If you’re a Homeowner with roof top solar panels, you’ll want to make the most of the electricity they produce. The best way to reduce electricity costs and to increase […]
Tag: battery storage
Solar Battery Costs: Solar Battery Price Index
Solar Choice has previously been publishing average solar PV system prices on a monthly basis since August 2012 in our Solar Panel Price Index, which focused on household solar prices […]
Sungrow Battery: An Independent Review by Solar Choice
Inverter manufacturer Sungrow has recently introduced its PowCube battery storage system into the Australian market. The PowCube system consists of a Sungrow SH5K Hybrid inverter and up to 3x SPB4K8 […]
Enphase Battery: An Independent Review by Solar Choice
We recently published an article on the topic of how much money a household could save with a Tesla Powerwall 2. Soon thereafter, we received two separate requests to do […]
Can I add more panels to my existing solar system?
Some of the most common questions we receive at Solar Choice are about adding solar panels to an existing solar PV system. This article takes a look at the situations in […]
Expanding an existing solar system with more panels and/or batteries? Know your options
There are nearly 2 million Australian households with solar panels installed on their roofs. Many of these households would like to add more solar and/or batteries to their systems, but […]
Solar Battery Size Calculator: What size battery do I need?
What size solar panel array do you need for your home? And if you’re considering battery storage, what solar battery size would be most appropriate? This article includes tables that […]
The ACT’s solar battery storage incentive program
The ACT government’s Next Generation Energy Storage (Next Gen) program, initially launched in 2016, is one of the most ambitious battery storage incentive schemes in Australia, aiming to subsidise the […]
Ausgrid, United accelerate network push into community battery storage
Community-scale batteries are set to be installed on the grids of two of Australia’s biggest network operators, Ausgrid and United Energy, after the two company’s outlined plans to invest in […]
Solar, wind and battery storage now cheapest energy options just about everywhere
A new report has shown that large-scale solar PV and onshore wind are now the cheapest form of new-build energy generation across two-thirds of the world’s population. The BloombergNEF […]
Big new solar farm in NSW begins production, on schedule for a change
Spark Infrastructure’s 100MW Bomen solar farm near Wagga Wagga has begun sending power to the grid in New South Wales, making it one of very few that has managed […]
Another 100 stand-alone solar and battery systems to be installed by Western Power
Western Australia is forging ahead with its new approach to fringe-of-grid power supply, with the roll out of another 100 solar and battery-based stand-alone power systems. The solar and […]
Battery Storage Price Index – February 2020
Solar Choice has previously been publishing average solar PV system prices on a monthly basis since August 2012 in our Solar PV Price Index, which focused on household solar prices […]
Is home solar battery storage worth it? (2020 Update)
Since 2015 Australians have been talking about home battery storage being on the cusp of financial viability. Are home batteries worth the investment in 2020? We’ve crunched the number for […]
Solar Analytics Monitoring – A complete review
[This article was originally published in May 2018] I’ve had Solar Analytics installed on my home now for about 3 months. Since that time I’ve referred to and shared screenshots […]
AGL suggests EVs will drive a 20 fold increase in battery storage
Major Australian energy generator and retailer AGL has signalled a new focus on the “shared economy” in electricity and transport, with the prediction that electric vehicle uptake will drive a […]
Battery Storage Price Index – November 2019
Solar Choice has previously been publishing average solar PV system prices on a monthly basis since August 2012 in our Solar PV Price Index, which focused on household solar prices […]
Home storage to be taken over by EV’s?
Electric vehicles will become a key asset for the Australia’s energy market operator to manage the grid, and could even make home batteries redundant in the long-term, an industry insider […]
Spectacular solar success in Europe
A new report out of Europe has confirmed that solar PV is by far the cheapest form of bulk energy in many parts of the world, even with the addition […]
Is home solar battery storage worth it? (updated 2019)
This article has since been updated for 2019. Click here to see the updated version. Since 2015 Australians have been talking about home battery storage being on the cusp of […]
How do lithium batteries work? [Animated Infogaphic]
Lithium has become the chemistry type of choice for grid-connect home solar battery storage in Australia (although lead acid still rules the off-grid space – for now). There are actually […]
Why doesn’t my electricity retailer give me a 25c solar feed-in tariff?
Why don’t retailers offer higher solar feed-in rates? Does it matter if feed-in tariff rates are low? What are some of the alternative approaches to conventional feed-in tariffs that are beginning […]
9 things you should know if you’re considering home battery-storage
For several years now, home solar battery storage has been a hot topic in Australia, and 2019 looks set to be the best year yet for batteries. If you’re actively […]
Expanding an existing solar system with more panels and/or batteries? Know your options
There are nearly 2 million Australian households with solar panels installed on their roofs. Many of these households would like to add more solar and/or batteries to their systems, but […]
Time of use vs flat rate electricity tariffs with solar & batteries
If you’re connected to the grid and own your home, you pay for electricity. In most places, in Australia, there are basically two types of tariffs: Flat rate tariffs (aka ‘peak […]
The real obstacle to integrating storage into the grid
When it comes to integrating new energy storage technologies with the grid, what’s standing in the way? According to Robert Morgan, CEO of Energy Storage at GE Renewable Energy, the […]
A list of Australian battery support schemes (existing & proposed) as of Nov 2018
If you care about battery storage and distributed energy in Australia, you’re probably aware that a number of battery incentive programs are now available through various state & territory governments […]
5 Commercial Applications of Solar Panel Batteries
Batteries are widely known in the industry as commercially unviable at current costs. However there are some situations where installing Solar PV with a battery bank is the best economic […]
Australia to reach a “Solar Peak”, bring on battery storage!
As Australian rooftop solar continues to break records there’s claims of Australia being the first country to reach a “Solar Peak“, according to EnergyAustralia director Mark Collette. Australia has already installed 1.09GW […]
SwitchDin paves the way for virtual power plants & microgrids
SwitchDin is a Newcastle-based energy technology startup aiming to crack open the enormous potential of distributed energy resources (like small-scale solar and battery storage) in Australia’s energy future. The company […]
Battery Storage Price Index – August 2018
Last month we posted an article informing our readers that due to stabilisation of battery and solar pricing in recent times, we will now be publishing quarterly indexes as opposed […]