SolarQuotes Blog

Battery Rebate Scramble: Installers Booked Out Until May

The rush to get large home batteries before the federal rebate is restructured has seen many reputable battery installers booked out through to May, when the changes to the Cheaper Home Battery Program come into force.

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Vale Michael Bloch

vale michael bloch

Michael Bloch, SolarQuotes’ most prolific writer, died last week after a long illness.

Michael joined SolarQuotes in April 2017 and went on to write an extraordinary 3,363 posts over almost nine years. His final article was published on 22 January 2026. That volume alone is remarkable, but it only hints at the impact he had.

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When Did AC Coupling Become A Fashion Crime?

ac-coupling

There’s a strange certainty creeping into battery talk lately. The idea that DC coupling is the grown-up option, and AC coupling is something we did back when we didn’t know any better. I keep seeing installers and Facebook pundits claiming the only proper way to attach a battery to a house is with a DC-coupled […]

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Regulator Reveals Key Lesson From Sigenergy’s Melted Plugs

A burnt Sigenergy inverter

The Clean Energy Regulator (CER) has revealed it warned manufacturers and installers to provide early notification of product risks, after reviewing the spate of melted Sigenergy inverter plugs last year.

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Fire Safety For Solar Homes: Get Your Gutters To Clean Themselves

With fire season in full swing, it is worth considering what you can do to maintain your home, even if solar on the roof makes things a little tricky. Clearing gutters is a never ending chore but the question that’s always bothered me is; why can’t anyone offer a self cleaning solution that really works?

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Want Three Hours Of Free Power? You’ll Need A Smart Meter

Smart meters - Australia

Many Australians will have access to plans with three hours of free power from July, but there’s a catch: you’ll need a smart meter. This means there will be a stampede of people after them in a few months time. Here’s why getting your old analog meter upgraded now is a good idea.

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Pour Decisions: When Concreting Goes Wrong

Concrete pouring

Home electrification isn’t just the work of electricians, but also their natural enemy: the concreter. I’ve tried my hand at the dark arts of concreting over the years, and found that some jobs are about as painful as beating your head against a cement wall.

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How To Get Around The Cap On Free Daytime Electricity

A rooftop with solar next to rooftops without solar

The federal government is set to downgrade its plan to mandate three hours of free daytime electricity with the imposition of a reasonable use cap, but there’s a simple way to ensure you rarely if ever hit the limit: getting solar panels.

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Australia Is The World’s Cruellest Battery Test Lab

If you wanted to design the world’s harshest endurance test for home batteries, you wouldn’t build a lab. You’d build a normal Australian suburb.

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Clean Up Your Solar Before A Bushfire Does It For You

With record-breaking heat and bushfires sweeping the country, times like these serve as a sobering reminder of why we need more solar – and also as a reminder that those of us living in at-risk areas ought to prepare and maintain our rooftop PV arrays appropriately.

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