Thinking About A Home Battery? Better Think About Where.

Choosing a location to install a home battery

The Australian Standard for home battery installations is quite strict about where solar batteries can and can’t go. [Read more…]

Home Battery Warranties And Musical Chairs: When The Music Stops

Home battery warranties in Australia

What’s the difference between a home battery warranty and a game of musical chairs?

One is a situation in which people or things are moved, shuffled, or rearranged from one position to another, and the other is a game. [Read more…]

SolarEdge Home Battery Install – From Start To Finish

Watch one of Australia’s first SolarEdge Home Battery installations from go to whoa and discover what makes a top-notch solar battery install – including what sets installers apart when things go wrong. [Read more…]

SolarEdge Home Battery Review: 3 Months In

SolarEdge Home Battery arriving for installation

Two years ago, I had a 6.6kW SolarEdge/Seraphim solar system installed on my house in Adelaide. A few months ago I decided to join the increasingly-less-exclusive club of home battery owners. [Read more…]

Here’s Why EV Batteries Are Cheaper & More Reliable Than Home Batteries

EV vs home batteries

EV Battery Packs Have It Easy Compared To Home Batteries 

It has been two weeks since I laid down the heavy news that out of the 26 home batteries given a whirl by the Canberra Battery Test Centre, only two worked as they should without suffering a fault or excessive capacity deterioration.  This sad news has caused some people to wonder if electric car battery packs will have similar poor performance. [Read more…]

Origin Loop Virtual Power Plant: $2,000 Bait On A 5-Year Hook

Origin Loop VPP review

Origin Energy’s ‘Origin Loop’ Virtual Power Plant (Loop VPP) pays you to let Origin discharge your battery into the grid, but you must have an Origin retail electricity plan to use it. 

Even though there’s a big dollar incentive up front, I don’t think it’s a good deal overall. In this post, I’ll tell you why I’m not excited about the deal, and hopefully, that will help you decide for yourself whether to sign up. [Read more…]

Canberra Battery Test Centre Final Report: Only 2 Of 26 Batteries Fault-Free

Canberra Battery Test Centre Final Report

For eight years, the Canberra Battery Test Centre lived up to its name and tested batteries. From 2016, they put 26 home batteries through their paces. If I had to sum up the results in a single word, it would be: [Read more…]

Canberra Battery Test Centre Phase 3 Results: Zero Batteries Problem Free

Canberra Battery Test Centre final report

The Canberra Battery Test Centre’s third phase of testing is complete.  In fact, all their testing is now finished.  They have shut up shop and published their final report. [Read more…]

AlphaESS Battery: A Warranty Struggle of Odyssean Proportions

Your shiny new solar power system has been installed. You can’t get the smile off your face as you show friends and family and smugly tell them about all the environmental benefits and the huge savings you’ll be making by providing your own electricity for years to come. [Read more…]

EnergyAustralia Solar Home Bundle: Free Solar & Battery Comes At High Cost

Energy Australia Solar Home Bundle Review

Energy Australia — the country’s third largest electricity retailer — is offering to install a solar and battery system for no money upfront, provided… [Read more…]

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