About Finn PeacockI'm a Chartered Electrical Engineer, Solar and Energy Efficiency nut, dad, and the founder of SolarQuotes.com.au. I started SolarQuotes in 2009 and the SolarQuotes blog in 2013 with the belief that it’s more important to be truthful and objective than popular. My last "real job" was working for the CSIRO in their renewable energy division. Since 2009, I’ve helped over 800,000 Aussies get quotes for solar from installers I trust. Read my full bio.
Every second battery brochure that crosses my desk now has “AI-powered” stamped on it somewhere. Enphase has “AI-based energy management software.” Sigenergy promises “AI optimisation.” Even no-name brands are getting in on the act.
But what does “AI” actually mean when it’s printed on a battery spec sheet? In most cases, a lot less than you’d think.
Your solar and battery installation comes with a lot of stickers. Warning labels, voltage signs, shutdown procedures, danger signs, restricted access notices. The standards (AS/NZS 5033 and AS/NZS 5139) mandate a small library of signage.
But two of those stickers matter more than all the others combined. [Read more…]
Images of DIY winter coats for Fox batteries – shared on FB by Australian owners: Update: a commenter has told me the middle one was done for a joke and the overcoat was promptly removed.
Fox ESS batteries recently became the most popular battery in Australia thanks to their nice stackable design and a price that undercuts most of the competition. When asked, my personal verdict on Fox has been: I don’t have enough real-world data to vouch for their quality in harsh Australian conditions, and I’ve consistently recommended waiting for a couple of summers before committing.
Turns out it’s not the summers I should have been watching. [Read more…]
Max is still on holiday. I am still in Sydney. Here’s what happened on Day 2 of the Smart Energy 2026 Conference & Expo in Sydney. [Read more…]
That Smart Energy 2026 Conference & Expo: Australia’s leading show that isn’t All Energy.
I’m filling in for our editor, Max, who has taken himself on holiday like someone who doesn’t understand the gravity of the Smart Energy Conference. Someone had to go. So I went to Sydney. Here’s what happened. [Read more…]
We’ve been running this website for 16 years. In that time, we’ve published tens of thousands of reviews and written plenty of posts about installers and manufacturers. Shock horror, some have been critical. [Read more…]
Imagine the government threatening to tax ex-smokers for no longer contributing to health funding via tobacco tax revenue. It would be the dumbest policy ever conceived.
There is a tool on the SolarQuotes site that almost no one uses.
Not because it is hidden on purpose. Mostly because it is hard to stumble across.
If you’ve got a high-voltage stackable battery system and the DC cables between the battery and inverter don’t have mechanical protection, you’re not compliant with Australian standards and your systems could be classed as unsafe – and shut down.
This column explains why, and what the standard requires.
Margaux Parker, breakfast host on Triple M Brisbane, announced last week that she would rather pay ten dollars a litre for petrol than drive an electric car. She’d also had enough of smug EV drivers.
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