Independent advice for your home on solar, batteries, EVs, heating and pools.
We save $1,500 a year on gas and power usage at our place in Torquay. I’ll show you where you can save at yours, and I can even run the whole job for you.
Think of a buyer’s agent when you’re buying a house, or an architect when you’re building one. I do the same job for the energy side of yours: the heavy lifting, and making sure it’s done right, so you can breeze through it.
I’m a mechatronics engineer, with 16 years of experience. I install nothing myself, but I know the standards the work has to meet, so I can read a quote properly, work out what it will save you and how long it takes to pay back, and see whether the finished job matches it.
Local business owner
I’m Julian, an engineer and a dad in Torquay. Bright Help is my own business, so the person you talk to on the phone is the one who comes to your house and writes your plan.
I work across the Surf Coast, the Bellarine and Geelong, and nowhere else, which is how I know which local trades do clean work. I did all of this at my own house first, and I can help you do the same at yours.
On your side
I work for you, not a manufacturer and not a quota. There are no kickbacks, no house brand and no package to push.
I made these calls on my own home: what to install, what to skip, and in what order. I’ll do the same for yours, then help you pick a trade who does clean work and check the job was done right.
In person, not online
Standing in your shed and saying “yes, a battery goes there” is the part no remote service can do.
For example, at one house, the EV charger was reading the meter the wrong way round, so the car was charging from the grid in the evening, at the highest rate, instead of from the solar panels when power is free. That’s the kind of thing you only catch standing in front of it, knowing what to look for. It was fixed on the day, and it’s worth ~$490 a year to them.
Because the visit matters that much, I only work across the Surf Coast, the Bellarine and Geelong, and it’s always included in the consult.
Human advice, not AI
Every conversation is with me, and every visit is in person. A chatbot can read your bill and any photo you send it, but it only sees what you thought to show it. Nobody thinks to photograph a timer that isn’t set up or an inverter that wasn’t configured properly, and that’s the kind of thing I tend to find when I’m on site.
I sometimes use AI to help analyse your usage or write up the report. What it doesn’t give you is someone local who knows which questions to ask about your house, and which trades around here do clean work. This business is humans helping humans.
The proof, in our own home.
How much we pay for gas and power, per year.
~$1,800
~$300
20222026
Electricity
Gas
Same house, same family, and we save $1,500 every year.
We use three times the electricity we did in 2022, and it costs almost nothing, because we buy it when it’s free at midday and the battery carries the rest. We still pay for gas to run the hot water system.
Added since 2022: split systems, an EV, a battery and a spa. The split systems replaced our ducted gas heating and gave us proper cooling too, instead of a few ceiling fans. The house is warmer and drier in winter now, and cooler in summer.
*Daily supply charge on top, same as every house.
What I found at other houses.
Bellbrae
BeforeAfter6amNoon6pm
The EV chargingSun on the panels, roughly
~$490 a year
An EV charging at the highest rate.
The charger was reading the meter the wrong way round, so the EV charged from the grid in the evening instead of from the solar panels at midday. It was fixed on the day.
To stay connected, a year$382Gas used, a year~$25From their gas bills.
~$800 a year
A gas account kept open for the BBQ.
The BBQ was the only thing on their gas, and staying connected cost $382 a year for about $25 of gas. Closing the account saves ~$340 a year, and that was just the start: a better energy plan and the hot water running at midday add the rest, with nothing new on the roof.
You want cheaper, cleaner power at home, and it’s overwhelming to know where to start.
You put solar on years ago and you’re still not sure it did anything.
There’s a twenty-grand quote sitting in your inbox and no way to tell whether it’s fair.
You keep being told a battery pays for itself. At that price, you don’t quite believe it.
How it works.
1
A free ten-minute chat.
You tell me what’s working at your place and what isn’t. We work out whether I’m the right fit for what your house needs. No obligation.
2
I visit your home.
Before I get there I read your bills and any quotes you’re holding, and check your roof on the satellite view for shade. Then we walk the place together.
3
You get it in writing.
What I found, what each change should save you over time, and a list of ways I can help from there. Some of it you can do yourself. The rest I quote job by job, or run end-to-end for you.
Here’s a real one.
The plan I wrote after a visit in Bellbrae in September. Three pages: what to change, in what order, and what each change saves them a year.
“We really like the way everything is set out, it’s very clear and thorough.”
I set it all up to work together, so you save the most. Got something that isn’t on the list? Let’s chat.
I sell nothing and install nothing. I’m just here to get you the most savings. That means I can say what an installer can’t: “Not yet. Not that one. Not worth it.”
At one house, I told them not to buy the battery yet, to keep the boiler until it gives up, and not to replace the pool heater, because theirs is fine. Instead, I found three changes that cost nothing, worth ~$910 a year.
What it costs.
Free
Ten minutes on the phone with me. Tell me what’s going on at your place and I’ll tell you whether I can help. No obligation.
I go through how you actually use power, then help you switch to the best plans, so it’s done instead of sitting on your to-do list.
Everything in the $399 consult
Energy plan optimised
1-year check-in
No savings, no fee
From $3,000
I run the whole job for you, from the quotes to checking it was all done right, so there’s nothing for you to chase. The gear and the installers are paid for separately.
Everything in the $649 consult
Quotes and installers sorted
Every install checked
One person to deal with
Some of what I find you can do yourself, and I can quote any single job on its own.
*Site visit included across the Surf Coast, the Bellarine and Geelong.
Bright answers.
What’s the difference between the $399 and the $649?
At $399 you get the visit, the plan, and a review of any quotes you’re holding. At $649, I go further: I analyse how you actually use power, help you switch to the best plans, write the longer report, and come back a year later to see whether the savings landed.
Why do you charge for the visit?
Because the visit is where the findings are. I read your bills before I arrive, but a bill only tells you what you used. It can’t tell you that your EV charger was miswired, your timers aren’t set up, or that a badly sealed roof penetration is about to drip onto the inverter below it.
What does it cost to get a bill close to zero?
Ours took about $20,000 to get the heating off gas and add a battery, on top of the solar already on the roof. It’s an investment. At our place, the split systems should pay back in about five years, and at yours it depends on how much gas your heating burns each winter. We rely a lot less on fossil fuels now, which we’re pretty stoked about.
Is a solar battery worth it?
Ours should pay back in about nine years. At yours, it comes down to how much of your solar goes back to the grid, and what your plan charges for power in the evening. Nobody pays me a commission, so I’ll tell you either way.
I’ve got solar, so why is my bill still high?
The panels are probably fine and the set-up isn’t. It’s usually the energy plan, the hours things run, or an inverter that wasn’t configured properly. The savings normally come from changing settings and plans, rather than from buying something new.
I rent. Is there anything in this for me?
Yes. The plan, the timers and the settings are yours to change, and that’s often where the first savings are. For anything bigger, I can help write the case to your landlord: what it costs, what it adds to the house, and what it saves on the bills.
Is my solar or battery quote any good?
I’ll read it before I visit, as part of the consult, and tell you what it would save you, how long it takes to pay back, and whether it’s the right job for your house.
How would I know the install was done right?
On your own it’s hard to tell. Passing inspection is the bar, and mistakes still get through it. I check what went in, and at $649 I look at the bills again a year later to see whether the savings turned up.
Isn’t there a free council program for this?
Yes, there are good programs out there to help you get quotes from vetted installers. Many of them offer paid audits to cover the building. They aren’t a plan for your whole house, a second opinion on those quotes, or a check on the finished job.
I’ve already run my bills through AI.
That’s a fair start, and it may have found you a better plan. But a bill only shows what you used. The rest of what I find is at the house, and a chatbot can’t come round and look.
What happens after the consult?
You get it in writing: what I’d change, in what order, and what each change should save you over time. If you’d rather not deal with installers, I can run the whole job, from reviewing quotes to making sure it’s all working as planned after the final inspection.
Is this a green thing?
Yes. Your house ends up running on more clean power, and that’s a good thing. It also ends up cheaper to run, which is what most people ring me about first.
Start with a free chat.
Ten minutes on the phone, no obligation. I did this for my own family. I want to help you do it for yours.
