consumption and optimised scenarios represents the max possible value from automation assuming the battery is perfectly optimised. We only assume 65% of this value is attainable in practice.
• Representative usage and solar profiles: Instead of your exact interval data, we use typical load profiles for your region (scaled to your annual usage) and AEMO regional solar profiles (scaled to your solar system size)
• Historical wholesale prices: Simulations run on past customer import and export price data, including price spikes. This assumes future price behaviour will look broadly similar to the past.
• Full year horizon: Results are annualised, assuming your home’s usage pattern and solar setup remain consistent throughout the year.
• Tariffs and fees: Most popular network tariffs in the Amber customer base, Amber’s subscription, and any discounts (e.g., promotions, concession) are applied, but we assume you stay on those same tariffs for the period.
• SmartShift calibration: We assume most customers achieve 65% of the “perfect optimisation” savings potential. This is based on real Amber customer performance but is still a generalisation.
• Interpolation for size combinations: Not every solar + battery combo is simulated individually. Instead, we simulate a set of scenarios and interpolate the gaps, assuming smooth behaviour between system sizes.
• Hardware limitations: Simulations assume battery maximum export is half the battery's capacity rounded down to the nearest 5 kW and that there are no limitations on the inverter or site export limits