The Munich-based company’s software enables the visualization of energy flows by preparing energy data in such a way that it remains transparent, even in complex energy communities with different metering points and grid operators. Households, businesses, and plant operators receive individual insights into generation, consumption, and their own needs.
Transparently displaying consumption and feed-in data from photovoltaic systems in different grid areas is often a technical challenge. Municipal utilities or energy communities frequently face this issue. The Göttweigblick energy community in Lower Austria has been using Zählerfreunde’s white-label software for this purpose since early this year, the company announced.
The software provides members with a clear overview of consumption and feed-in metering points. “We were looking for a solution to display energy consumption across grid operators, including an app,” says Christian Hofmann. In addition to the Göttweigblick energy community, he now coordinates around 2,000 members in several Austrian energy communities. These communities operate approximately 450 generation plants.
Individual views for different user groups
The platform offers a customizable interface to ensure clarity for every participant: While household members, for example, view consumption and electricity production in their app, plant operators or companies receive more detailed overviews for individual data monitoring. For the energy community in Göttweigblick, a large system map displays all producers, consumers, and connected households. To keep complexity manageable, users only see the data relevant to them. The software can be adapted to individual requirements using a modular system.
The energy community is currently focusing on the visualization of energy flows, but in the medium term, it plans to activate the AI function of Zählerfreunde. “We are developing forecast models for generation and consumption,” says Hofmann. In the future, larger consumers such as heat pumps or wall boxes will operate automatically—based on weather data, consumption patterns, or dynamic electricity tariffs. Zählerfreunde’s artificial intelligence analyzes historical data and derives rules to determine when large consumers can run cost-effectively.
Target group and business model
Zählerfreunde was founded in Munich in 2020. The company initially developed tools for the visualization of energy flows and simulations. These tools help analyze whether photovoltaic balcony systems or dynamic tariffs suit specific load profiles. For the past year and a half, Zählerfreunde has focused on actively managing consumption devices. The management is based on photovoltaic surplus, grid utilization, and price signals.
The business model follows a monthly subscription with a fixed fee plus a one-time setup charge. More than 30 customers currently use the white-label software, including municipal utilities, energy suppliers, meter operators, tenant electricity projects, and energy communities in Austria and Germany.
