Synergy's Smart Home plan in Perth: who it suits and the catch

Synergy offers a small number of tariff options for Perth residential customers. Most households are on the A1 residential tariff, but two alternatives — Midday Saver and Smart Home (HomePlan+) — are worth understanding if your household has specific consumption patterns.

This guide covers Smart Home / HomePlan+. For Midday Saver, see the separate guide on optimising your solar for Synergy's time-of-use rates.

What is Smart Home / HomePlan+?

Synergy's Smart Home plan (sometimes marketed as HomePlan+) is a time-of-use tariff designed for households with controllable loads — primarily EV charging. It offers:

• Flat peak rate: Applies during most of the day (same approximate range as A1)
• Super off-peak EV rate: A very low rate (check Synergy's current published rates) for overnight charging, specifically designed for EV home charging during 11pm–7am

The exact rates change on 1 July each financial year — Synergy publishes current rates on their website. The 2025–26 published rates show the EV super off-peak period at significantly below A1's 33.26c/kWh — making overnight EV charging materially cheaper.

Requirement: Synergy requires a smart meter (interval meter) to enrol in time-of-use plans. Most Perth homes installed since approximately 2012 have smart meters; older homes may require a smart meter installation (coordinated by Synergy at no charge) before switching.

Who does Smart Home suit?

EV owners who charge at home overnight: This is the primary use case. An EV requiring 30–50kWh to charge overnight at the super off-peak rate saves meaningfully compared to charging at A1 rates. A household charging a 60kWh EV weekly overnight would save approximately $300–$500/year compared to A1 — depending on the specific rate spread at the time.

Households with hot water systems on controlled load: Some Perth homes have a legacy Controlled Load tariff (economy tariff) for off-peak hot water. Smart Home can be an alternative arrangement for households consolidating off-peak loads.

Large overnight loads that can be scheduled: Pool pumps, ducted AC pre-cooling, slow cookers — any load that can run during the 11pm–7am window benefits from the super off-peak rate.

Who does Smart Home NOT suit?

Households without EVs or controllable overnight loads: The flat daytime peak rate on Smart Home isn't materially different from A1. If you're not using the overnight super off-peak period, you're getting no benefit — and the tariff's structure may be slightly more complex to track.

Solar households primarily interested in DEBS optimisation: Smart Home is primarily a consumption-side tariff. The DEBS export rate (10c/kWh peak, 2c/kWh off-peak) is the same across Synergy tariffs — A1, Midday Saver, and Smart Home all share the same DEBS export rate. If your priority is maximising solar self-consumption and DEBS income, Midday Saver is typically the more relevant alternative tariff to evaluate.

Households with flat overnight loads they can't control: If overnight draw is unavoidable (always-on servers, large refrigeration, medical equipment) and runs at high wattage regardless, the super off-peak rate benefits are diluted.

Smart Home vs Midday Saver: the basic choice

Perth solar households often compare Smart Home and Midday Saver. They serve different optimisation goals:

| Goal | Better tariff | |---|---| | Cheapest EV charging (overnight) | Smart Home | | Cheapest daytime consumption from solar | Midday Saver | | Maximum DEBS export income (peak window) | Both export at 10c/kWh during their respective peak periods | | Households without EVs or solar | A1 (simplest, no behaviour change required) |

A household with both an EV AND solar has a genuine choice: Midday Saver benefits the solar self-consumption and export window (9am–3pm), while Smart Home benefits the overnight EV charging. The right choice depends on which saves more in dollar terms for your specific usage pattern.

How to model which tariff saves more

To estimate which tariff is better for your household:

1. Get 12 months of half-hourly interval data from Synergy My Account (it's available as a download)
2. Apply each tariff's rates to the actual consumption data — Synergy's website lists current rates; your interval data shows when consumption occurred
3. Compare annual bills under each scenario

This calculation is a bit involved to do manually, but it's the only accurate way to determine the tariff that suits your specific usage pattern. Average or estimated numbers from a quote comparison can mislead — the actual answer depends on when your household uses power.

BillWise's tariff analysis tool can apply Synergy's current tariff rates to your actual bill data or uploaded interval data to estimate which plan is most cost-effective for your usage.

Signing up for Smart Home

To switch to Smart Home:

1. Confirm you have a smart meter (check Synergy My Account — it shows meter type)
2. Call Synergy on 13 13 53 or request the plan change via Synergy My Account online
3. Allow 1–3 billing cycles for the rate change to take effect

There's no contract lock-in — you can switch back to A1 or to Midday Saver if the plan doesn't suit.

One caution: rate changes on 1 July

All Synergy tariffs (A1, Midday Saver, Smart Home) are set by the State Government and can change on 1 July each year. A comparison made in March may not reflect July rates. Check Synergy's published rates for the current financial year before switching, and monitor the annual rate announcement (typically in May–June) to reassess.

Smart Home / HomePlan+ is genuinely useful for Perth households with an EV charged overnight — the super off-peak rate can save $300–$500/year on charging costs alone. It's not meaningfully better than A1 for households without EVs or controllable overnight loads. Solar households without EVs are typically better served by evaluating Midday Saver, which optimises the solar generation window.