Fair and Transparent Resident Billing

Many retirement village residents live on fixed or limited incomes. If energy charges feel unclear or unfair, trust erodes quickly.

With accurate power metering, operators can bill individual units based on actual usage rather than rough estimates. They can separate common area costs from resident consumption. They can clearly explain where costs come from when residents ask questions.

The result is fewer disputes, less admin time and stronger transparency.

Managing Rising Energy Costs

Electricity prices in Australia have experienced significant volatility in recent years, with wholesale prices showing mixed patterns across regions.

From July 2025, prices increased across NSW, South Australia and south-east Queensland, with residential consumers seeing rises ranging from 0.5% to 9.7%. Retirement villages are not immune to these market dynamics.

Power metering helps operators identify high-consumption buildings, time periods or loads. It lets them optimise HVAC schedules and plant operation. It helps measure the impact of upgrades like LED lighting or high-efficiency equipment.

Without robust power metering, operators are effectively flying blind. They react to large quarterly bills instead of proactively managing them.

Supporting Compliance and Risk Management

Retirement villages sit within a web of electrical, safety and market regulations. Quality power metering supports evidence for electrical compliance and reporting obligations. It enables monitoring of supply quality for sensitive equipment. It provides early detection of abnormal consumption patterns that might indicate equipment failure or safety issues.

In short, power metering becomes part of the risk management toolkit, not just a billing tool.

Enabling Future-ready Infrastructure

The energy landscape is shifting towards electrification, renewables and flexible demand. Retirement villages are increasingly installing rooftop solar and exploring battery storage. They’re adding EV chargers for residents, staff and visitors. They’re upgrading HVAC and hot water systems.

All of these rely on accurate, granular power metering. Without it, sizing systems correctly becomes difficult. Proving business cases becomes challenging. Verifying that new technology actually delivers a return becomes nearly impossible.

Space-efficient, Multi-function Meters

Retirement villages often have limited switchboard space, especially in existing buildings. SATEC’s compact, multi-function meters provide high-accuracy power metering, demand measurement and power quality data in a small footprint.

That makes them ideal for retrofits where installing bulky hardware just isn’t an option.

Revenue-grade and Compliant Metering

For scenarios where resident billing needs to be based on metered data, accuracy and compliance are non-negotiable.

In Australia, electricity meters used for trade and billing must be pattern approved by the National Measurement Institute (NMI), complying with standards such as NMI M 6-1.

SATEC offers NMI approved meters and revenue-grade devices. This helps operators ensure that energy charges are based on trusted, auditable measurements.

Deeper Insight with Power Quality Monitoring

Many retirement villages rely on sensitive equipment. This includes lifts and medical devices as well as communication and security systems.

Voltage sags, harmonics or other power quality issues can cause nuisance trips. They can shorten equipment life or lead to unexpected maintenance costs.

SATEC’s meters don’t just measure energy. They provide power quality diagnostics that help operators and electrical contractors pinpoint issues before they become major problems.

Centralised Visibility with Expertpower

SATEC’s Expertpower software brings power metering data from across the village into one secure, cloud-based platform.

Operators can view energy use across multiple buildings, zones or meters. They can track demand over time and identify peaks. They can generate reports for internal stakeholders or residents. They can support billing workflows with accurate interval data.

For organisations managing multiple villages, Expertpower provides a way to standardise reporting. It enables benchmarking and energy performance tracking across the portfolio.

Ready for Modern Energy Use: EVs, Solar and more

As retirement villages add solar, batteries and EV chargers, SATEC’s metering and analytics help ensure these assets are integrated intelligently.

Meters can be used at solar inverters and main switchboards to understand generation and self-consumption. They can monitor EV charging circuits for fair cost recovery and load management. They can track key plant loads to verify savings from upgrades.

This makes it easier to build the business case for new energy investments. It proves their value over time.