I have been in the solar industry for 15 years. Throughout that time, I've designed and installed for residential and commercial customers alike. I love saving people money, adding real value to peoples homes and helping create a greener future.
When building a new home or renovating, you want to be well-informed about energy efficiency. One of the key decisions to make is whether you want a single-phase or three-phase power connection to the electricity grid.
Traditionally most Australian homes have a single-phase connection. But recently, we’ve seen a trend towards new build homes installing a three-phase power supply.
Three-phase power combined with rooftop solar can reduce your household power bills to next-to-nothing.
It also provides you with scope to add energy-intensive appliances and power them for free with your solar electricity.
Getting a three-phase connection at the build stage is cheaper than doing it later. It also gives you greater scope to power your home 24/7 with solar panels and battery storage – and easily add fast charging for an electric vehicle down the track.
On this post we explain:
What three-phase power is
How can you tell if you have three-phase power?
Pros and cons of three-phase power combined with solar
What is three-phase power?
Three-phase power has four wires: three active and one neutral. In contrast, single-phase power has two wires: one active and one neutral.
Because three-phase power has three times more active wires than single-phase power, it effectively triples the power available to your home.
Three-phase connection can supply power at the standard 240V and at 415V for appliances that need greater power like some air conditioners, pool pumps etc.
With a three-phase connection, appliances can be split across each of the three phases.
Three-phase power is common in larger homes and commercial premises. It is increasingly becoming the power supply of choice for solar-savvy households.
How can you tell if you have three-phase power?
To check whether you’ve got single-phase or three-phase power to your home, look at your fuse box. If you have three fuses (black rectangular cartridges) you have three-phase power. If you have one fuse, you have single-phase power.
Other ways to check are:
Look to see if there is one or three wires from the electrical transformer on your street to your house.
Call your Distributed Network Service Provider (DNSP). You’ll find their details on your electricity bill. The DNSP is not your electricity retailer, but the company who maintains the poles and wires that carry electricity to your home. They are also the company to call in case of power outages. Call them, quoting your NMI number (your Net Meter Identifier) which is on your electricity bill. They will tell you the type of power connection you have.
Pros and cons of three-phase power combined with solar
Here is a list of the pros and cons of getting three-phase power combined with a rooftop solar system. As you will see, the list of pros heavily outweighs the cons!
Pros of three-phase power and solar
Cons of three-phase power and solar
You can install a much bigger solar panels system, at least 15kW and even up to 30kW depending on where you live and what your DNSP will allow.
Three-phase power is more expensive to set up than single-phase power supply.
It is not guaranteed that all homes can have a three-phase power supply. Contact your DNSP to find out. Or ask us to help.
You can export a lot more solar to the grid and receive a solar feed-in credit for it.
As a rule of thumb, you can export between 3 to 6 times more solar with a three-phase connection compared to single-phase.
To make the most of your three-phase power connection and your solar power system, you will need a three-phase solar inverter.
This is approximately $300-$500 more expensive than a single-phase solar inverter.
You can run several power-intensive electrical appliances at the same time without tripping your power supply.
You can power these appliances from your free solar electricity during the daytime.
Add battery storage and you can run your entire home on free solar power, 24/7.
May be unnecessary if:
· Your electricity usage is small, and you don’t intend to make greater use of electricity in your home at any time in the future.
· You don’t envisage purchasing an electric car in the next 10 or so years.
· You aren’t interested in reducing your reliance on electricity from the grid.
Problems with voltage rise (common with single-phase homes) will be largely eliminated.
Voltage rise can cause your solar inverter to trip off and shut down your solar power system.
More stable voltage to your home, which will prolong the lifespan of your electrical appliances.
Charge your future electric car up to 6 times faster than on single-phase.
Increases the feasibility for making your home all-electric.
Get in touch for advice and a quote
If you’d like advice and help to decide whether three-phase power is going to be worth it for you – get in touch!
We can help with:
Liaison with your Distributed Network Service Provider (DNSP) to establish whether you can get three-phase power supplied to your property
Getting costings for a three-phase power connection
Finding out from your DNSP how much solar you can install with three-phase power.
Finding out from your DNSP how much surplus solar power you can export with three-phase power.
Quoting for a suitable size solar panels system to maximise the value from your three-phase power connection, as well as battery storage and fast EV charging if required.
Building a new home gives you the opportunity to get your solar infrastructure set up properly at the outset, saving you time and money down the track.
Right now, you may just want solar panels. But in the not-to-distant future, you may want to add battery storage and electric vehicle charging.
Getting everything set-up correctly at the build stage will work out cheaper in the long run. Not to mention, a lot less hassle.
On this post, we’ll cover the top 10 solar installation tips for new build homes:
Get a three-phase power supply
Pre-wire for solar, battery and EV charging
Get a CEC Accredited Installer to do the pre-wire
Solar inverter location
Roof design
Solar monitoring
Solar-ready meter
Go all-electric
Install a hot water heat pump
Install electric heating and cooling
Get a three-phase power supply
Even if your new home is quite modest in size, we recommend you get a three-phase power supply, rather than the usual single-phase. Here’s why:
More solar power: A three-phase power supply gives you more opportunities down the track for generating more power and saving more money. With a 3-phase power supply, you can easily install 15kW of solar, even up to 30kW. Whereas with single-phase, you’re normally limited to between 6.6kW and 10kW of solar panels.
Export more power to the grid: With three-phase, you can export more solar power to the grid and receive more solar feed-in credits. For example, if you have a 15kW solar panels system on three-phase power supply, you will generally be able to export the full 15kW back to the grid. The export allowance depends on the network distributor and is property specific. Get in touch if you’d to find out the solar export rules for your property.
More stable voltage: A three-phase system may help your home with a more stable voltage. A stable grid voltage is better for your appliances and will prolong their lifespan. Also, with stable grid voltage, your solar inverter is less likely to trip and shut down.
Charge an electric vehicle faster: You can charge your future electric vehicle up to six times faster when you have a three-phase power supply. Fast charging your electric car with free solar power will make the economics of a going three-phase look like a total no-brainer!
Pre-wire for solar, battery and EV charging
We strongly recommend pre-wiring your home for solar, battery storage and EV charging – even if you don’t plan on getting them all at the start. That way, you won’t have to rip off plasterboard to run new solar cabling for your battery or EV charger.
It also helps to know which solar panels system you plan to install before wiring, to ensure the correct cables are laid.
To ensure you have all bases covered, we recommend the following:
Pre-wiring for solar panels: Locate the inverter either in the garage or on a south or east facing wall.
Pre-wiring for a battery: The best location for a battery is away from the heat, ideally in the garage.
Pre-wiring for a future electric car: It’s a good idea to lay three-phase cabling from your switchboard to where you would install a charger for your electric car (which in most cases will be in the garage).
Get a CEC Accredited Installer to do the pre-wire
Solar cables run at much higher voltages than the normal electrical wiring in your home. In fact, solar cables run at up to 600V DC and they are always live except when your system isn’t generating power or when it’s turned off.
For this reason, there are strict regulations on how and where to run the solar cables. It’s a specialist area where safety and compliance are paramount. It’s also an area where builders and electricians may not have the right expertise.
We strongly recommend getting a Clean Energy Council accredited solar installer to do the pre-wiring for solar on your home. That way the solar wiring will be compliant with Australian standards and usable. Get in touch if you would like a quote for pre-wiring.
Solar inverter location
Position the solar inverter as close to the switchboard as possible. It must be in a shaded location, away from full sun. The best location is on a southern wall or inside your garage. Ask the solar electrician to pre-wire the mains cable from the switchboard to the inverter.
Roof design
Work with your architect to ensure you maximise the amount of roof space that is north facing. Also, ensure there’s enough roof space for the size solar panels system you want. As a guide, you’ll need around 50m2 for a 10kW solar system (this will be 22-27 panels, depending on wattage).
Finally, ensure that any shading from neighbouring properties is identified and addressed as part of the building design process. Also ask the architect to ensure that aerials, chimneys, skylights etc., are positioned on a south-facing roof to lessen the impact on your solar system.
Solar monitoring
Your solar monitoring system will need a data connection. There are two options for connecting your solar inverter to the internet:
Wi-Fi
Hardwiring
Hard wiring is more reliable than Wi-Fi. That’s why we recommend running a data cable to the solar inverter/switchboard location to hardwire the internet connection to your solar panels system.
This might sound obvious, but make sure you get a solar-ready electricity meter at the start of the build. Otherwise, you’ll need to get an upgrade when your solar is installed which is expensive.
Go all-electric
Government plans to shift households off gas onto electric are taking shape across Australia. In Victoria, the government is actively reviewing proposals to shift households off gas onto electric.
Whilst the environmental benefits of all-electric are huge, so too are the economic benefits. If your home is built without a gas connection, you are already saving around $550 per year just on daily gas charges. Factor in the bill savings you’ll get from running your electric appliances on free solar, and you’ll understand why most people want their new home to be all-electric.
Install a hot water heat pump
With typical running costs of less than $200 a year, hot water heat pumps are the cheapest way of heating hot water in Australia. Compared with conventional electrical hot water systems, they are around 4.5 times cheaper to run. When compared to gas hot water, the running costs are at least half. Contact us if you’d like a quote for a hot water heat pump.
Install electric heating and cooling
An electric reverse cycle split system air conditioner is the most cost-effective way to heat and cool your home. Ensure sure you install split systems or if, ducted refrigerated cooling, install zoning to reduce consumption.
Always buy a smart aircon system which you can control it over the Wi-Fi from work. This gives you the ability to turn you aircon on before you come home on a hot day – and it’s free because of solar!
Get in touch for a quote
Getting quotes in early on a build project helps with budgeting. At SolarRun, we can help you with all aspects of planning and setting up your new home for solar.
Many of these items also qualify for government rebates. We are happy to advise on the rebates that may be applicable to you and help you with the application process.
A Virtual Power Plant, or VPP, is a network of connected homes each with their own solar panels system and battery storage.
VPPs are an exciting technological innovation in electricity distribution. Still relatively new, they promise to improve the resilience of the national electricity grid and provide fairer compensation for battery owners for their solar exports.
On this post:
How do VPPs work?
The money side of VPPs
Benefits provided by VPPs
I want to join a VPP. Does my location matter?
How do VPPs work?
Batteries in a VPP are connected using smart software. For the VPP to work, these batteries must be VPP-compatible and meet certain performance, security, and technical standards.
Power from VPP-connected batteries is drawn on to provide support to the grid at times of high demand. For example, on hot sunny afternoons when people put on their air conditioning, there’s often a huge demand for grid power. When these peak demand events occur, the grid can struggle to cope.
That’s where the VPP kicks in, supplying additional power at a moment’s notice.
The VPP’s software identifies the spike in demand. It responds by drawing on power from batteries in its network and sending that power to the grid.
The grid is then able to meet the peak demand, thanks to the stored solar electricity from hundreds of household batteries.
Essentially, VPPs act as power generators, only they don’t generate power. They simply collate power from lots of different sources and supply it on demand.
The money side of VPPs
VPPs are a cheaper way of supplying electricity to the grid at times of peak demand. The alternative is for electricity retailers to purchase from wholesale national electricity market, often at vastly inflated spot prices. These spot prices can go as high as $14,500 per MWh.
Avoiding spot prices
Naturally, electricity retailers want to avoid high spot prices. They do this by entering contracts to purchase sufficient electricity to cover projected peaks in demand.
However, this is never an exact science. When peak events occur, sometimes retailers need to bring on additional capacity and purchase on the spot market.
Whilst households don’t get charged directly for electricity purchased at spot prices, eventually this flows through to higher electricity bills if left unchecked.
How VPPs get paid
The VPP receives compensation from the wholesale electricity market for satisfying the spike in network demand; and passes on a portion of this compensation to participating households.
How households get paid
VPPs reward participating households by compensating them for the power the VPP draws from their batteries.
This amount is generally more than they household would receive from the solar feed-in tariff. This is because the value of the household’s stored solar energy is a lot higher when it can be called on instantly to satisfy a peak demand event.
Each VPP program is different and offers different levels of compensation.
Benefits provided by VPPs
VPPs provide benefits to participating households, the community, and the environment.
Benefits for VPP households:
Households participating in a VPP benefit through reduction in power bills, and compensation for sharing their surplus solar electricity.
Each VPP program works differently. Some offer upfront discounts on the cost of a battery and ongoing financial incentives for taking part. One VPP even provides a longer battery warranty.
They all utilise household batteries differently, some only drawing on the battery a certain number of times per year. They also have different exit fees so reading the fine print is important.
Benefits for the community
The community benefits from VPPs through a more reliable power supply as power outages caused by spikes in demand become less frequent. Also, the quality of power supplied to homes, businesses and other organisations improves as VPPs can call on batteries to address local peaks in network demand.
Benefits for the environment
Current, around 75 per cent of grid electricity is from fossil fuels; most of that from coal-fired power stations. By building VPP networks across Australia, reliance on electricity from coal-fired power stations will diminish. As VPPs provide an injection of clean energy into the grid, this displaces electricity from dirty generators. As a result, the amount of clean electricity in the grid increases, which is better for the environment.
I want to join a VPP. Does my location matter?
Technically, location shouldn’t matter when it comes to joining a VPP as they are software-based entities. So, if you are a grid-connected household on the national electricity grid (that’s everywhere except WA and the Northern Territory), you should be able to join a VPP.
But not all VPPs operate Australia-wide – or even right across the national electricity grid.
One that does is the Tesla Energy Plan for Powerwall owners. And it’s one worth looking at, as it offers good benefits to participating Powerwall households as well as an extra 5 years warranty on the Powerwall battery. Chat to us if you’d like to find out more!
Also worth mentioning is that some state governments, including the Victorian Government, have organised approved VPP programs [link to post on this topic] which comes with a greater level of customer protections and bigger battery rebates.
Get in touch
Getting battery storage with your solar panels provides a host of benefits, joining a VPP is just one of them! Get in touch for expert solar and battery advice and a quote. We can also advise on the VPP programs that are available in your area.
Australia’s biggest electricity retailer, AGL, has rejected an “unsolicited” takeover bid by Australian tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes and $A1 trillion Canadian asset manager Brookfield.
The Cannon-Brookes plan is to spend $20 billion to get AGL to net zero carbon emissions by 2035. This involves closing AGL’s Baywater and Loy Yang coal-fired power stations earlier than planned and spending on renewables to make up for any lost capacity.
News analysts cite this as a “watershed moment” for the decarbonisation of the main electricity grid in Australia.
On this post:
Why is Cannon-Brookes trying to takeover AGL?
Who is Mike Cannon-Brookes?
How big a polluter is AGL?
Why has AGL rejected the Cannon-Brookes bid?
Why is this a “watershed moment” for Australian electricity?
What can you do?
Why is Cannon-Brookes trying to takeover AGL?
In a nutshell, because AGL is Australia’s dirtiest electricity retailer – and the biggest, with 37 per cent market share.
Mr Cannon-Brookes and Brookfield want to transform AGL into a clean energy power generator and electricity retailer.
Their stated goal is to “help accelerate the plan so that Australia’s main grid reaches net zero emissions by 2035.”
They also want to bring down the price of electricity for consumers.
Mr Cannon-Brookes said, “Australia should have the lowest-priced energy – electricity – in the world. We have all the assets to make that happen. Renewable assets generate power at far cheaper prices than the coal assets currently do.”
By taking over AGL, Cannon-Brookes is planning to achieve – within one single business entity – a massive step change in the amount of renewable energy flowing through the Australian grid.
Who is Mike Cannon-Brookes?
Mr Cannon-Brookes is co-founder of Atlassian, the Australian software company that went global including a NASDAQ listing. Cannon-Brookes is estimated to have personal wealth of around $30 billion. He is also a green philanthropist and climate change crusader.
With Brookfield, one of the world’s biggest asset management firms as takeover partner, they make a formidable team.
And they aren’t letting AGL’s bid rejection put them off.
How big a polluter is AGL?
AGL produces 8 per cent of total CO2 emissions in Australia. That’s more than every single car on the road.
According to Cannon-Brookes “It’s more than all domestic and international aviation, and if it’s a country, it’s bigger than Sweden or Ireland or New Zealand, and that would make it one of the biggest decarbonisation projects on Earth.”
The reason why AGL is such a big polluter is because it operates six of Australia’s largest coal-fired power plants – and the largest of these are:
Bayswater Power Station, NSW
Liddell Power Station, NSW
Lou Yang Power Station A, Victoria
AGL plans to close Liddell in 2023 but intends to keep operating Lou Yang Power Station A until 2045 and Bayswater Power Station until 2033.
But this isn’t good enough according to international climate experts. They say Australia (and other OECD countries) must stop burning coal for electricity by 2030 in order keep global temperature rise to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius on pre-industrial levels.
That’s why the Cannon-Brookes takeover bid is so significant.
Why has AGL rejected the Cannon-Brookes bid?
AGL says that the bid “materially undervalues” the company and “is not in the best interests of AGL shareholders.”
AGL shareholders were due to vote in June on a proposal to split AGL into two companies: AGL Australia and Accel Energy.
ALG’s board believes that under the “unsolicited” proposal, shareholders would lose the opportunity to realise future potential value from the proposed demerger.
Cannon-Brookes disagrees saying their bid was “a far better option… from the point of view of risk and the point of view of shareholder value.”
Why is this a “watershed moment” for Australian electricity?
Currently, the main electricity grid in Australia is around 75% powered by dirty electricity and 25% renewables.
By transforming Australia’s big and dirtiest electricity generator/retailer into a clean energy generator/retailer, Cannon-Brookes will be tackling climate change from the inside.
If successful, the transformation of AGL would fast-track the transformation of the Australian electricity grid into a clean energy grid.
It will also result in low bills for consumers according to Cannon-Brookes.
“We know that renewables are the cheapest source of power generation. What you require is the ability [and] capital to make that transition and do it sensibly and rationally.
Decarbonisation is the greatest economic opportunity facing Australia says Cannon-Brookes.
“I think Australia should be really proud that we can do it in an economic way that creates jobs and drives prices down.
“It’s a very sensible thing.”
What can you do?
Being conscious of where electricity comes from is something all of us can do. That’s why installing solar panels and battery storage is a good idea. With a rooftop solar system, you’re reducing your reliance on grid electricity. What’s more, any surplus is going back into the grid offsetting the amount of dirty electricity required from coal-fired power stations.
Your choice of electricity retailer is important too. Naturally we all want the cheapest deal for electricity, and you’ll find that many of the green electricity retailers are extremely price competitive. The Green Electricity Guide 2022 lists the top 10 greenest electricity retailers in Australia and the dirtiest. You can learn more about it here.
Another way to cut back on grid electricity is to install modern electric systems in your home for heating and cooling , hot water etc., – and run them off your solar electricity. Not only will you save thousands of dollars on power bills, but you’ll be cutting your household’s carbon footprint as well.
Want greener, cheaper electricity?
Get in touch if you want greener, cheaper electricity to power your home or business. We can provide advice and quotes on any of the following:
With over 3 million rooftop solar systems on Australian homes, it’s clear that as a nation we’re on-board with the benefits of renewable energy. But what about the electricity we buy from the grid? How green is it? Does the electricity retailer have fossil fuel interests? Or do they source the electricity they sell from renewables?
The latest Green Electricity Guide 2022 published by Greenpeace provides a fully independent ranking of 48 Australian electricity providers based on their green credentials. The greenest electricity retailers are Enova and Diamond and the dirtiest is AGL.
In this post, we explain why your choice of electricity retailer matters. In the absence of federal government leadership on de-carbonising the electricity grid, it comes down our choices as individuals to send a strong message to government that they need to clean up the electricity grid.
It’s called voting with our wallets.
On this post:
Why buying green electricity is important
The Green Electricity Guide 2022
Top 10 greenest electricity retailers
Top 5 dirtiest electricity retailers
Is green electricity more expensive?
Solar + green electricity: the greenest combination
Why buying green electricity is important
Australia has one of the most polluting electricity grids in the world. Today, around 76 per cent of Australia’s electricity comes from the burning of fossil fuels.
Switching to an electricity provider who sources their electricity from 100 per cent renewables is one of the clearest actions you can take on climate change.
Sticking with one of the big incumbent electricity retailers – AGL, Origin, Energy Australia – means you are supporting one of Australia’s top 10 climate polluters.
In the words of Australian tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes who has recently launched a takeover bid for AGL with the aim of transforming it into clean energy retailer:
“Renewables are the cheapest source of power generation…Australia should have the lowest price, energy, electricity in the world. We have all the assets to make that happen.”
And Greenpeace have this to say:
“As a consumer, the most effective way to reduce your own carbon footprint and support renewable electricity generation and investment in Australia is to contract with an electricity provider who generates or contracts a high amount of renewable energy.”
So, it’s clear that even though we might think our choice of electricity retailer isn’t that important – it is!
The Green Electricity Guide 2022
Independently produced in partnership with the Total Environment Centre, the Green Electricity Guide rates 48 electricity providers Australia-wide against seven green criteria:
Ranking criteria used in the Green Electricity Guide 2022
The Green Electricity Guide is a good read if you want to know more about renewable energy transition and the national electricity grid. But, for those who just want a summary of the findings, here they are!
Top 10 greenest electricity retailers
Green Electricity Guide 2022: Top 10 greenest retailers
Ranking
Electricity retailer
Stars
1
Enova Energy
5
2
Diamond Energy
5
3
Momentum Energy
4.5
4
Energy Locals
4.5
5
Aurora Energy
4.5
6
Indigo Power
4
7
CoPower
4
8
Nectr Energy
4
9
Amber Electric
4
10
Powershop
4
A few notes on some of these retailers:
Enova and Diamond Energy take the top two positions. Diamond generates more renewable electricity from its solar and wind energy plants than its customers use – making it a positive carbon retailer. Enova Energy contracts 100% renewable energy from electricity generators as well as harnessing the surplus solar from customers’ rooftop solar panels.
Momentum is owned by Hydro Tasmania so hydro is the main source of electricity. The negative is that Hydro Tasmania still has gas power stations.
Energy Locals is a relatively new, innovative retailer who says, “we’re done with the traditional energy model and we’re doing something about climate change by making energy clean, cheap, and fair.”
Powershop was #1 Green Retailer in the last Green Electricity Guide published in 2018 but has taken a tumble to #10 thanks largely to its acquisition in 2021 by fossil fuel giant Shell.
Top 5 dirtiest electricity retailers
Here’s the list of the five biggest offenders when it comes to dirty electricity in Australia:
AGL
ActewAGL
Powerdirect
Energy Australia
Origin Energy
It’s probably no surprise that Australia’s three biggest electricity retailers – Origin, AGL and EnergyAustralia – are in the list of top 5 list of dirtiest electricity retailers in Australia.
The ‘big three’ all own dirty coal-burning power stations and they aren’t doing enough to clean up their act. Together they account for around 63% of the Australian electricity retail market. That’s almost 2 in every 3 Australian households and businesses!
It’s clear that dirty electricity retailers are still the main suppliers of electricity to homes in Australia. Is it because they’re cheaper? Let’s take a closer look at the question of price…
Is green electricity more expensive?
Renewables are already in pole position as the cheapest source of power generation.
The high costs involved in centralized power generation and outdated electricity distribution are already flowing through to higher household energy bills – and it will only get worse.
Sticking with one of the dirty electricity retailers, means sticking with their business model which is going to become progressively more expensive in coming years.
For example, one in four Australian homes buy their electricity from AGL, the single largest emitter of CO2 in Australia. You’d think that price might be the reason. But checking out the latest electricity deals on Energy Made Easy, the Australian government energy comparison website, they aren’t necessarily!
Shopping around for a good electricity deal is always a good idea. When you do, you’ll find that the greener electricity retailers are competing hard on price. Whilst they may not come up the absolute cheapest on pricing comparison websites, they’ll be close to the top.
Solar + green electricity: the greenest combination
Installing solar panels on your home is one of the best ways to reduce your household’s carbon footprint. Make the switch to a green electricity retailer, if you haven’t already, and you can be confident that most, if not all, your electricity is from renewable sources.
Of course, battery storage is another way to achieve the same result. With the right size solar panels system combined with the right size battery, you can power your home almost entirely from your own clean solar electricity.
But even if you do install a battery, grid connection is still desirable for most Australian homes. Not only is the grid like a permanent, cheap back-up power source, but it is also a network that enables your home to play a role in new renewable energy opportunities like Virtual Power Plants and energy trading.
Remaining grid connected makes sense for most Australian homes. So, choosing an electricity retailer that supports the transition of the electricity grid to renewables is something you can do to make a difference.
Your choice of electricity retailer does matter.
Get in touch
If you’re keen to switch to solar electricity or install battery storage, get in touch for a quote. We can help you make your home greener, cut your CO2 emissions and power bills.
Did you know that an inefficient heating and cooling system can account for up to 40 per cent of your annual energy use?
Switching to an energy-efficient reverse cycle split system air conditioner will lower your heating and cooling bills by up to 46 per cent, according to the Australian Energy Foundation.
But there’s still more you can do to cut your heating and cooling bills; even reducing your daytime heating and cooling costs to near zero. And that’s to team the right air conditioner with the right solar panels system.
At SolarRun, this is exactly what we can help you achieve. We’ve partnered with Haier, the number one major appliances brand in the world, to provide our customers with one of the most advanced, reverse cycle split system air conditioners on the market.
Connect a Haier split system air conditioner with a SolarRun solar panels system, and we guarantee that you’ll reduce your heating and cooling bills to a fraction of what they are now.
Haier air conditioners: the perfect choice for your home
Here are the top reasons why we recommend Haier as the perfect heating and cooling system for your home.
Control your split system from anywhere
There’s nothing worse than coming home to a freezing cold house or one that’s stinking hot.
Haier have solved this problem by adding Wi-Fi connectivity to their air conditioners and a smart app so you can control your Haier air conditioner from anywhere.
Use the app to remotely turn on the aircon from work so when you get home it’s nice and cool – or in winter, toasty and warm.
Cool down your home for free with solar
It’s 35 degrees Celsius outside and you’re out and about. Your solar is kicking in big-time, generating free electricity. But a lot of that power is being exported to the grid, and you aren’t getting paid much for it given that feed-in-tariffs are only around 7 cents per kilowatt hour.
Fortunately, there’s a smarter way to use your solar. And that’s to turn on your Haier air conditioner using your app. What happens then is the electricity from your solar panels system goes straight into powering your Haier split system so you get free heating or cooling.
By using your Haier air conditioner in this way, you’re maximising your solar self-consumption (link to article on this topic). Maximising solar self-consumption sounds a bit geeky; all it means is that you are using a high proportion of your solar electricity in your home to power your appliances rather than sending it to the grid. Taking this approach is the best way to get the fastest payback on your solar panels system and the lowest electricity bills. Plus, you’re doing the environment a favour by reducing your household carbon emissions.
Highly energy efficient
Haier air conditioners installed by SolarRun all use heat pump technology. Heat pumps are electrically powered and highly efficient with a COP (Coefficient of Performance) rating of 3.7 to 3.9. This means that they generate almost four times more energy than they consume. That’s why they are so cheap to run!
In addition, a Haier air conditioner has a built-in motion sensor so it knows when people are in the room. If there’s no-one in the room for 20 minutes, it will automatically switch into ECO Energy Saving mode saving you money on your electricity bill.
Fresh air, all the time
Haier air conditioners are self-cleaning, so you only ever breathe fresh, purified air when your Haier is switched on. The self-cleaning function is automatic and activated only when needed. This means you don’t have to think about it the air quality in your home; you can rest easy knowing that the air you’re breathing is dust and bacteria free.
Intelligent airflow
Hot air rises and Haier air conditioners know that! They have smart technology that directs cool air upwards on hot days, and warm air downwards on cold days. The result? A more comfortable even temperature in your home, no matter the weather.
Excellent warranty
Lots of air conditioners only have a one- or two-year product warranty. Haier do much better than that! Their product warranty on air conditioning systems is a full five years covering parts and labour. Plus, when you get your Haier installed by SolarRun, we’re your first point of contact if there’s any issue with your system.
Final note: Haier ducted air conditioning and heating
Haier also offer ducted refrigerated air conditioning and heating systems which come with Wi-Fi. Providing superior levels of comfort, these systems are a better, more cost-effective alternative to gas heating.
To improve efficiency, make sure that zoning is switched on your Haier system so you can control the air conditioning and heating room-by-room. That way, when someone leaves a room, you won’t have to remember to check that the aircon has been switched off!
Get in touch for a quote
Contact us to get an obligation-free quote for a Haier air conditioner to heat and cool your home. We’ll discuss your requirements, ask a few straightforward questions, and recommend the best size system for your needs. Haier air conditioners qualify for government rebates in some parts of Australia. Ask us whether there are any rebates in your state!
Solar panel recycling plants are cropping up across Australia that promise to recycle 100% of your old panels.
This is a good thing because more and more panels are reaching end-of-life. It is estimated that over 100,000 tonnes of solar panels will enter Australia’s waste stream by 2035 unless action is taken to recycle them.
Keeping solar panels out of landfill is critical. Unless decommissioned panels are disposed of correctly, materials contained within the panels can leach into soil and groundwater causing environmental damage.
The solar industry has woken up to this fact and the opportunity it presents. The Federal Government is also acting, although more slowly. There is no national framework yet for the proper recycling of solar panels. Work has commenced on this task, but this hasn’t crystalized into policy or industry guidance.
So, what’s the solar industry doing? And how can your old solar panels be recycled now?
On this blog:
Solar panel recycling: how it works
Cost of solar panel recycling
Solar panel recycling companies in Australia
How to get your solar panels recycled
Solar panel recycling: how it works
Materials that can be recovered in the solar panels recycling process include:
Aluminium
Glass
Silver
Silicon
Copper
Plastics
Whilst every solar panel recycling plant handles the process differently, the three main steps are:
Shred the panels into millions of small pieces.
Put the shredded pieces through a sorting process. This separates out the different materials including glass, copper wiring, steel, aluminum, cables, circuit boards etc.
Sorted materials are returned to industry for manufacturing new items.
Cost of solar panel recycling
Stripping and sorting solar panels is an expensive process requiring specialized machinery. As the Australian solar panel recycling industry is still in its infancy, volumes are not large enough for the returns to cover costs.
This is the reason why most Australian solar panel recyclers charge a small fee per panel to get it recycled.
Clive Fleming, who runs Reclaim PV, a solar panel recycling plant in Adelaide, said: “We do need to charge at the moment for the recycling because the amount of solar panels coming in isn’t huge.
“Until that tipping point comes where we can sell our materials in a larger volume, it means that we still have to charge for the process and our labour.”
Currently it is up to households to pay for their panels to be recycled. Costs vary between recycling plants and may even be covered by your solar installer as part of the job. But as a guide, the cost to recycle one solar panel is around $10 plus freight to the nearest depot.
In Europe, it’s handled differently. There, responsibility for recycling solar panels is placed on the manufacturers. What happens is manufacturers add a bit onto the cost of the panels to cover end-of-life recycling.
With the European approach, recycling of end-of-life panels is standard practice and avoids the issue of solar panels as e-waste.
Solar panel recycling companies in Australia
Rules relating to solar panel disposal vary across Australia, with different states taking different approaches. In Victoria, old solar panels are considered e-waste and are banned from landfill.
Fortunately, there are several solar panel recycling companies in Australia, with more coming on-stream all the time.
Examples include:
Lotus Energy – a Melbourne-based co-operative that claims to recycle 100 per cent of old solar panels, as well as inverters, cables optimisers and mounting structures, without using chemicals.
Elecsome – Australia’s first end-of-life solar panel upcycling plant in regional Victoria.
Reclaim PV – provides households, installers and manufacturers throughout Australia with guaranteed 100 per cent recycling of end-of-life solar panels.
How to get your solar panels recycled
There are several ways to get your old solar panels recycled:
Ask us to arrange it: We take solar panel recycling seriously. The last thing we want as a business is to add e-waste to landfill. We can take your old panels away and either ship them to developing countries where solar is much needed, or arrange for them to go to a local Australian solar panel recycling plant.
Contact your local council: They will be able to tell you what solar panel recycling options are available in your area.
Go direct to a solar panel recycler: Get in touch with one of the solar panel recycling plants listed above and request a quote. Some, including Reclaim PV, have networks of depots across Australia covering major cities and regional areas where you can have your panels dropped off.
Get in touch for a quote
If you’re upgrading your solar panels system with SolarRun, we’ll organize the recycling of your old panels are a matter of course. However, if you just want a costing on getting end-of-life solar panels recycled we can also help. Get in touch for a quote!
The ACT has one of the most ambitious emission reduction targets in the world – 100 per cent net zero emissions by 2045.
To support this target, the ACT Government provides generous solar and battery rebates – as well as financial incentives – to cut the cost of installing solar power systems and home energy storage.
Canberrans are also eligible for solar incentives from the Federal Government to reduce the cost of solar power systems and hot water heat pumps. In addition, solar feed-in tariffs are available to most Canberrans with a solar power system.
ACT – One of the Best Solar Rebate Programs in Australia
All up, the ACT is a great place to live (for lots of reasons); one of these is a government with one of the best solar rebate incentive programs in Australia.
There have, however, been lots of changes in ACT solar rebates in recent years. Old rebate programs have been phased-out and new ones launched. It can make it confusing to work out what’s what.
This article provides an overview of the latest ACT solar and battery incentive program – the ACT Sustainable Household Scheme – as well as the current state-of-play with Federal solar rebates and the ACT solar feed-in tariff.
If you are thinking about solar panels or battery storage – or a more efficient hot water system – get in touch. Our Canberra solar experts are ready to help you.
Sustainable Household Scheme – ACT
Launched in Spring 2021, the ACT Sustainable Household Scheme provides a zero-interest loan of up to $15,000 to eligible homeowners who want to install solar panels, batteries and other energy efficiency products.
You have 10 years to repay the loan. It’s interest free, with no upfront costs or fees.
The scheme will run until 2026.
You can use the loan to buy a range of energy efficient products including:
rooftop solar panels
home battery storage systems
hot water heat pumps
electric vehicles (available in a future stage of the scheme)
electric vehicle charge infrastructure.
The loan provider, appointed by the ACT government, is Brighte. They will loan from $2,000 to $15,000 under the scheme. You can borrow more than $15,000 however the loan provider may charge interest on funds borrowed above the limit.
It’s worth knowing that you can use the loan to purchase one product from the list – or several products – as long as they are approved.
There are a number of eligibility criteria including:
You must own the property within ACT.
The Unimproved Value (UV) of your property in 2020-21 must be at or below $750,000 for houses and at or below $200,000 for units.
You must meet Brighte’s lending criteria
You must attend a free one hour live online workshop
The ACT Sustainable Household Scheme is a great initiative to help make solar and battery storage systems more affordable for Canberra households.
With the electricity bill savings from a well-designed solar power system, you’ll be saving money from day 1. Add battery storage – like the Alpha ESS 10kW battery one of the best value batteries on the market – and you’ll be almost entirely energy self-sufficient with power bills close to zero.
Get in touch with us today if you’re keen to make the switch to solar energy in your home.
Federal Government Solar Incentive
Canberrans installing solar power systems and hot water heat pumps also qualify for the Federal Government solar incentive, the so-called Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs). This works as a point-of-sale discount reducing the cost of a solar power system by around 30 per cent.
However, the value of STCs drops annually by around 10 per cent on the 1st of January each year – right though to 2030.
So if you are thinking about getting solar panels, it’s a good reason to act now and get your solar system installed before the value of this rebate drops.
ACT feed-in tariff
For anyone getting rooftop solar installed now, getting a properly designed solar power system that maximises self-consumption is so important in order to get the best payback on your solar.
So what is the value of the ACT solar feed-in tariff?
Unlike other states like Victoria, the ACT solar feed-in rate is not regulated. It is a voluntary scheme and up to the electricity retailers operating in the ACT.
Fortunately, there is healthy competition amongst ACT electricity retailers so expect to be quoted a solar feed-in tariff. The average feed-in credit you’ll receive is around 7 cents per kilowatt hour. If you’re not careful, the rate can be as low as 3 cents per kilowatt hour and some offer a little higher than 7 cents. As always, with electricity retailers it’s worth shopping around and checking all the details of the offer – not just the feed-in.
Save money from day 1
Canberra has a lot of sunshine so it’s a great place for solar. The daily average solar potential is as high as 4.83 kilowatt hours (kWh) for every kilowatt (kW) of solar panels installed on your home.
That means, for a 10kW solar power system, you could produce up to 48.3kWh of energy per day in Canberra. That’s like having a mini power station on your roof! A 10kW solar system would provide more than enough power for the average Canberra 4-person household as well as power a home battery system and an electric vehicle.
With the ACT Sustainable Household Scheme, the cost of a solar power system and battery could be covered by the interest-free loan. Our solar experts could design a system that saves you money from day 1 – with the electricity bill savings more than covering the repayments on the loan.
If you want to cut your power bills and make the most of the ACT solar rebates, get in touch with us. Our Canberra solar specialist has the expertise to help you choose the best solar and battery system for your home.
How do you work out the number of solar panels you’ll need for your home? This is probably the #1 question we get asked by prospective customers every day!
Look around your neighbourhood and you’ll see houses with 8 or 10 panels, others with 30 or 40. How on earth you do decide the number of panels that’s right for you?
At SolarRun, we’ve got a nifty solar calculator that will answer the question: How much solar do I need? And we’re always happy to help by phone or email, so get in touch!
Alternatively, keep reading for a handy overview on how to work out the number of solar panels for your home.
In this post, we cover:
Why panel quantity isn’t everything
Your solar objectives
Sizing your system: what to consider
Current electricity usage: how much and when?
Calculating the size of your solar panels system
Future electricity usage: EVs, batteries on your radar?
Roof space: a limiting factor?
Your network distributor: what limits are they imposing?
Ways of overcoming network distribution limits
Why panel quantity isn’t everything
Before going any further, let’s clear up one common misconception. And that is, the number of solar panels isn’t the most important decision to make when sizing a solar power system. (The only situation when panel quantity may be an issue is when your roof space is limited. More on this later.)
What is important is the size, or capacity, of the solar system. This is expressed in kilowatts (or kW). Check out any solar advertising and you’ll see systems promoted as 6.6kW or 9.9kW. This tells you the maximum amount of electricity that the solar panels system can output at any point in time.
It may take 22 panels to make a 9.9kW solar panels system. There again, it may take 27 panels. Either way, you’re getting 9.9kW of solar electricity generating capacity installed on your roof.
But why the difference?
It all depends on the number of watts per panel. These days you can buy panels sized from 350 watts per panel, right up to the latest 450-watt panels from Tier 1 manufacturer Risen. That means each panel has the capacity to generate 450 watts of power at any point in time. It’s amazing how the wattage per panel has increased compared to 10 years ago, when a 250-watt panel was considered a technical triumph!
Here’s a table that provides two examples of the number of panels you could use to create a 9.9kW solar panels system. This is the most common size system we are currently installing for our residential customers at SolarRun.
Number of solar panels needed for a 9.9kW solar panels system
Watts per panel
# panels required
Size of system
System A
390 watts
26
9.9kW
System B
450 watts
22
9.9kW
Your solar objectives
There are lots of reasons why you may want solar energy for your home. The most common are:
Cut your electricity bill
Become more energy independent
Charge your EV
Reduce your household’s carbon footprint
A solar panels system can achieve all these goals for you. Adding battery storage can also help. It’s all a question of how far you want to go.
For example, do you want to:
Get your electricity bill to near-zero?
Gain full protection from power outages?
Go all-electric, with everything running off solar?
Charge your EV both day and night. What about 2 EVs?
Make your home 100% carbon neutral, or even carbon positive?
Of course, each of these goals has cost implications and budget is always a factor.
Whilst funds may restrict you from achieving everything at once, it’s good to have clear goals in mind. That way, you’re much more likely to get the right system installed now – and have the confidence it will meet your needs in years to come. We can provide you with advice on the costs and benefits of these different objectives, so get in touch!
Sizing your system: what to consider
System sizing is generally carried out by a solar expert when you call for a quote. At SolarRun, we have qualified solar consultants ready to talk to you about the best size solar system for your home.
Having said that, it’s useful to have a go working it out for yourself before you chat to a solar consultant. With that experience under your belt, you’ll know what questions to ask and be well-placed to get the best result for your home.
The first step is to work out how much electricity you are using in your home. You can find this information on your electricity bills where it will state the daily usage (in kilowatt hours), or monthly or quarterly.
Gather your usage data from 12 months of electricity bills to work out the daily average electricity usage in kilowatt hours over a year.
This will give you an insight into how your electricity usage varies from season to season. It might be that your winter bills are the highest if, for example, you have underfloor heating. But maybe your summer bills are the biggest ones because you’re running aircon and a pool pump.
The average Aussie home uses around 18-20 kilowatt hours of electricity a day. However, this varies widely between households. A four-person home with pool pump and aircon may use 30 or 40 kilowatt hours of electricity a day. Whereas a single person working away from home may only use 8 to 10 kilowatt hours of electricity every day.
Another important piece of data to gather is: what time of day do you use most electricity? Are you normally out of the house during daylight hours? If so, solar can worthwhile but you may want to consider use of timers on your appliances [link to self-consumption post] and investing in Wi-Fi enabled systems for your air conditioning [link to Haier aircon post] for example. Adding a battery could be a good option, as it allows your solar electricity to be stored and used in the evening when you get home.
For those spending more time at home during the day, solar panels are a great way to power your home. You can run all your energy-intensive appliances for free during the day – like your dishwasher, washing machine. This gives you the quickest payback on your solar system and it’s great for the environment too!
If you really want to delve deep into the detail of when you use electricity, you may be able to get this data from your network distributor. It’s called ‘interval data’ and shows your electricity usage in 30-minute intervals for any time-period you choose. Check out your network distributor’s website or give them a call to see if they can provide you with this information. Alternatively, talk to us and we can do it for you.
Calculating the size of your solar panels system
So, you’ve done step 1 and you’ve got the key statistic – the daily average kilowatt hours of electricity used in your home. Plus, you know how this varies throughout the year.
Let’s use an example to demonstrate how solar systems are sized. Let’s say your home uses an average 24-kilowatt hours of electricity every day, but in summer it’s up to 36 kilowatt hours because you’ve got an expensive old-style electric pool pump and lots of aircon. Winter, on the other hand, is lower at 16 kilowatt hours a day because your heating is gas ducted.
The rough rule of thumb in sizing a solar system is to divide your average daily kilowatt hour usage by 4 to work out the size solar panels system. Using this method, you get a 6kW solar system. But there are a few other issues at play.
Firstly, why not size up your system to 8kW or even 10kW to provide enough solar electricity to offset your aircon and pool pump summer usage?
Secondly, what about your heating? Gas ducted is one of the most expensive ways to heat your home. Switching to a more energy-efficient heating system, such as a reverse cycle air conditioning unit, means you can run it off solar during the day for nothing.
Taking these factors into account, 6kW may not be big enough. An 8kW or even 10kW gives you much greater scope to reduce other household running costs. And the cost of adding another 4kW will not be huge thanks to government STCs (a form of solar rebate) – and because biggest solar systems are always cheaper than small solar systems if you compare on a cost per watt basis.
Future electricity usage: EVs, batteries on your radar?
Battery-electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles are estimated to comprise at least 30 per cent of new car sales by 2030. Chances are your next car, or the one after that, will be an EV! With petrol prices going through the roof, the idea of powering your car for free with solar is very appealing.
Battery storage and EVs are a perfect match. You’re out during the day, your solar system charges your battery. You get home in the evening, plug in your EV – or your two EVs – to charge overnight with free solar power. Think of the savings!
But of course, you’d need at least 10kW of solar panels, possibly even 15kW if you’ve got two EVs as well as most of your household appliance on electric. It might even be worth upgrading from single-phase to three-phase power to get the infrastructure in place to guarantee low-cost driving and low ongoing electricity bills. Get in touch if you’d like a quote for upgrading to 3-phase power or if you’re interested in setting your home up with battery storage and EV charging.
Roof space: a limiting factor?
OK, you’re up for a decent size solar system – at least 6.6kW, possibly even 10kW or 15kW. But can you fit all the panels on your roof? This is the point when the number of panels is important!
The table below shows how much roof space a 6.6kW and a 9.9kW solar system requires, depending on your choice of panel. For example, you can see that the new Risen 450-watt panels take up 48.6m2 for a 9.9kW system, whereas the Sunpower panels need 52.9m2.
If you’ve got heaps of roof space, this isn’t going to matter. But if you’ve got a roof that’s quite small, or with an unusual pitch, you may look for a panel brand that maximises the power output per square metre of roof. Get in touch if this is a consideration for your property and we’ll be happy to undertake a full assessment.
Your network distributor: what limits are they imposing?
Distributed Network Service Providers, or DNSPs, are in charge of the poles and wires that bring electricity to your home. They make the rules about connecting solar and battery systems to the grid. Each DNSP has their own set of rules, but generally the default position is to allow 5 kilowatts of inverter capacity per phase.
Given that most homes have a single-phase power supply, this means your DNSP may approve you for a 5kW solar system (based on the inverter size), with up to 6.6kW of solar panels (as they let you oversize the panels by 33 per cent).
When you request a quote, we’ll check out the connection rules for your property with your DNSP and advice you on their response. It can be a limiting factor in solar system sizing, but there are ways around it.
Ways of overcoming network distribution limits
Here are two ways of handling limits on the size solar system set by your network distributor:
Export limit your system to 5kW (inverter capacity) and install 10kW (note: not all distributors allow this)
Export limit your system to zero (if your DNSP says you can’t export any power to the grid) and install at least 5kW of inverter capacity and 6.6kW of solar panels. Go even bigger if you like and consider adding a battery so none of your surplus power goes to waste. Upgrade your property to 3-phase; that way you should be able to get 10kW or even 15kW approved, as well as exports.
Every network distributor has different rules on what’s possible, and what’s not. Because we install systems throughout Australia, we know how every network distributor works and what they’ll allow.
Summing up
Having worked through the points above, you’ll have a strong understanding of your current electricity usage, future usage, and any possible limitations. Thinking about the ways your household may use electricity in the future is important as it will help you decide on how to handle any possible limitations imposed by either roof space or your network distributor.
There’s no doubt that getting the right size solar system to cover you for the next 10-25 years is a wise move. No-one we know has ever complained about buying a solar system that’s too big, but lots of people have told us that they wish their previous installer had put on more panels!
Keen to talk solar?
If you’re thinking solar panels or a battery for your home, get in touch. We’ve got a team of solar experts ready to discuss your requirements and design the right solar power system for your home and budget.
Battery storage is becoming increasingly popular amongst Australian homeowners. Rising electricity prices combined with falling feed-in tariffs are prompting many people to wonder whether they would be better off storing their surplus solar rather than exporting it to the grid.
And they’d be right to wonder!
With the right size battery combined with the right size solar panels array, it is possible to get to zero-dollar electricity bills and be virtually 100% energy self-sufficient.
What size battery? The quick answer
The size battery you are most likely to need is between 10kWh and 14kWh. It is the most popular size battery for grid-connected Australian homes and ideally suited to work with solar panels systems between 6.6kW and 10kW. Most leading brands provide competitive battery products in this size category – so you get more choice too!
If you want to go off-grid, you’d need a battery bank that’s at least three times bigger and more panels as well. The cost of an off-grid residential solar systems is at least 3-4 times more than a grid-connect solar system. Most people who install off-grid systems do so because their property doesn’t have an existing grid connection and the cost of getting connected would run into the tens of thousands of dollars.
This post focuses on grid-connect batteries and covers:
How battery size is calculated
Reasons for wanting a battery
Working out your electricity usage
Size of your solar panels system. Why it’s important.
Budget and rebates
How battery size is calculated
To answer the question, “What size battery do I need?”, it’s important to firstly understand the terminology used to size a battery.
Battery sizes are expressed in kilowatt hours (kWh); this is a measure of energy stored in the battery. In contrast, solar panels systems are measured in terms of kilowatts (kW), a measure of the power that the system can generate. Your electricity bill, which measures energy usage, states the number of kilowatt hours you use each day, or month.
Terminology used for battery sizing, solar panels and electricity bills
Battery
Solar panels system
Your electricity bill
Term used
Kilowatt hours (kWh)
Kilowatt hours
Kilowatt hours
What this means
Amount of energy that can be stored
Amount of power that can be generated
Amount of energy that is used
The average Australian home uses around 16kWh of electricity a day. Unless you are mostly at home, or you’ve installed Wi-Fi enabled smart electric appliances, chances are you are using around 30% of electricity during the day and 70% at night.
Doing the maths, that means during the day you are using:
16kWh x 0.03 = 4.8kWh of electricity
During the evening and night, you’re using:
16kWh x 0.07 = 11.2kWh
With this usage profile, you would need a battery that can store 11kWh of electricity. But if you’re planning to use more electricity in your home in the future – for example for charging an electric vehicle, running an electric hot water heat pump or electric pool pump – you may need a bigger battery.
The SolarEdge battery is the ideal size battery for many homes, with 10 kWh usable electricity and the option to add more batteries if required. It requires at least 5 or 6kW of solar panels to power it – ideally 10kW. The Alpha-ESS battery is another great option, with 13kWh storage size and is priced very competitively.
What are your reasons for wanting a battery?
There are five main reasons why homeowners invest in a battery:
If you’re looking eliminate your electricity bills, you’ll need a big battery – most likely 10-14kWh. Most people use more electricity at night, than in the daytime. With a battery, you can use the free solar electricity in your battery to power your home through the night. Depending on your electricity usage, a 10kWh or 14kWh battery means you’ll be buying a lot less grid power and potentially even getting bills in credit!
Protection from power outages is the second reason why people invest in home battery storage. No-one likes to lose electricity to their home, but for some households guaranteed power is essential. For example, people running businesses from home, those relying on medical equipment, properties in bushfire hotspots that need be to pump water from a dam. Depending on what systems you need to run, you may need a big battery, maybe even two. If this is your situation, spending several thousand on battery storage is like a comparatively cheap form of insurance. But beware, not all batteries have blackout protection. Get in touch if this is important to you.
On the other hand, you may be wanting to get into energy trading and keen to join a Virtual Power Plant, or VPP. VPPs are networks of homes with solar batteries connected using smart software. Still relatively new, VPPs are an exciting technological solution for making the national electricity grid more resilient and a lot greener. To take part in a VPP program, you need to have solar panels and a solar battery installed. Some state governments [link to Vic VPP post] are rolling out VPP programs which reward households for their surplus solar and provide other incentives. Talk to us if this is of interest!
Becoming more energy independent is the fourth reason why many households get battery storage. Reducing reliance on the big electricity retailers appeals to many. With 6kW or even 10kW solar panels system teamed with a 14kWh battery, your household will be better protected from electricity price hikes and less exposed to changes in government energy policy.
Finally, many people want a battery to reduce their household carbon emissions. By using clean solar energy to power their home day and night, households can cut back on grid imports. Given that around three-quarters of electricity in the national grid is from non-renewable sources (like coal-fired power stations), using less grid power is better for the environment.
Thinking through the reasons why you want a battery is important. You may be wanting a battery for a combination of reasons – for example bill reduction, blackout protection and to join a VPP. By considering all your requirements, and the relative importance of each, you have a great starting point for answering the question: “What size battery do I need?”
Working out your electricity usage
The easiest way to check your electricity usage is to look at your bill. There is often an average daily usage figure in kilowatt hours. Dig out your bills for the last 12 months to work out what your average daily electricity usage is over a year.
Next, you need to work out how much of that daily usage is when the sun’s out, and how much is in the evening and a night. A good solar monitoring system can do that for you, or chat to one of our solar experts. Your aim is to work out what percentage of your usage is during solar-producing hours, and how much is used at other times.
Size of your solar panels system. Why it’s important.
We’ll start off by saying that if you don’t have at least 5kW of solar panels installed, there’s little point adding a battery. Most residential batteries need at least 5kw or 6kW of solar panels to charge the battery. And if you’re looking to the future (i.e., all-electric home, EV charging and energy trading , 10kW of solar panels is going to be much more suitable.
It’s worth knowing that in some states you won’t even qualify for a battery rebate unless you have a minimum of 5kW of solar panels installed.
Budget and rebates
A lot of people are put off batteries because they think they’re too expensive. But battery prices are coming down as government incentives make the market more attractive to manufacturers and competition intensifies.
Battery prices used to be around $1,000 per kilowatt hour of battery storage (including installation and GST). So, a 10kWh battery would be priced at around $10,000. But now, new batteries coming on the market are priced below that level. A great example is the Alpha-ESS battery which is around $700/kWh of storage.
The upfront cost of a battery can also be reduced significantly if you live in a part of Australia where your state or territory government provides a battery rebate. These rebates can knock thousands off the cost of a battery and are well worth finding out about!
Also, if you choose an approved battery through a Virtual Power Plant program you may also be eligible for a further upfront discount on the battery price, as well as ongoing credits on your electricity bill in return for sharing your stored energy with the VPP.
All up, there are a lot of incentives that make it more affordable for Aussie homeowners to install home battery storage. Combined with the great prices from SolarRun, we reckon you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the affordability of installing a battery on your home.
Get in touch for an obligation-free quote
Get in touch with us today for expert advice and an obligation-free battery quote. We’ll can also advise you on the battery subsidies and incentives that may be available in your state. With government policies changing all the time, it pays to get in quick whilst the battery rebates are at a high level.
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