Last week I went to Intersolar Europe in Munich, and the first thing to tell you is the scale (watch my video above to get a real feel for the exhibition).
Three Free Hours: A Tale Of Three Batteries
Free power windows arrive for most Australians on July 1. If you own a battery, you probably want to configure it to take advantage, and fill it for free, from the grid.
But your battery will not do this on its own. Out of the box, it has no clue your free window exists. Somebody has to open the app and tell it, and that somebody is you.
[Read more…]
Read The One-Star Reviews First
Last week someone asked on Facebook whether he should proceed with a particular installer.
“Has anyone dealt with this company? I can’t find out much about them.”
Free Standards: Great Idea, Wrong Fix.
The government just committed $42.7 million of your money to solve a problem a not-for-profit could fix itself tomorrow for zero tax dollars.
Let me tell you about Standards Australia.
Switchboard Roulette: The Risk Hiding Behind Big Batteries
My first proper job was at a nuclear power station. If you wanted to change anything you started with a drawing.
You marked the change up in red. An engineer reviewed it. The drawing office turned the red ink into real drawings. The work was done to that drawing. Someone checked the install against the markup, and signed off the drawing ‘as-built’.
The Truth About ‘AI-Powered’ Home Batteries
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.
[Read more…]
The 2 Most Important Stickers In Solar
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…]
Cold Snap, Hot Mess: Fox ESS in an Australian Winter
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…]
Smart Energy Day 2: A Senator, a Silent Disco, and a New-Rebate Sized Battery
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…]
Smart Energy 2026 Day 1: A Billionaire, a Group Hug, and an Illegal Battery
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…]
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