RESIDENTIAL
The smartest homes don't just use energy – they sell it.
There are three ways to make power at home – Solar Only, Solar + Battery, or our flagship LocalSmart AI Powerhouse system. The LocalSmart AI Powerhouse system turns your roof into a power station and your home into a local energy hub: you generate solar by day, store it in a home battery, and Local's smart software automatically shares your surplus to homes nearby. You save on power, earn from what you share, and we handle everything.
COMPARE THE OPTIONS
Three ways to make power, sized to your space and goals.
• Size of solar that works: the biggest array that still pays for itself on your building.
•• Future readiness: how well it supports emerging tech like V2G, fast charging and electrification.
••• Benefit: the likely amount it's worth to you per year, after payback. For homes, the LocalSmart System is branded the Powerhouse, and Local guarantees the payback. Figures are indicative for a medium to large owner-occupied Auckland home.
WHAT MAKES IT A POWERHOUSE
Solar and a battery are just hardware: panels that make power and a battery that stores it. A Powerhouse is that same hardware made intelligent. Every Powerhouse is run by LocalSmart AI, which makes thousands of decisions a day – when to store, use or release your power – responding in real time to your usage and the value of energy moment to moment. The power it releases doesn't disappear into the grid; it goes next door, powering homes in your own neighbourhood.
It's the difference between a basic phone and a smartphone: the same device in your hand, with a smarter brain inside. A standard battery runs on fixed rules – charge when there's sun, discharge when there isn't. Because LocalSmart AI optimises in real time instead, a Powerhouse earns you far more from the very same panels and battery.
WHAT WE INSTALL
Every Powerhouse is sized to your home. All hardware is covered by warranty, including battery cell replacements, while you're a Local customer. What goes in:
SOLAR PANELS
+
Sized to your roof.
A HOME BATTERY
+
Roughly the size of a large suitcase.
LOCAL'S SMART SYSTEM
A small box (running LocalSmart AI) that automatically controls generation, storage, and sharing with your neighbours.
Optional extras: Add a fast EV charger or smart hot-water controls at the same time — we can arrange it all.
THE NUMBERS
One simple deal, with a payback we guarantee.
Your Powerhouse pays back in around six years – from a combination of an Asset Usage Fee that Local pays you (for using your system to help power local homes) and the savings on your own power bill, paid to you as an agreed fixed amount each month. After payback, Local expects you'll get a total benefit of around $4,000 a year.
All figures include GST and are shown post-tax, based on a medium-large, owner-occupied Auckland home. Rental properties differ - get in touch to confirm rates, though as a guide returns are typically around 20% lower, so payback may take about a year longer.
Example spec
$39.5k of gear, incl. GST, for a medium-large Auckland home:
-
10 kW solar
(JA Solar X10 panels, 25 year product & 30 year performance warranty) -
31kWh DMEGC battery
-
10 kW hybrid inverter
(2 × 5 kW, 10-year parts & labour) -
With LocalSmart AI, this Powerhouse helps power 18 homes
Assumptions
You have at least a $3,000 annual power bill, and you fund the system with a green loan – Local pays all the interest, and the payback shown still holds.
Funding it
Self-funded or bank-funded – whichever suits. If you have a mortgage and haven't used your green-loan ability yet (for example, buying an EV), you can likely fund this 100% at 0–1% for the first three years, then at your mortgage rate. A solar green loan is a bank loan specifically for solar, at 0% or 1% p.a. depending on your bank. Either way, Local pays all interest costs over your chosen term.
POWERHOUSE BENEFITS
EARN WHILE YOU SLEEP
Your Powerhouse stores and sells power automatically, earning you money around the clock
REVENUE SHARE
Earn your share from every unit your Powerhouse sells to the local community
LOWER POWER BILLS
Pay less for the power you use, and cover it with what you earn
GO CARBON NEUTRAL
Offset up to 100% of your household's personal carbon footprint
WE HANDLE EVERYTHING
A full turnkey service, from design and install to ongoing management
HOW IT WORKS
01
Site visit
We send a local electrician to check your home is a good fit for the setup you select and finalise the design.
Paperwork
Choose your funding; we organise Vector and can help arrange your green loan.
02
Install and go live
We install the hardware and have you up and running within about four weeks (the install itself is typically 1–2 days).
03
After that it's set-and-forget. If you install the Localsmart system you can choose to run on autopilot, or follow your solar generation, battery status and community revenue in Local's app, with a monthly statement. Local handles all maintenance, and can find power customers for you – or you can put friends and family at the top of the queue.
FAQs
GET A QUOTE FOR YOUR HOME
Fill in the form to get started, and we'll follow up by email or phone to build your quote.