Solar Quotes Blog

Should you go off grid with a Powerwall 2?

    Note from Finn: Since this post was published Tesla have canned the DC Powerwall 2 in Australia. We will now only be able to get an AC Powerwall 2. A regular AC coupled battery is no good for off grid because it can’t talk to the solar inverter to balance energy demand and […]

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Cost Of Powerwall 2 Drops 9% Overnight

powerwall 2

Tesla appears to be unsure about how much to charge Australians for the Powerwall 2. Or maybe they are sure, but confused about how the Australian dollarydoo works. Perhaps they’ve been confusing it with the New Zealand doubloon or the Fijian guilder? I know I often do.

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Unwitting Warranties: A Ticking Time Bomb For The Battery Industry

dodgy battery sales guy

The other day a salesperson give me the rundown on a home battery system he had on display.  While it wasn’t cheap, it certainly appeared to be a very impressive piece of technology.  The salesperson clearly had a lot of confidence in it because, even though its written warranty was only for 10 years, he […]

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Solar Rebate Ending?

Have you heard the news?  The solar rebate is ending!  It’s all over the internet.  Or at least all over the parts of the internet that run ads from shonky solar companies.  According to them, if you don’t rush out right now to get rooftop solar installed before the first of January you’ll end up […]

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Powerwall 2 Full Spec Released: Low cost but ‘unlimited cycles’ warranty has limits.

powerwall 2 spec

[Update March 13: Tesla has cancelled sales of the DC Powerwall 2 in Australia and the first installations of the AC version of the Powerwall 2 will now apparently be done in April.] Yesterday, Tesla kindly sent me the Powerwall 2’s full data sheet and warranty. We already knew the headline specs: Storage: 13.5kWh Power: […]

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Energex Tries To Stop Tide Of Batteries With Bonkers Tariff 31 and 33 Rule

king energex on a throne

Energex is the state government owned network operator for all of Queensland.  They receive electricity from the high voltage transmission lines that Powerlink manages and distribute it to the state’s homes and businesses. They also kindly distribute it things that aren’t homes or business, including my cousin’s non-profit Fight Club Community Center1.

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Reposit Power Review: Does It Really Halve The Payback Time Of Your Battery?

Reposit pokie

Reposit is a Canberra based startup. They make software which optimizes the performance of a home battery system. The software is installed on a controller the size of a circuit breaker that sits in your switchboard.

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Congratulations! Your 10 Year Solar Panel Product Warranty Is Probably 25 Thanks To Australian Consumer Law

magician turning a 10 year warranty in to 25 year warranty

When people ask me about solar panel warranties, I tell them to look at the product warranty.  This is usually for 10 or 12 years. I tell them not to worry about the performance warranty, which is normally for 25 years or sometimes 30.  You see, while most manufacturers are happy to honor their product warranties, not […]

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Will Trump Take A Dump On Solar?

usa flag in solar cells

Donald Trump has won the US Presidential election.  The people of the United States of America have spoken.  They haven’t spoken very well, but they have done it.  And since they will have a guy in charge who never shuts up, they’re not likely to stop now.

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Is Tesla’s Solar Roof Fair Dinkum?

elon musk on tv

On Saturday the 29th of October, Elon Musk made an announcement that thousands of Australians were waiting to hear. He spent 37 seconds making that announcement. Then he spent most of the rest of the time spruiking Tesla’s new solar tiles.

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