Posts By SolarQuotes Founder Finn Peacock

The Six Biggest Myths About Battery Storage

March 29, 2018 2018-03-29T13:17:26 by 161 Comments
finn's battery system - energy storage myths

If you are buying a solar battery – go in with your eyes wide open.

I’ve been publishing thoughts on the solar industry since 2009. And since Tesla announced their Powerwall battery to great media hype in May 2015, a lot of those thoughts have concerned batteries.

Unfortunately, a lot of the facts I’ve published about batteries, their economics and their environmental impacts have not gone down well with some parts of the solar industry, generally the parts that have bet their future on selling lots of batteries in the short to medium term. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Battery Storage

Tesla Says Powerwall 2’s Return Will Be 8-15%. Really?

April 11, 2017 2024-10-01T10:41:42 by 55 Comments
powerwall spruiker

Is it reasonable to expect a “8-15% return on investment” on a Powerwall 2?

Last month, Lyndon Rive, Tesla’s Vice President for Energy Products, stood up in front of a large group of people, including me, and promised the Powerwall 2 will deliver a return between 8% and 15%. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Battery Storage Tagged With: , ,

Will it be illegal to install a single phase Powerwall 2 from Thursday?

March 26, 2017 2024-10-01T10:34:06 by 91 Comments

Unless your local electricity network provides a local variation to a new Australian Standard that becomes mandatory on Thursday, it may be illegal to install a Powerwall 2 plus solar on a single phase. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Battery Storage Tagged With: ,

Billionaire’s Gambit – Why we should accept Musk’s offer.

March 14, 2017 2017-04-18T14:40:15 by 44 Comments

deal

Last Thursday in a trendy re-purposed Substation near Melbourne, Elon Musk’s cousin Lyndon Rive claimed he could solve SA’s energy woes in 100 days.

How?

By installing 100-300MWh of batteries.

Big Call.

A day later, via Twitter, Aussie tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes asks Musk if he’s serious about “100MW1” of batteries in 100 days. Musk wagers he’ll deliver and install them in 100 days or it’s free. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Battery Storage Tagged With: ,

Happy Christmas From The Crew At SolarQuotes

December 23, 2016 2018-05-09T09:08:25 by 3 Comments
santa and tesla sleigh

Look what Santa got for Christmas.

From all of us here at SolarQuotes® : John, Rob, Jono, Ronald, Claudio, Chantel, Margherita, Bec and Finn, have a great Christmas under your LED and solar powered Christmas lights.

See you next week, with a turkey sandwich and a post rounding up what happened in Australian Solar Land during 2016.

 

 

Filed Under: Solar Panels Tagged With:

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

November 25, 2016 2024-10-01T10:42:42 by 79 Comments
powerwall 2 spec

The full spec and warranty of the Powerwall 2 reveal a cost per warranted kWh almost half that of its nearest rival.

[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: 5kW steady, 7kW Peak

Price: AUD$8,000 + GST and Installation

But there were lots of questions over the exact configuration and warranty details that could make or break Tesla’s shiny new battery. Most of these questions have now been answered.

Here’s what the new specs reveal: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Battery Storage Tagged With: , ,

Why over hyping batteries hurts the solar industry.

October 18, 2016 2017-04-18T15:28:49 by 1 Comment

I feel so strongly about this that I though I’d shout at a video camera about it for 7 minutes. Hit me up in the comments if you think I’m being too harsh.

Filed Under: Battery Storage Tagged With:

Going off grid with Redflow’s ZCell? Here’s how to handle the ‘maintenance purge’.

August 25, 2016 2017-04-18T17:25:18 by 13 Comments
simon and 2 batteries

Simon Hackett with an early customer’s double Zcell off grid system.

Yesterday, Aussie solar veteran Tony Smith left an interesting question at the bottom of our ZCell battery review. Tony asked, for an off grid application, how to handle the fact that the ZCell battery needs to shut down so it can perform maintenance mode every week or so: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Battery Storage Tagged With: ,

Keith De Lacy Is Not Right About Solar And Wind Power – Not Here, Not Anywhere

June 27, 2016 2017-04-18T18:01:05 by 26 Comments
article

A response to Keith De Lacey’s article in the Australian last week.

The Australian recently published an opinion piece by the Director of an oil shale company and former Chairman of Macarthur Coal, entitled, “Solar And Wind Power Simply Don’t Work – Not Here, Not Anywhere“.

This was surprising because the solar panels above my head are producing electricity right now.  And since I know exactly how much I paid for them I know they are definitely economically worthwhile. Also, because I know exactly how much the STCs I received as part of Australia’s Renewable Energy Target were worth I know the rooftop solar system would still pay for itself even without subsidy. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Policy Tagged With:

LG Chem Resu 6.4Ex vs Tesla Powerwall

April 18, 2016 2022-11-02T14:47:41 by 23 Comments
LG resu 6.4ex and a powerwall

How does the LG Resu compare to the Tesla Powerwall?

If you are looking at a 6.4kWh Lithium-Ion battery for use with your solar power system in Australia right now, you are probably tossing up between a LG Chem Resu 6.4Ex and the Tesla Powerwall.

To help you decide which one is for you – here is a side by side comparison, and some commentary on their warranties below. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Battery Storage Tagged With: , , ,
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