Posts By SolarQuotes Founder Finn Peacock

Australia Is The World’s Cruellest Battery Test Lab

A battery in a heatwave

If you wanted to design the world’s harshest endurance test for home batteries, you wouldn’t build a lab. You’d build a normal Australian suburb. [Read more…]

When Nobody Designs Anything Anymore

opinions expressed about a solar quoteThis post is about a choice most people do not realise they are making.

Four Battery Backup Myths That Need To Die

A man reading by candlelightFifteen years ago, one of the hardest parts of selling solar was explaining why your panels shut down in a blackout. No grid meant no power, even on a sunny day.

Today, batteries fix that. Yet I am seeing thousands of homes getting large batteries with either no backup at all or poorly designed backup. That’s because – as batteries go mainstream – a set of myths has taken hold.

Let’s knock them over.

[Read more…]

The Feed-In Tariff Is Dead. Long Live the Feed-In Tariff.

people crowded around a batteryFor years, solar owners had it easy. You looked for the highest solar feed-in tariff. You checked the usage rate and the daily charge were not silly. You picked the winning tariff and moved on.

That world is gone.

[Read more…]

The Rebate Paid for Battery Brawn, Not Brains

dumb battery

Big batteries are going in fast. Too many are being left dumb, unsupported, and unable to earn their keep.

I was on ABC Adelaide this week to talk about the battery rebate. First question was easy. Has it been popular?

Hell yes.

Roughly 150,000 batteries in six months. That is a staggering number.

[Read more…]

How To Integrate Air Conditioning With Solar

An air conditioner and a solar panelIf you want to control your air conditioner properly with solar, it helps to understand how the thing actually works. As an ex-control systems engineer, this is right up my alley. Let’s break it down.

[Read more…]

Supersize Me: The Rise of the McBattery

A man being served a battery at a fast food placeAussies love big things.

After the rebate, battery systems are heading the same way. [Read more…]

Is Enphase On A Highway To Hell, Or Back In Black?

An AC/DC concertI went to the AC/DC PWR UP! gig in Adelaide last weekend. There are two ways to look at that show.

We Don’t Do PR. Sorry For The Confusion.

A man being censoredThere’s a long-running problem with running SolarQuotes1. When you write about smart ideas or gear that works well, the phones light up. Manufacturers call to say thanks. They invite you to factories. They offer free gear to test and keep. They love the spotlight when it suits them.

[Read more…]

Sigenergy’s Hot Streak Was Not Meant To Be This Hot

A Sigenergy system flying towards the sunSigenergy has spent the year talking big. Fast growth. Innovative tech. A cheer squad of consumers and industry commentators that treats any doubt as a personal slight. That mood set the stage for what we are seeing now.

[Read more…]

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