The South Australian Battery Subsidy / Rebate / Scheme Is Now Under Way – Here’s What You Need To Know

When I first wrote about South Australia’s battery subsidy not all the details were available to me.  But now the Home Battery Scheme website is up and running I still don’t have all the details.  However — and this is the important point — I have more details than I had before.  [Read more…]

Wanna buy a Powerwall 2? Then it may cost you a couple of grand more than it did last week.

Only 8 months after increasing the price of the Powerwall 2 in February, Tesla is about to bump it up again.  This time by a much heftier amount.  [Read more…]

Sonnen updates their battery systems: outdoor enclosure, backup option and lower pricing now available.

Sonnen claim to be the first company to successfully market on-grid home battery systems.  Founded in Germany in 2010, they have sold systems to Australians for two years now.  Their 9th generation of home batteries — known as the sonnenBatterie Eco 9.43 — have been on sale in Oz since the 16th of August.  [Read more…]

Wahey! In SA it is possible to save money with batteries – thanks to the battery rebate.

For a long time now Australia has been drawing closer to the day when home batteries will pay for themselves.  With the announcement of  South Australia’s battery subsidy scheme we know that day will soon come — unless the scheme’s lack of competition prevents battery prices from falling enough. [Read more…]

Battery Subsidy Scheme Outline Released By South Australian Government Is Short On Details

As part of their election campaign the the South Australian Liberal Party promised to provide a $100 million home battery subsidy.  Five months after victory they have released information outlining the subsidy scheme that will: [Read more…]

“Best Practice Guide: Battery Storage Equipment — Electrical Safety Requirements.” What’s In It And Who’s It For?

In July 2018 the “Best Practice Guide: Battery Storage Equipment — Electrical Safety Requirements” was published.  This was a momentous event in the history of battery safety guides and I can remember exactly where I was when I heard the news.  I was in Australia¹.  Before this day there was no specific product safety guide covering lithium home batteries.  But now, in our time of need, it is here. [Read more…]

Canberra’s Battery Test Centre has been going a couple of years now. What do the results so far tell us about the state of the home battery market?

I am very happy.  I just found out there is a battery testing centre in Canberra.  Who would have thought there would be something useful in Canberra?  Besides, of course, for the Federal Government and the bureaucracy that’s necessary for the functioning of a modern representative democracy.¹ [Read more…]

If you order a Tesla Powerwall 2 home battery system, according to a Tesla spokesperson, you will now have to wait until early next year to have it delivered.  This means the supply of Powerwalls for new Australian orders will be halted for at least 7 months.  If these turn out to be Tesla months then your guess as to when they will be available is as good as mine. [Read more…]

Will Super Capacitor Energy Storage Save The World?

Note from Finn: People have asked me if I would recommend buying a ‘super capacitor’ over a conventional battery. My short answer is no. Personally I think the technology is too new to consider it in a residential application. As Ronald says at the end of the post: “…they are a new thing and sometimes new things have problems that aren’t apparent at first.”  Buyer beware.

Australian company Arvio is now selling a supercapacitor energy storage module.  If you go to their site you can see the Kilowatt Labs Sirius module that stores 3.55 kilowatt-hours of electricity on sale for $4,950 including GST – here’s how it looks: [Read more…]