Posts By Anthony Bennett On SolarQuotes

About Anthony Bennett

Anthony joined the SolarQuotes team in 2022. He’s a licensed electrician, builder, roofer and solar installer who for 14 years did jobs all over SA - residential, commercial, on-grid and off-grid. A true enthusiast with a skillset the typical solar installer might not have, his blogs are typically deep dives that draw on his decades of experience in the industry to educate and entertain. Read Anthony's full bio.

Reverse Cycle Not Keeping You Warm? Here’s What To Do.

Winter is here, and nobody is more aware of that than Australians with a struggling reverse cycle air conditioner (RVAC). If your system isn’t keeping you warm, here’s what to do to get it humming.

[Read more…]

The Dumb Way Plumbers Can Ruin Your Day

It might not appear to be earth-shattering, but a malfunctioning hot water storage tank may just shatter your walls. Here’s how a perfect storm (or an unlicensed idiot) can do real damage.

[Read more…]

Installing A Battery Before The Rebate Starts? Follow These Rules.


I’m sitting at the back of what we call the solarcoaster, the front carriage has disappeared over the edge, and it’s weighed down by a tonne of batteries.

As the whole train accelerates, the sales department whoops, the customers giggle and the installers scream. If you are one of these thrill-seekers wanting to take a ride on the federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program before its official start date of July 1, here’s how to do it without losing your lunch.

[Read more…]

Bound in Red Tape: NSW Tries to Fix Its Battery Rebate

The NSW Government has been seeking advice on improving the Peak Demand Reduction Scheme, as it works to harmonise the state battery incentive in anticipation of a federal rebate. Here’s how the bureaucrats are working to fix a myriad of problems, and what installers want to see changed.

[Read more…]

How To Get Off Ducted Gas Before It Sucks Up All Your Money

thermal image of wall insulation

Winter is coming and the glorified tents that we call houses in Australia are getting cold, which means people with ducted gas heating are basically setting fire to money to keep warm. But ducted gas systems don’t only suck up your cash: they suck at heating efficiently too. Here’s how to replace them.

[Read more…]

Do You Really Need To Bin Your Solar To Get The Battery Rebate?

Old solar panel test resultsMillions of solar panels are expected to be chucked out as a result of the federal government’s home battery rebate. But do you really need to throw your system in the bin, and if so, what should you replace it with?

[Read more…]

Rushing Into The Battery Rebate: Careful, We Haven’t Seen The Fine Print

A home battery with warning labelsLabor’s Cheaper Home Batteries Program only begins in July, but a promise that Australians can get a battery now and claim the rebate later has triggered a rush on installers. There’s just one problem: the rebate technically doesn’t exist yet, and neither does the fine print. Here’s why you should tread carefully.
[Read more…]

Shade Happens: When Autumn Shadows Creep Across Your Solar

palm tree shading solar panels on a roof
As we get deeper into autumn, the days are growing short and the shadows are growing longer — which is bad news for your solar if a massive palm tree happens to be positioned in the wrong spot. Here’s how an array set up in one season can be set up to fail for another.

[Read more…]

Wiring Wrangles: How Power And Data Make Electricians Bicker

data cable and EVSE supply wiring

SolarQuotes recently detailed the fairly difficult installation of a home EV charger and sure enough, the electricians turned up in the comments section to start arguing about it.

Read on while we explain that you don’t always have to put data cable in its own pipe.

[Read more…]

We Can’t Let Labor’s Battery Cash Cause A Grid Crash

An average Australian suburban house belching black smoke from an industrial stack

There’s plenty of understandable excitement about Labor’s Cheaper Home Batteries Program election pitch. What I’m not so excited about is subsidising a wave of suburban survival-of-the-fittest types to disconnect from a grid that urgently needs more storage.

[Read more…]

Get the latest solar, battery and EV charger news straight to your inbox every Tuesday