Small device wins award for apartment solar access
Melbourne company Allume Energy won the top design honor for a device that shares rooftop solar energy across many flats.
The SolShare system received the 2026 Australian Good Design Award of the Year at a ceremony held Friday at ICC Sydney in Australia. More than one thousand entries competed across thirteen different disciplines during this prestigious event.
Individual rooftop installations often fail in shared buildings because costs multiply and wiring becomes messy for each separate unit. This new device handles distribution automatically using one single rooftop system and one single installation for the whole building.
Dr. Brandon Gien called the invention a piece of technology that solves a complex problem for millions of apartment dwellers. He stated that this clever Australian design innovation addresses limited access to rooftop solar benefits in a practical way.
The Australian Good Design Awards have existed since 1958 and previously honored items like the Cochlear hearing implant and the Flow Hive beehive design. SolShare now joins a lineup of past recipients that includes the Deepsea Challenger submersible designed by filmmaker James Cameron.
“SolShare is a clever Australian design innovation that addresses that problem in a practical way”