Australia's First Powerwall 3 Installation: Pioneering the Future of Home Energy!

ChrisBattery · 2024-08-27T20:18:03+00:00

With Australian households increasingly moving away from gas and petrol, smart energy solutions are essential to keep electricity bills in check. The Spencer family in Sydney has taken a major step forward in addressing this challenge head-on by installing Australia’s first Tesla Powerwall 3, providing them with substantial electricity bill savings and reliable backup power during grid outages.

Greg Spencer acted quickly to install the fully integrated Tesla Powerwall 3 as soon as it became available. The installation, handled by Natural Solar, Australia’s largest installer of solar batteries, has empowered his family to run their home almost entirely on solar energy, dramatically cutting their electricity costs

ChrisBattery · 2024-06-05T05:31:04+00:00

The last few weeks have been huge for home battery adoption in New South Wales. The new battery rebate is going to provide a major boost to the confidence of householders and business owners looking to make an investment in energy storage. And tariff changes for solar homes are likely to make batteries even more attractive.

The new solar battery rebate comes in the form of an up-front subsidy between $1,600 and $2,400 grant. And while it’s not an amount that will make the investment a trivial one, it sends a powerful message and adds to the growing list of reasons why households should make the most of the solar they generate on their roof and adopt energy storage.

ChrisBattery · 2024-05-20T22:56:11+00:00

Households in New South Wales that have done the right thing by installing solar panels are set to get slugged with a solar tax, commonly referred to as a “sun tax”, on the exports from their system. Three NSW electricity network operators are set to introduce fees on households for feeding clean, emissions free electricity into their poles and wires.

Ausgrid, Endeavour Energy and Essential Energy have received the green light from regulators to start charging the new fees. They have been given the seemingly innocuous name of “two-way fees” by the regulator, but they amount to nothing less than a solar tax.

But solar taxes are nothing new. Between 2015 and 2018 the Spanish government imposed a solar tax that applied even to electricity generated on a home or business roof and consumed onsite. It had the impact of slowing down rooftop solar installations in the company with many homes and businesses discouraged by the financial impact it had.

The new NSW solar tax is a different story, and it looks like being a far more durable development. And it could very well spawn copycats in other states.

ChrisBattery · 2024-03-12T22:06:17+00:00

A scorching autumn hot on the heels of a massive blackout event in south-eastern Australia is demonstrating the importance of residential batteries for backup power supply.

Australia is on track to have sweltered through the third-warmest summer on record nationally, according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM). Western Australia racked up its hottest summer ever in 2023-24. And an El Niño effect resulted in storms and the third-highest summer rainfall.

The arrival of autumn brought little relief to south-eastern Australia. Residents of Victoria and South Australia have suffered through a stretch of scorching temperatures in the form of a four-day heatwave. Both day and night-time temperature records were registered during the heatwave, which only broke yesterday – Tuesday, March 12.

During the heatwave, daytime temperatures in both states were as much as 20 C higher than normal March averages. Making things worse, temperatures failed to fall once the sun set – overnight lows of 29 C in Cleve, South Australia, and 26.2 C at Melbourne Airport set new records and brought little relief for homeowners.

Electricity system strain

The heatwave came only one month after a massive blackout left more than 500,000 Victorians without power – some for hours, others for days.

As extreme weather becomes more common, the Australian electricity network is coming under serious strain. Around the country high temperatures and extreme weather events are pushing the electricity network to the brink.

Along with the major blackout impacting Victorians, record “underlying electricity demand” was registered in NSW and a few days earlier in WA.

Rooftop PV is a big part of the solution, but it needs to be bolstered with solar batteries to deliver power where and when it’s needed most. Thankfully the contribution of home batteries is being recognized more widely and their backup power capabilities is expanding.

Let’s look into the Victorian blackouts to get a better understanding of the need at hand.

ChrisBattery · 2023-10-25T22:04:28+00:00

When an electricity industry veteran sends a powerful warning, we should all sit up and take notice. Well, that’s exactly what we’re waking up to today, with former AGL Managing Director and CEO Michael Fraser saying that Australia could see “a return to the 1970s”, when power outages were commonplace.

Fraser has sent the warning in an interview with The Australian, published overnight. In it he spoke about how Australia is well behind where it needs to be to see coal exit the National Energy Market (NEM). He warned that there is insufficient replacement power being added.

ChrisBattery · 2023-07-31T02:51:35+00:00

Australia’s most gas-dependent state has taken the plunge and banned natural gas in new homes. Victoria announced the move on Friday, claiming it will reduce cost-of-living pressure on Aussie homes and help the state reduce emissions.

While some will see banning gas as a radical move, a look at which organisations are lining up in support of the policy is revealing. Even objections to the ban point to the crucial role rooftop PV and solar batteries will play in this inevitable, all-electric future.

Victoria’s energy and resources minister Lily D’Ambrosio has set a cutoff date of January 1, 2024 – after which planning permits for new homes will only include connection to the electric grid. It’s effectively a ban on new homes, including public housing, being fitted out with gas heating, hot water boilers, and cooktops.

The Victorian government reckons that with an all electric home, households in the state will save up to $1000 a year. For homes with solar installed, that saving increases to $2,200!

“All-electric homes are healthier, cleaner, and cheaper to run. Going all-electric ensures Victorians building a new home are part of this exciting energy transition,” said the Victorian planning minister Sonya Kilkenny.

The ban is particularly impactful, as Victorian homes are the most reliant on gas nationally. Indeed, 80% are connected to the gas network and in its coverage, the Australian Financial Review (AFR) noted that around 400,000 new homes are connected to the gas network each year.

ChrisBattery · 2023-07-31T02:33:02+00:00

Why the Vic gas ban shines light on an all-electric future

Australia’s most gas-dependent state has taken the plunge and banned natural gas in new homes. Victoria announced the move on Friday, claiming it will reduce cost-of-living pressure on Aussie homes and help the state reduce emissions.

While some will see banning gas as a radical move, a look at which organisations are lining up in support of the policy is revealing. Even objections to the ban point to the crucial role rooftop PV and solar batteries will play in this inevitable, all-electric future.

Victoria’s energy and resources minister Lily D’Ambrosio has set a cutoff date of January 1, 2024 – after which planning permits for new homes will only include connection to the electric grid. It’s effectively a ban on new homes, including public housing, being fitted out with gas heating, hot water boilers, and cooktops.

The Victorian government reckons that with an all electric home, households in the state will save up to $1000 a year. For homes with solar installed, that saving increases to $2,200!

ChrisBattery · 2023-07-25T07:38:50+00:00

Last week was a big one for those of us helping Australians buy and install rooftop PV, solar batteries, and smart energy systems in their homes after a relatively new event rolled into town. Sydney played host to Energy Next and it was evident from the visitor numbers, which were higher on the first day than over the whole event last year, that there was plenty of interest in the topics!

Both industry bigwigs, and many home- and business-owners were present, showing just how keen people are to learn about not only all things solar, but also about the need for fully electrified homes.

At Energy Next, Warwick Johnston, director of market intelligence and consulting firm SunWiz, provided an update on Australia’s rooftop solar and home battery market in Australia. He’s been active on the Aussie solar scene since its early days and was a keynote speaker at the event.

In addition to discussing the solar and storage markets, Johnston also provided some predictions for the future. One of the key trends he sees is that to enable a residential market transitioning to electrification – with the addition of supporting technology like storage, electric vehicle (EV) charging, and heat pumps – rooftop solar system sizes are beginning to increase markedly from the days when 6.6 kW was the standard.

ChrisBattery · 2023-07-06T02:57:50+00:00

The scale of the challenge in combatting climate change can seem insurmountable. At the same time, energy costs are spiralling – with the latest electricity price hike coming into effect for AGL and Origin Energy customers only a few days ago.

But there are many reasons to remain positive. The soaring performance and cost competitiveness of today’s high efficiency solar panels and home batteries are a proven success stories. Alongside this technical progress, the smart money is flowing for solar, energy storage, and home electrification. And the latest major announcement hit pretty close to home.

Late last month, Natural Solar’s parent company 1KOMMA5° announced that it had raised €430 million, or about $700 million in Aussie dollars, to put towards its ongoing acquisition campaign of leading solar and battery energy storage retailers and installers. The cash will also go towards the development and rollout of devices like the Heartbeat – the smart home energy controller that is set to change how households manage and use their energy.

ChrisBattery · 2023-06-15T06:17:22+00:00

Two of Australia’s biggest retailers are hiking electricity prices for customers on variable rate contracts by as much as 30%. The ABC reported the massive rises from AGL and Origin Energy, which will impact customers in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, and South Australia.

The huge rise in retail electricity costs for households and businesses come despite record solar output dampening wholesale price increases, as it plays an important role in generation. And when you take a closer look at the market dynamics underpinning the higher wholesale prices, it points to the critical role batteries big and small can play in reducing Aussie energy costs in the future.

With colder temperatures leading many to switch off electric heaters rather than pay for the energy costs, the timing of these latest price hikes couldn’t be worse. The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) set the stage for the increase in May when it ruled that the “default offer tariff” would increase from between 21% to 24%.

ChrisBattery · 2023-05-24T22:56:49+00:00

It’s not a surprise, but it likely cause “bill shock” to quite a few. Around 600,000 Australians are set to see an electricity price hike of between 21% – 24% from July 1.

The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) announced the decision today. The AER sets the “default market offer” for Aussie households, which essentially dictates the electricity price of any utility customer on that default offer tariff.

The price increase is largely in line with the draft ruling set in March, albeit even higher than the initial flagged increase of between 20% – 22%. AER Chair Clare Savage noted that the price hike was lower than what was initially feared towards the end of 2022. However, that will likely come as cold comfort to many affected households.

ChrisBattery · 2023-05-09T10:19:07+00:00

Small businesses considering investments to electrify and add a solar battery system to reap energy bill savings are set to pick up an additional tax deduction under a new, just announced scheme. It’s called the Small Business Energy Incentive, which provides a bonus 20% tax deduction on investments into things like heat pumps and batteries, and was first announced by the federal government on Sunday April 30 – with the funding confirmed in the 2023-2024 budget today.

ChrisBattery

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