Are home batteries finally poised to go mainstream in Australia? And in a 17-kilometre race in to the city, which wins – a battery-assisted bike or an electric car? Tesla Powerwall vs. lead acid batteries, a debate between a battery cynic and a true believer, plus much more in episode 7 of SolarQuotes TV!
Is The Battery Age Finally Here?
00:37 – The past has often written cheques for the future that reality couldn’t cash. And this has been somewhat the case with the home battery, as a prediction of one million home batteries installed in Australia by 2020 didn’t eventuate – there’s around 110,000 installed. So, when will solar batteries go mainstream in Australia? Finn provides his best guess and what needs to happen to get there.
Electric Bike Vs. Electric Car – Race To The City
02:40 – We attempt to find out which mode of transport can cut through city traffic faster – an battery assisted bike or electric car. Ronald’s in an electric Mini (check out his earlier electric Mini review here) and Finn on his trusty ebike. Who’s your money on?
Ask Finn: Tesla Powerwall vs. Lead-Acid Batteries
08:41 – We received quite a few questions after the ABC recently published a story on how several households with solar batteries fared during a major blackout in Victoria’s Dandenong ranges.
There were two families with lead-acid based energy storage and another with a Tesla Powerwall 2. The report left some with the impression that lead-acid batteries may be the better choice for backup – and that’s not the case. Finn explains what likely happened.
Preaching From The Converted
11:10 – SQ’s James Wakelin chats with a Powerwall early adopter in Adelaide to find out his experience. Paul Kolomitsev installed 28 Jinko solar panels, a 6kW three-phase Zeversolar inverter and followed later by a Tesla Powerwall 2. Paul also joined a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) program.
Previously paying around $5,000 a year, the solar power system certainly made a difference, but Paul said the savings really kicked in with the addition of the battery system.
On a related note, try SolarQuotes’ solar and battery calculator to estimate your potential payback and savings. You can also learn more about home energy storage options and prices using our solar battery comparison tool.
Installer Profile: SPS Solar & Water
14:15 – Mudgee based SPS Solar & Water (aka Solar Pumping Solutions), operated by Kim and Steve Harding, has been around for 20 years – and they’ve seen a lot of changes in solar power related technology in that time.
“We started out with wet-cell lead-acid batteries and we’ve certainly come a long way now to the modern lithium offerings from all the big manufacturers,” says Steve.
A recent trend has been people installing larger solar power systems in preparation for home energy storage in the future.
“If it can fit and if the network provider will allow us, we’ll put in an 8 – 10, to 12kW system for a customer, so whether they do it now, in a couple of months or in a year’s time; when they add a battery we’ve got enough capacity for that to work correctly.”
Solar Tech – Redflow’s Simon Hackett
17:40 – Instead of Finn chatting about solar tech this month, we have Redflow’s Simon Hackett discussing Redflow flow battery technology and its benefits.
“They’re a very cool Australian invention – an alternative way to store energy,” says Simon.
Simon also shows us a Redflow installation in Tasmania consisting of 28 ZBM2 batteries coupled with 100kW of solar power that is being expanded to 200kW.
Ned’s Review – Tesla Powerwall 2
20:26 – Ned relays a very review of the Tesla Powerwall 2 – the happy owner says since its installation, they’ve drawn no electricity from the grid and have also breezed through 6 power outages.
The Great Home Battery Debate
21:54 – It wasn’t quite a case of “two men enter, one man leaves”, but this debate between SQ’s Ronald and NRG Solar’s Eddy May had some interesting moments. The topics discussed:
- Are home batteries worth the investment?
- Have we reached a tipping point for solar battery use in Australia?
- Solar batteries are reducing in price, but not by as much as people thought they would.
Victorian Big Battery Overview
26:26 – Finn provides an overview of the Victorian Big Battery project, a 300 MW / 450 MWh battery system consisting of 210 Tesla Megapacks currently under construction at a site near Moorabool Terminal Station in the Geelong region.
Unfortunately, the project recently had a setback after one of the Tesla Megapack containers caught fire in late July. It’s still not clear what impact the incident will have on the project deadline.
Home Energy Storage Show & Tell
28:54. Finn showcases some of the solar battery photos sent in for our Instagram competition.
“Yes folks, we’re on the ‘gram, (is that how you say it?)” says Finn. “Give us a follow!“
And on that note, for more videos on everything solar and other SQTV episodes, check out and subscribe to the SolarQuotes Youtube channel.
About Michael Bloch
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I have just watched your TV Episode 7 and thought I would give you our experience of use of our Tesla Powerwall 2. We had some 5 Kw of solar panels installed some years ago. Last year we decided to have another 6+ Kw installed and a Tesla Powerwall 2. Since then we have barely used any grid power. However it was after the big storms hit Victoria earlier this year that we really appreciated the installation.
We had the Powerwall connected to the whole house and we were aware that if we were relying solely on the battery to power the home we would need to be careful about the amount of power that we drew from it at any given time.
We lost the grid here for more than 90 hours. But we had no problems powering the house for that whole time from the Tesla. We did have gas heating ( though electrically controlled) so we’re very comfortable in a very cold period. We also had enough sunlight to fully recharge the battery each day. I understand that is something that a lot of batteries can’t do as many of them can’t recharge with the grid down.
All of our neighbours were without power for that whole time. Some rely on electricity for heating and had a pretty miserable experience for those 3 days and lost a lot of food in their freezers. Quite a few would give us their mobile phones to charge up for them so they could stay connected to the world for the period.
Do I love my Tesla? You bet!
Good to hear!
Hello,
Would be really keen to understand if there is a use case for grid + battery. Know it sounds weird, but hear me out. I’m using amber and have a tesla. With Amber’s whole sale variable rates I can keep the car charged when the rates are under 0.10Kwh. How does the ROI stack up if i were to do the same with a battery and utilse to take the sting out of the evening peak ?
I would love to have solar here but i have a bunch of challenges., Pool solar is currently fitted and I have trees which shade the north roof.
aprreaciate your thoughts,
Stephen
Hi Stephan
A system like Amber can work really well if you have a set up that will stop your solar exporting when the wholesale electricity price is negative as well as do things such as charge your charge your EV and turn on your hot water system. Unfortunately, I don’t know of any off the shelf system that will handle that well.
Solar PV with Amber has the problem that if wholesale electricity prices go negative in the middle of the day when solar output is high it can be fairly costly and considerably reduce the return from a solar system.
Thanks Ronald,
I don’t have solar, so the negative wholesale cost is not an issue for me.
I was proposing that i buy from the grid and store in a household battery when the wholesale price is super low. I’m pretty much doiing it now to charge the car. There are times when the price from the grid (Amber) is 5 cents. So it’s super cheap to charge the EV. Just wondering if it worth adding a battery to the house to do the same?
I gues the risk is betting there will always be enough super off peak times when it I could charge the battery.
cheers
Stephen
As long as you are able to control it so it charges when the price of electricity is cheap and discharges when the price is high. That’s the hard part. If you find a way to do that at reasonable cost, then it could pay under the right circumstances. This buying low and selling high is what Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) do, but they of course take their cut of the profits — while leaving most of the risk in the lap of the battery owner.