With debate raging about the affordable end of the battery market, a fortuitous press release hit my inbox recently.

Can you get a system that offers full backup of synchronous 3 phase loads at an affordable price point? I’m pleased to report that yes, the GoodWe ESA series has now been CEC approved and will be rolling out from late March.
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Solar battery installers will face new requirements starting in March, as Clean Energy Regulator (CER) inspections ramp up amid a surging home battery market. Nearly two-thirds of home batteries inspected to date have fallen foul of the regulator (usually related to labelling issues), with 0.9% found to be unsafe.

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Norrie is a long-time reader who just spent $8,300 on a home battery. The install looked tidy. The installers were pleasant. Then the surprises landed after they were gone. He was told only one circuit could be backed up. Not the fridge and lights together. Not the air conditioner and lights. One. He was also told that in a blackout he must go outside to the switchboard and pull a lever to get power. None of this had been mentioned beforehand. He now feels stitched up and is wondering whether he has any recourse.

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After 17+ years experiencing the ebb and flow of the solar industry, the sheer number of new battery brands available right now is mind boggling.

To me the only thing more confusing is this; why do people peg their expectations so low when they see a rock bottom price?

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FranklinWH are busy making themselves a compelling reputation for Australian customers.

So should you consider one for your place? Yes, if it’s an AC coupled solution you need.

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Good news for battery customers in New South Wales – you can now join the rest of the country, installing battery systems within 600mm of garage door openings and other similar applications.

What exactly does this mean? Simply that NSW has now adopted the pragmatic approach everyone else takes to interpreting the rules.

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The rush to get large home batteries before the federal rebate is restructured has seen many reputable battery installers booked out through to May, when the changes to the Cheaper Home Battery Program come into force.

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There’s a strange certainty creeping into battery talk lately. The idea that DC coupling is the grown-up option, and AC coupling is something we did back when we didn’t know any better. I keep seeing installers and Facebook pundits claiming the only proper way to attach a battery to a house is with a DC-coupled system. Anything else is framed as inefficient, messy, a historical mistake or just deeply uncool.

I don’t get it.

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The Clean Energy Regulator (CER) has revealed it warned manufacturers and installers to provide early notification of product risks, after reviewing the spate of melted Sigenergy inverter plugs last year.

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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…]