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For more than three decades, Carolyn and Barney’s cherished Kyneton home has been the heart of family life. It’s where they raised their children, celebrated countless holidays, and even hosted their daughter’s wedding.
“We came to Kyneton originally because I had work here, we found that it was a great community and never left,” Barney recalled.
Now in retirement, the couple have been able to devote more time to perfecting their property. “Now we’re retired, we can really focus on making this place how we’d like it.” For them, idyllic living meant one final upgrade: reliable, uninterrupted power. By adding batteries to complement their existing solar, they not only secured energy independence but also took advantage of the Government rebate, freeing up the money they’re saving to spend on truly enjoying their retirement.
In recent years, power reliability had become a growing concern. “We’ve had more and more blackouts and brownouts,” Barney explained. “During a big storm, the power was off for five days.” Carolyn added, “We lost a lot of things in the freezer, it was heartbreaking.” With so much of their home-grown produce stored in freezers, these outages weren’t just inconvenient, they were costly and disheartening.
Determined to strengthen their power reliability, they reached out to Matt Wilson, a trusted local solar engineer from Central Spark Victoria to get some advice about possible solutions.
“We don’t do one-size-fits-all solutions,” Matt explained. “It’s really important for us to understand all our customers’ needs and existing systems and find a solution that gives them the most benefit in the long term.”
With the introduction of the Federal Government Battery Rebate program making solar storage more accessible, Matt saw an opportunity to give Carolyn and Barney an energy solution that would future proof their power needs. His recommendation: the Whispr, a quiet, all-in-one Australian-designed battery system that fit their needs perfectly.
“We’ve worked with PowerPlus for years,” Matt said. “Their reliability has been incredible and that gave me the confidence to bring the Whispr into our fleet of options and suggest it to Barney and Carolyn” The Whispr comes with a 10-year warranty, backed by PowerPlus Energy’s Melbourne-based support team.
“If I wouldn’t install it on my own home, I won’t install it for a customer,” Matt said.
For a couple seeking peace of mind in retirement, the Whispr offered more than energy storage, it offered security, convenience, and quiet reliability.
Blackout Ready: The Whispr’s inbuilt changeover switch reacts in just 20 milliseconds, keeping essential circuits running during grid failure.
“We turned the backup on and straight away, lights stayed on,” Matt recalled. “It was very exciting. That kind of instant response is exactly what you want.”
True all- in- one, quiet operation: The inbuilt natural cooling system allows the Whispr to run silently, perfect for rural tranquillity.
“It’s a peaceful place,” Carolyn said. Matt added, “It doesn’t need its own special room. It’s quiet, compact, and unobtrusive.”
App Integrated: The user-friendly app and desktop interface provide real-time insights into energy generation, usage, and battery health.
“The wagon wheel style makes it really easy to quickly look at the system and diagnose where the power is going,” Matt explained.
Matt worked to integrate the Whispr seamlessly into the couple’s existing solar setup, ensuring it would deliver maximum benefit from day one.
“We added a large array of solar panels on the eastern side and incorporated the new and old panels into the Whispr,” Matt explained. “The three trackers on the unit make it really, really useful.”
The system’s modular design made the process straightforward and non-intrusive.
“Each battery module can be lifted and stacked easily,” Matt said. “The brackets are simple to fix, and the inverter control module sits neatly on top.”
Barney felt reassured knowing they had a trusted local expert close by: “If something crops up, I know Matt won’t be far away,” he said as well as being backed by PowerPlus Energy’s Melbourne based support team.
This isn’t just an installation, it’s the continuation of a way of life. Carolyn and Barney are a retired couple, steady in their traditions yet mindful of the future. Their decision to install the Whispr was sparked by a blackout scare and shaped by the guidance of trusted local expertise. The product they chose was designed in Australia, for Australian homes, offering quiet reliability and smart resilience.
They’re looking forward to the peace of mind the Whispr will bring, knowing that when storms roll through, the lights will stay on, the heating will keep running, and their freezers will be protected, safeguarding the home-grown produce they rely on.
“It’s a sensible way of spending our money for our future,” Carolyn said. “We’re both in our 70s… and we’re optimists.”
With the Whispr, not only do they have resilience but also full visibility over their energy use through the monitoring app.
“We’re looking forward to seeing our next bills… to see what the reduction is,” Carolyn said.
Through the Whispr system, Carolyn and Barney’s rural retirement home now hums with renewed security and self-reliance.
“It just means we can get on with our life and not be interrupted,” Barney said.
Matt summed it up best: “How do you value energy security? When the power goes out for days, and your household keeps running, hot showers, warm meals, lights on, that’s priceless.”
It’s not just about keeping the lights on, it’s about preserving a life they built long ago and ensuring it continues uninterrupted, for decades to come.
For more than three decades, Carolyn and Barney’s cherished Kyneton home has been the heart of family life. It’s where they raised their children, celebrated countless holidays
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