Labor’s Cheaper Home Batteries Program only begins in July, but a promise that Australians can get a battery now and claim the rebate later has triggered a rush on installers. There’s just one problem: the rebate technically doesn’t exist yet, and neither does the fine print. Here’s why you should tread carefully.
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Rushing Into The Battery Rebate: Careful, We Haven’t Seen The Fine Print
Shade Happens: When Autumn Shadows Creep Across Your Solar
As we get deeper into autumn, the days are growing short and the shadows are growing longer — which is bad news for your solar if a massive palm tree happens to be positioned in the wrong spot. Here’s how an array set up in one season can be set up to fail for another.
Wiring Wrangles: How Power And Data Make Electricians Bicker
SolarQuotes recently detailed the fairly difficult installation of a home EV charger and sure enough, the electricians turned up in the comments section to start arguing about it.
Read on while we explain that you don’t always have to put data cable in its own pipe.
We Can’t Let Labor’s Battery Cash Cause A Grid Crash
There’s plenty of understandable excitement about Labor’s Cheaper Home Batteries Program election pitch. What I’m not so excited about is subsidising a wave of suburban survival-of-the-fittest types to disconnect from a grid that urgently needs more storage.
Solar Analytics Users Plagued By Dropouts
Solar Analytics has long offered some of the best energy monitoring software on the market, but some customers recently have been plagued by dropouts and poor customer support. We’ve investigated to see what’s going on.
Off Grid in the ‘Burbs? That’s FreeDumb
Every week without fail we see multiple comments, quotes or exasperated exclamations along these lines;
“BUGGER THIS; I’M GOING OFF GRID..!”
It’s a natural reaction to a nasty power bill and expresses a desire to be independent and free of obligation. But becoming your own power company is expensive, fraught with risk and really doesn’t make sense.
Brand Name, Botched Game: Cheap Installs Of Quality Solar
Solar panels don’t keep working into the night, and neither should solar installers.
Ever heard an installer promise a premium brand of solar panel, battery or inverter for an absolute bargain? As the old saying goes: if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Here’s why good quality gear doesn’t always mean a good quality job.
Cheap Solar Ads: Watch Out For The Spin
We’ve all seen the adverts on TV with used cricketers flogging cheap solar, but have you considered who’s boosting who?
Is it the retailer using the credibility of respected personalities; or are washed-up sports stars just getting their face on TV after retirement?
Off-Grid EV Charging: Here’s How To Make It Work
For those with experience living with remote area power, you’ll know every watt counts, especially in winter.
If you want an EV, then you’ll almost certainly need more solar, and the best available management for charging the new car.
How a Simple Contactor Can Improve Your Battery Backup
Modest hybrid inverters are sometimes oversold by salespeople or romanticised by customers. Their ability to back up your house in a blackout can be limited by capacity and wiring constraints.
If you have awkward house wiring and an older, smaller, cheaper hybrid, we may have an answer to get you backup throughout the house.
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