Latest news with #SolarQuotes
Sydney Morning Herald
18-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Australia is on the cusp of a home battery boom
Australia is approaching an unprecedented boom in household battery uptake as installers report a post-election surge of home owners eager to seize new federal government rebates that will slash thousands of dollars off the upfront cost. In the run-up to the May 3 election, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged to set aside $2.3 billion to cover around 30 per cent of the purchase and installation cost for anyone buying a household battery system that can stash power generated from their rooftop solar panels. Electricity giant Origin Energy, which owns Australian quote-comparison service SolarQuotes, said enquiries about purchasing home batteries had rocketed since Labor's re-election locked in the subsidy program, which kicks in from July 1 and will not be limited by the purchaser's income. 'In the month to date, Origin and SolarQuotes saw a remarkable 250 per cent increase in home battery enquiries,' Origin executive general manager of retail Jon Briskin said. Australia is a world leader in per-person solar uptake, with more than 4 million homes – or one in three – now fitted with rooftop solar panels. However, just one in 40 also has a battery, which has led to a significant problem: all those solar panels are making far too much electricity in the middle of the day when the sun is brightest, and hardly any when people return home, turn on their lights and fire up appliances. SolarGain, a major solar and battery storage provider with 23 stores nationally, confirmed that enquiries about home batteries had doubled across its network. Enquiry volumes at specific outlets were up to 400 per cent higher than previous levels, it said. Home-owners were eager to produce and use their own electricity as much as possible as a way to lessen their reliance on the grid, and cut their exposure to higher prices and network outages, SolarGain Victorian business development manager Will Haydon said. 'People want to separate from the grid,' he said. 'Now they have an opportunity to store their excess power with a much quicker return on their investment.'
The Age
18-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
Australia is on the cusp of a home battery boom
Australia is approaching an unprecedented boom in household battery uptake as installers report a post-election surge of home owners eager to seize new federal government rebates that will slash thousands of dollars off the upfront cost. In the run-up to the May 3 election, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged to set aside $2.3 billion to cover around 30 per cent of the purchase and installation cost for anyone buying a household battery system that can stash power generated from their rooftop solar panels. Electricity giant Origin Energy, which owns Australian quote-comparison service SolarQuotes, said enquiries about purchasing home batteries had rocketed since Labor's re-election locked in the subsidy program, which kicks in from July 1 and will not be limited by the purchaser's income. 'In the month to date, Origin and SolarQuotes saw a remarkable 250 per cent increase in home battery enquiries,' Origin executive general manager of retail Jon Briskin said. Australia is a world leader in per-person solar uptake, with more than 4 million homes – or one in three – now fitted with rooftop solar panels. However, just one in 40 also has a battery, which has led to a significant problem: all those solar panels are making far too much electricity in the middle of the day when the sun is brightest, and hardly any when people return home, turn on their lights and fire up appliances. SolarGain, a major solar and battery storage provider with 23 stores nationally, confirmed that enquiries about home batteries had doubled across its network. Enquiry volumes at specific outlets were up to 400 per cent higher than previous levels, it said. Home-owners were eager to produce and use their own electricity as much as possible as a way to lessen their reliance on the grid, and cut their exposure to higher prices and network outages, SolarGain Victorian business development manager Will Haydon said. 'People want to separate from the grid,' he said. 'Now they have an opportunity to store their excess power with a much quicker return on their investment.'
The Guardian
21-02-2025
- Automotive
- The Guardian
Home batteries are cheaper than ever – here's what to consider before installing one
Batteries are becoming an increasingly ubiquitous piece of Australia's clean energy transition – both in our homes and as part of our national power grid. About one in five new solar installations now include a home battery, an increase from one in 20 in 2021, according to fresh data provided by Jeff Sykes, CEO of comparison website Solar Choice. This has been driven by a considerable increase in the role of big batteries and a growing number of Australians turning to household batteries to store power generated by solar panels to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels. For those wishing to take advantage of batteries, the good news is the price and ease of installation are making them increasingly accessible to home owners. Glenn Curry, who lives in a 100-year-old weatherboard house in Boroondara in Melbourne's eastern suburbs, installed a new battery when upgradeding his 20-year-old 5kw solar system to a new 10kw solar system. He installed the battery on the wall in a shady spot on the east side of his building alongside his solar inverters, thus avoiding the need for inconvenient run cables. Curry says one of the things he enjoys about the new battery is that it comes with a phone app that allows him to check the amount of power coming into the battery daily. 'We are saving up for an EV (electric vehicle) and will then be able to charge the EV with all that extra solar power,' he says. Curry encourages people to get a battery before solar panels – that way, you can store electricity from the grid when it's cheap and run your house off your battery when it's more expensive. 'This is easy for your installer to do and can be set up later as well.' For some people, batteries have more of a purely practical application beyond wanting to reduce their carbon footprint. People in regional areas will often have to deal with inconsistent power from the grid, so having a decent battery can be a necessity. According to Lance Turner from Renew, a not-for-profit focused on climate and energy resilience for Australian homes, there are several factors to consider before installing a battery in a home. 'It's important to ensure that the system being installed can deliver the amount of power and energy required during outages,' he says, adding that not all batteries are capable of grid backup and some may only power critical appliances, like a refrigerator, so it is vital to ask questions. Sykes says one of the most important considerations is ensuring you have the correct amount of solar panels to support your chosen battery. 'You ideally want it to be charged from surplus solar power throughout the year, including winter with lower sunlight.' Home batteries have seen slow, incremental improvements in safety, cost reduction and ease of installation as lithium-based technology has developed, according to Finn Peacock, author of the Good Solar Guide and founder of Solar Quotes website. 'The cost reduction in home batteries has been frustratingly slow, but it is starting to accelerate now,' he says. One leading improvement Peacock identifies is the move to 'all-in-one' modular systems where a solar inverter is included in the battery system. This is now the best option for consumers, according to Peacock, as you don't need to buy an extra battery right away, and they can be added in later at a fraction of the cost. Australia was the first country to roll out big battery technology at the Hornsdale Power reserve in South Australia, which began operating its 100MW Tesla battery in November 2017 to stabilise the energy grid and avoid blackouts. Since then, progress has slowed, but Victoria recently announced a new $370m 100MW battery to accompany a solar farm in the state's west. While big batteries have seen greater advancement and emergence in recent years, Sykes says that is largely because they operate on a more attractive revenue model to a home battery as they are connected to the wholesale market. 'In order for Australia to move to 100% renewables, adequate energy storage is required,' says Peacock. 'While traditionally this has been done using pumped hydro systems, large scale batteries have rapidly become the system of choice for energy companies due to their rapid deployability, flexibility and rapid response times, as well as the steadily declining costs.' Your contact details are helpful so we can contact you for more information. They will only be seen by the Guardian. Your contact details are helpful so we can contact you for more information. They will only be seen by the Guardian.
