Build smarter homes. Run a cleaner grid.

Watt The Hack is for AI builders, developers, students, energy nerds, designers, founders, tinkerers and people who like chaotic weekend projects with real-world stakes.

You do not need to be an energy expert. You just need to be curious and willing to build.

No. We will explain the important bits during the event. The whole point is to bring AI people and energy people together so teams can learn from each other.

Not necessarily. Coding helps, but great teams also need people who can design, think through user problems, explain ideas clearly, research, pitch and make the demo actually make sense.

Teams will build AI-powered ideas, tools, agents, simulations or products that help tackle real energy problems. The event will include challenges around carbon, cost, convenience, grid behaviour, smart homes and energy decision-making. The beginner-friendly smart-house simulation is one possible pathway teams can use to explore the trade-offs between household behaviour, cost and carbon.

The prizes are huge, thanks to OpenAI:

• 1st place: $10,000 USD in OpenAI API credits
• 2nd place: $5,000 USD in OpenAI API credits
• 3rd place: $1,000 USD in OpenAI API credits

Plus, the top 5 teams get ChatGPT Pro for a year.

Minimum team size is 2 and maximum team size is 6.

• One team can enter multiple challenges.
• Teams cannot split or form sub-teams.
• One participant can only be part of one team.
• Each team is only eligible for one prize.

Yes. No team? No problem. We will run a fun trivia exercise, with extra prizes, at the start of the event to mix people into teams with the right mixture of skills.

No. You can bring an idea, but you do not need one. We will share challenge prompts, examples and problem spaces at the event.

Bring your laptop, charger and anything else you like using when you build. You do not need to come with a finished idea or energy expertise. We will explain the challenges, help with team formation and provide prompts at the event.

Yes. The main build, testing, demo preparation and pitching will happen during the event. You can brainstorm beforehand, but you do not need to have a completed project before arriving.

You will work in teams of 2-6 people and choose one of the challenge options: Smart Home, Grid Guardian or Pitching. Friday is for kickoff, food, team formation and introductions. Saturday is the main hacking day, followed by demos, judging and awards.

Yes. We are bringing together people from AI, startups, software, energy and climate so teams can get help shaping, building and pitching their ideas.

Judges will look for projects that are useful, relevant to the energy challenge, technically strong, clearly explained and supported by a working demo or convincing prototype. The best projects usually show a real problem, a clever solution and a believable path forward.

Yes. We are designing this so beginners can still make something meaningful. There will be beginner-friendly pathways, clear prompts and plenty of support.

No. Students are very welcome, but the event is open to builders, professionals, founders, researchers and anyone interested in AI and energy.

Smart Home includes coding, but it is not only coding. You will manage a simulated household, respond to family behaviour, buy upgrades and write simple automation rules or AI logic to balance energy, cost, carbon and house mood.

We will provide the starter setup or coding environment at the event. You will not need to build the whole simulation from scratch. The focus is on writing automation logic that makes smarter household energy decisions.

Grid Guardian is about running a simulated city energy system. You will balance supply and demand, manage storage and infrastructure, and respond to weather, demand spikes or grid stress while trying to balance cost, carbon and reliability.

No. You can choose one challenge. Teams may enter multiple challenges if they want to, but it is not required. Each participant can only be part of one team, and each team is only eligible for one prize.

Yes. In the Pitching Challenge, teams choose a real energy problem, talk to mentors and industry professionals, build or mock up a solution, and pitch it to judges. This is a good option for teams interested in product ideas, demos, storytelling and real-world impact.

The high-level structure is already live on the website. The final challenge briefs, technical setup and judging details will be shared closer to the event and explained at kickoff.

Yes, unless otherwise stated. Your team owns what you create. We may ask to showcase photos, demos or summaries from the event.

Yes, we are planning to keep people fed. More details will be shared closer to the event.

Watt The Hack is happening at Stone & Chalk Melbourne, 121 King Street, Melbourne.

Because energy is one of Australia’s biggest, messiest and most important systems, and AI gives us new ways to model, automate, forecast, explain and optimise parts of it. Also, because watching developers try to solve the grid in a weekend is objectively funny.