Fox ESS Launches Power Cube All-In-One Home Battery

Australia’s most popular battery brand, Fox ESS, has launched the Power Cube in Australia. It’s an all-in-one home energy system that combines an inverter and batteries into a single stackable unit.

The Power Cube uses two to nine EQ5500 battery modules, giving you between 10.92 and 49.14 kWh of storage. Fox ESS says its design makes installation quicker and easier, and the different sizes help you choose what fits your home.

[Read more…]

Does Your Home Battery Need A Smoke Alarm?

Home battery smoke alarm

A smoke alarm near your home battery might seem like a sensible precaution, but is it actually compulsory? The answer depends on where you live, where your battery is installed and, in some cases, whether you’ve claimed a government incentive. We look at the different rules and recommendations across Australia.

[Read more…]

GoodWe & BYD Strap In For Amber’s Wild Ride

A GoodWe battery

More battery owners can now take a ride on Amber Electric’s wholesale pricing rollercoaster, with leading battery brand GoodWe integrating with the retailer’s SmartShift technology. It is the second big reveal from Amber in a matter of weeks, after the company announced BYD’s Sealion 7 can now join its vehicle-to-grid (V2G) trial.

[Read more…]

CEC Double Standard On Budget Brand Delistings

Neovolt battery with the words SolarQuotes in the upper right hand corner.

Neovolt have been threatened with de-listing because their CEC approval paperwork isn’t in order.

I find this curious because when I’ve asked about similar approval paperwork in the past concerning Growatt products, they weren’t de-listed. And the CEC refused to answer our questions.

[Read more…]

If Your Battery Dies, Your Bills Will Rocket. Here’s Who Should Pay.

a styilised still from 730 report

A fortnight ago, 7.30 aired an investigation into Solar Power Nation, a retailer the ABC reports is under investigation by authorities in Queensland, NSW and South Australia after hundreds of complaints.

One customer, Amin Khorram, paid $13,000 for a battery system. Only one of the two inverters was installed, so he got 5 kW of the promised 10 kW and couldn’t charge or discharge his batteries fast enough to get all the savings he expected. He chased the company for eight months. The missing inverter finally appeared last month, as his QCAT hearing date approached. Funny, that. [Read more…]

Kilowatts vs Kilowatt-Hours: The Mix-Up That Never Dies

I first wrote about this back in 2012. Fourteen years later, I’m still writing about it. That should tell you something about how sticky this confusion is. [Read more…]

Why Adding A Battery Module Isn’t As Simple As Lego

Lego expandable modular battery

Looking at a modular home battery, adding another module appears about as difficult as stacking another Lego brick. Lift the new battery into place, stack it on top of the others, plug it in and away you go.

How hard can it be? It’s probably why the question pops up every now and then in online owner forums. [Read more…]

Could AEMO’s Cautious Grid Planning Be Costing You Money?

AEMO grid planning report

Australia’s electricity market operator has been warned that an overly cautious approach to planning the grid could leave consumers paying more than necessary.

That’s one of the findings of an independent review of the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), which has also raised concerns about potential conflicts between some of the organisation’s expanding responsibilities. [Read more…]

Australia’s Battery Boom Hits 500,000. What’s Changed?

500,000 cheaper home batteries

Australia has now installed more than 500,000 batteries under the federal government’s Cheaper Home Batteries Program.

It’s an impressive number for a scheme that’s a little over a year old, and one Energy Minister Chris Bowen was understandably keen to celebrate.

“Every battery installed means another household getting more value from their rooftop solar, and another job for the local installers and small businesses delivering this rollout across the country,” Bowen said.

But half a million batteries later, it’s worth looking beyond the milestone. The program hasn’t just put a lot of batteries on walls. It has changed Australia’s home energy market remarkably quickly.

[Read more…]

‘The Battery Won’t Power The Aircon After Dark’ (And Why That’s Not Your Fault)

“After installation, we have found out the battery will not power the aircon after dark…”

This is a direct quote from the My Efficient Electric Home (MEEH) Facebook group. Tim Forcey suggested it deserved an article. I agree, because there’s a limitation of three-phase battery systems you need to understand before buying.

[Read more…]

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