{"id":94523,"date":"2025-09-15T06:07:06","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T20:37:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=94523"},"modified":"2025-09-15T06:07:06","modified_gmt":"2025-09-14T20:37:06","slug":"home-battery-basics-mb3269","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/home-battery-basics-mb3269\/","title":{"rendered":"Home Battery Basics: Fundamentals You Need To Know"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"youtube-wrapper\"><iframe title=\"How Home Batteries Work: A Beginner&#039;s Guide\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/84HJEpunQrg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Don&#8217;t go in blind when buying a solar battery \u2014 first understand these important fundamentals to help ensure you get the system you want (and need).<!--more--><\/p>\n<h2>Battery Power Vs. Energy<\/h2>\n<p>When selecting a battery, both its power and its energy need to be specified. To help easily understand the difference, let&#8217;s use an analogy of a tank that&#8217;s &#8216;filled&#8217; with electricity through a pipe.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-94525\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/battery-tank-filling.jpg\" alt=\"A home battery as a tank - analogy\" width=\"697\" height=\"396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/battery-tank-filling.jpg 697w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/battery-tank-filling-300x170.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 697px) 100vw, 697px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Power<\/h3>\n<p>The size of the pipe into the tank determines how fast the tank can fill (charge), or be emptied (discharge). A tank with a skinny pipe will fill or empty more slowly (low-power ) than one with a large pipe \u2014 a high-power battery.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-94526\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/high-low-power.jpg\" alt=\"High and low power batteries.\" width=\"900\" height=\"320\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/high-low-power.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/high-low-power-300x107.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/high-low-power-768x273.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A battery&#8217;s power is measured in kilowatts (kW).<\/p>\n<h3>Energy<\/h3>\n<p>But how big a battery is (the capacity of its tank) is determined by its kilowatt-<b>hours<\/b> (kWh) rating. The &#8220;hours&#8221; distinguishes energy from power.<\/p>\n<h3>Power And Energy Together<\/h3>\n<p>As an example, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/battery-storage\/reviews\/tesla-powerwall-3-review.html\">Tesla Powerwall 3<\/a> is a 13.5 kWh, 10 kW battery.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>It stores 13.5 kWh of energy.<\/li>\n<li>It can discharge that energy at a maximum rate of 10 kW (power).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Some household loads may consume significant amounts of *energy* over an extended period, but also require a lot of *power* throughout, or at points during that period. For example, a large ducted air-conditioner as it cycles or a pool pump (very briefly) as it starts up.<\/p>\n<p>So, if your aim is to minimise electricity from the mains grid, you also need to think about power and not just energy.<\/p>\n<h2>Battery Chemistry<\/h2>\n<p>10 years ago, if you wanted home battery storage, it would be based on lead-acid chemistry. You&#8217;d have a lot of these batteries, and they would require routine maintenance. These were mostly used by off-gridders.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-94527\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/lead-acid-batteries.jpg\" alt=\"Lead-acid batteries.\" width=\"650\" height=\"330\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/lead-acid-batteries.jpg 650w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/lead-acid-batteries-300x152.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>But 2015 saw the dawn of the lithium-ion residential energy storage age, which offered:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Better performance.<\/li>\n<li>Zero maintenance.<\/li>\n<li>Set-and-forget operation apart from an electrical checkup every few years.<\/li>\n<li>Longer lasting batteries.<\/li>\n<li>Cheaper per kilowatt-hour discharge.<\/li>\n<li>They don&#8217;t need their own shed!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Given the advantages, it&#8217;s little wonder lithium-ion tech blasted past lead-acid for residential energy storage, with the latter mostly being the domain of die-hard off-gridders these days.<\/p>\n<h3>The Main Chemistries: NMC And LFP<\/h3>\n<p>There are different types of lithium-ion chemistries, with the most common currently being:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>NMC &#8211; Nickel Manganese Cobalt<\/li>\n<li>LFP &#8211; Lithium-Iron Phosphate (aka LiFePO4)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>LFP batteries are generally regarded as safer in terms of thermal runaway (catching fire) risk than NMC. However, SolarQuotes founder Finn Peacock says:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;I will stress any well-installed battery from a major manufacturer is safe. I&#8217;ve got NMC batteries on my house and I sleep fine at night.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>Connecting A Home Battery And Solar<\/h2>\n<p>Batteries store Direct Current (DC) electricity, and solar panels produce DC electricity. The cheapest and simplest way to hook up a battery to your home and solar system is via DC coupling. This only requires one inverter \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/battery-storage\/hybrid-inverter-comparison\/\">a hybrid inverter<\/a> \u2014 to convert the DC current into AC electricity suitable for use by appliances in your home, or export to the grid.<\/p>\n<p>But you&#8217;re generally locked into whatever models the hybrid inverter is compatible with.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-94529\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/battery-hybrid-inverter.png\" alt=\"Battery and hybrid inverter compatibility\" width=\"900\" height=\"458\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/battery-hybrid-inverter.png 900w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/battery-hybrid-inverter-300x153.png 300w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/battery-hybrid-inverter-768x391.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>For greater choice, that&#8217;s where AC coupling comes into play; which requires separate battery and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/inverters\/\">solar inverters<\/a>. However, while providing a greater range of storage solutions, the AC coupling approach also costs significantly more.<\/p>\n<h2>Batteries And Electricity Plans<\/h2>\n<p>If you&#8217;re on a flat-rate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/energy\/\">electricity plan<\/a> where the cost per kilowatt-hour for grid electricity doesn&#8217;t change no matter the time of day, the battery simply charges up from your solar panels during the day and it&#8217;s used instead of grid power overnight until discharged.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re on a time-of-use (ToU) plan where grid electricity is usually significantly more expensive from 4pm to midnight and cheaper at other times, things should work a little differently.<\/p>\n<p>While the battery will still charge from your solar panels during the day, it can also charge from cheap daytime electricity when there&#8217;s not enough solar to fill it \u2014 such as during winter, overcast days or when a solar system&#8217;s output is being used for charging an electric car. It can even charge up again after midnight on cheaper off-peak rates.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;But this behaviour is dependent on good battery control software,&#8221; says Finn. &#8220;Watch out for the cheap, &#8216;dumb&#8217; batteries that don&#8217;t have the software to do this, and watch out for inexperienced installers who won&#8217;t configure your battery to save you the most money.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>More Information<\/h2>\n<p>If you&#8217;re keen on further detail, see Finn&#8217;s full guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/101-guides\/understanding-batteries\/\">understanding home batteries<\/a>, and its companion guides on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/101-guides\/buying-batteries\/\">buying<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/101-guides\/owning-batteries\/\">owning<\/a> solar batteries. To see how various home energy storage solutions available in Australia stack up side-by-side on power, energy, features and price, see our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/battery-storage\/comparison-table\/\">home battery comparison page<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>And when you&#8217;re ready to get quotes for good batteries that are properly installed and configured by installers who care, SolarQuotes can organise up to 3 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/quote\/\">quotes<\/a> from trusted, pre-vetted installers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Don&#8217;t go in blind when buying a solar battery \u2014 first understand these important fundamentals to help ensure you get the system you want (and need).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":94524,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[551],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-94523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-battery-storage","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Home Battery Basics: Fundamentals You Need To Know<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Before buying a solar battery, understand these important fundamentals to help 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