Solar app a prized hack

Published on 23 October 2019

An app that provides an on-the-spot assessment of the benefits of solar energy has taken out a cash prize for climate-related initiatives.

Councillor Bill Harvey today announced that the winner of the City of Hobart’s Climate Change Govhack competition, which encouraged Tasmanians to consider how technology could address climate change.

“Govhack is an international competition for people of all abilities to seek to make life better through using open government data,” Cr Harvey said.

“This year, the City of Hobart sponsored a $1500 prize for entrants who focused on solving local climate issues by integrating a supplied data source.

“This fits really well with our objective to position Hobart as a Smart City through the Connected Hobart Framework. We want to tap into the amazing talent that exists in this city to encourage ideas that have real-world applications.”

The prize was this evening awarded to the New Renewable Green (NRG) project, submitted by local community group Hobart Hackerspace.

“This organisation gets together weekly to explore new ideas for using technology through things like electronics labs and robot workshops,” Cr Harvey said.

“It’s through set-ups like this that great ideas are born and where the next great invention may well be developed.”

The 2019 competition took place on 6-8 September, with participants asked to respond to the challenge: What local climate change issues can you help solve or identify by integrating data sources?

The 13 entries included ideas to address transport congestion, waste and recycling, and water use.

Cr Harvey said judging was based on criteria including originality of data use, quality and community relevance of end product and adherence to the set challenge.

“The range of ideas was fantastic and the judges had a very difficult job,” Cr Harvey said. “This year’s winning project, NRG, comprises an app that quickly assesses the value of installing a solar PV system in someone’s home. The app took into account roof type and location, while also using heritage overlay data from the City of Hobart.

“The judges were looking for real-world solutions and this is the sort of initiative that can genuinely assist people in our community to live more sustainably.”

The award presentation was hosted by Enterprize, an innovation hub that provides a collaborative workspace and mentoring programs for business startups.

Enterprize General Manager, Casey Farrell said the organisation had hosted and supported GovHack in Tasmania for three years, with each year more exciting and engaging than before.

“Tasmanian teams are always well represented at national awards, exemplar of the problem-solving and technical abilities we have in the state,” Mr Farrell said.

“This award has provided a really innovative way to encourage people to use public data to solve problems and future think solutions around climate change and the response did not disappoint.”