Some Australian owners of recalled LG home batteries have been delivered another kick in the guts – but it’s better than their houses potentially burning down; or worse.
We first wrote about the Australian LG battery recall in March 2021. It involves certain LG and other systems using LG batteries; including some SolaX, Opal, Redback, Red Earth, Eguana and Varta models. It’s a serious situation, with affected batteries having the potential to catch on fire at any time, without warning.
At least nine incidents had been reported to the ACCC to November last year involving property damage and in one case, a personal injury. One home had been “completely destroyed” by a fire linked to an LG battery overheating.
We’ve covered the LG battery recall saga a number of times due to its seriousness – and because it has taken so long and has been fraught with issues. When we last reported on it in November 2023, 8,000 affected units remained in homes, and the fact that 6,000 still hadn’t been located was astounding.
6 months on and 4,400 affected batteries are yet to be located. Even where systems have been identified, we’ve seen multiple reports from owners of an unsatisfactory response – and now a new twist.
Diagnostic Software Snafu
LG Energy Solution Australia Pty Ltd (LGESAU), through authorised partners, has been replacing some batteries and in other cases providing diagnostic software to identify and shut down systems at risk of overheating. LG has committed to providing financial compensation to owners to offset any increase to electricity bills resulting from a switched off or shut-down battery.
But there have been problems with the software. We sighted an email to an affected battery owner last week that stated in part:
“LG Energy Solution is presently investigating the cause of an unexpected overheating incident in a battery which had diagnostic software, and in doing so reviewing the diagnostic software remedy. As a matter of safety, you should immediately switch off your battery until we complete our investigation … We expect this review to be completed by the middle of August 2024 and once concluded we will contact you to advise whether to switch the battery back on, or of an alternative remedy.”
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) says it is “extremely concerned” by this development, and is monitoring the situation closely.
A New Enforceable Undertaking From LG
The ACCC also says it has been concerned with the adequacy of advertising from LG alerting consumers to the recall.
“Following ACCC advice provided earlier this year, the Assistant Treasurer issued a proposed recall notice, which is a formal step towards a compulsory recall, due to concerns that LG had not taken satisfactory action to prevent the affected batteries causing injury to any person.”
Given this has been going on for *years* and the risks involved, the mind boggles that there hasn’t been a compulsory recall yet. But LG has since met with the ACCC and offered to make “significant additional commitments” through a court-enforceable undertaking, and the Assistant Treasurer is on board. What those additional commitments are isn’t clear.
Let Battery Owners Know
That there are 4,400 affected batteries still somewhere out there yet to been inspected is an unsettling situation. Since LG is having ongoing issues tracking down the remaining units for whatever reason/s, the company obviously needs a helping hand.
Bearing in mind it’s not just some LG-branded systems affected but a few other brands as well, if you know of someone with a home battery, let them know about the recall and point them to this page. It contains details of affected devices and the steps to take. Your action might save property and more importantly, lives.
However, I noticed yesterday that page was still stating towards the bottom:
“Under the recall, LGESAU is rolling out free diagnostic software, which has been assessed by Energy Safe Victoria and has been designed by LGES to identify and shut down batteries at risk of overheating.”
… sigh. At least they had a link to the diagnostic software recall notice towards the top of the page, which mentions systems with it installed should be shut down.
Are Solar Batteries Safe?
The LG situation might be giving some households pause for thought as to whether to install a battery system. So, are solar batteries safe? Done right, yes. A 2023 report from the ACCC noted 15 reported renewable energy storage fires in the period 2017–18 to 2022–23, and more than 250,000 home energy storage systems had been installed by the end of last year.
Granted, that’s still 15 fires too many – and some of those would likely connected to the recall. But thankfully, Australia also has some strict rules on where and how a battery can be installed, which helps reduce risk to property and lives if things go really pear-shaped.
About Michael Bloch
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Why don’t you (and many other “information sources” state a critical factor that is being hidden…… The difference between LiFePO4 (lithium IRON phosphate) and lithium ION batteries (with manganese or cobalt cathodes, which are the problem?)
Simply….WHY NOT make this obvious….this is supposed to be a technical information source.
We do in our videos and throughout the site.
For example this table on our main battery page: https://www.solarquotes.com.au/battery-storage/comparison-table/#type
p.s. loving the passive aggressive quotation marks
I do believe your site has a lot of useful information.
If you believe that an article about battery fires and a safety recall isn’t a relevant place to highlight that some battery types are having fire problems, (lithium ION), and some battery types are not having fire problems (lithium IRON), then we have substantial differences of opinion about if good journalism includes key facts.
I deliberately used quotation marks around “information sources” to demonstrate that I feel this article of quite a few words doesn’t state the most relevant fact for concerned battery owners or interested buyers.
Your story isn’t out of synch with other news articles on the subject… I’ve looked at a number, and none have mentioned battery chemistry. I think that’s a shame… it will do not good for the industry.
My original text was written for an article on “your life choices” aimed broadly at seniors, which can’t really claim to be a comprehensive information source…. but when people write about things that aren’t “core” to them I’ve come to expect a bit of vagueness or inaccuracy. I cast about after reading that, to see what other sources were writing. I was disappointed when I read this story here, an article specifically about battery fires, in a site dedicated to technical matters. At least there’s something in the comments section now for any concerned readers.
Genuinely, all the best, and over and out.
Koj, while LiFePO4 batteries are certainly desirable for their lack of flammability, the battery chemistry in and of itself isn’t the problem here. I’ve got some homework for you: what battery chemistry is in the Tesla Powerwall 2, and how many of these have caught fire due to their own failure (as opposed to say being caught in a bushfire)?
Hi Leon
I know I said over and out….but I’m replying for relevance not ego so I let myself tap the keyboard.
I agree with you that in this case battery chemistry itself isn’t the direct problem. The problem is that the protection system to compensate for the battery chemistry flammability failed.
Obviously that wouldn’t be an issue in a battery with chemistry that doesn’t need extra protection to stop it from erupting into flames if something goes wrong. (ie an LiFePO4 if we’re talking lithium).
TLDR If I don’t store my wealth under the mattress, I don’t need to worry greatly about breakins sending me bankrupt. If I don’t have fiery batteries I don’t need to worry about failures in the extra anti fire protection systems.
I would have ignored the little jab about me doing homework, but since I’m here writing on the technical relevance I’ll add my defence….
I’ve long ago done the homework you suggested, and I do know that tesla powerwall chemistry isn’t lithium iron, being lithium ion with the fiery nickel/cobalt/manganese technology (though I don’t know why they do this, other than they already make them for cars. Having a heavier weight for a benefit in safety is an obvious winner in the fixed storage battery environment)
I know I’m not in the solar industry, but I’m not a boofhead… which is why I have no conflict of interest about pointing out that LiFePO4 is far more suitable for domestic use.
cheers koj
Leon, Tesla uses advanced liquid cooling to manage the heat. LG relied upon natural ventilation. I guess it’s obvious which cooling method was more reliable.
Although I’m retired from the industry now, I did run a business which installed LG batteries. Part of LGs dilemma was that many batteries were never registered with it on their portal (mostly it seems from the usual rebate driven cheap sub contractor fueled fly by night solar mobs).
We did and with one exception, were able to replace those affected. The one exception involved a customer who didn’t repo and to emails, phone calls or even snail mail. Not sure what other than sending the cops around would have been required.
I got mine replaced relatively quickly. i used a good installer and he was onto it straight away but he has had some many headaches with LG. For me it was seemless and i have a new battery.
Not sure why manufacturers not using LFP for home storage. I think the latest Tesla powerwall went LFP. makes so much more sense. Supposed to be safer, last longer, less flammable. it is bigger yes but for homes it won’t matter.