You’ve taken the first step on your clean energy journey and installed solar panels on your home. What’s next? For many homeowners, a battery seems like a logical next step. But does it make economic sense? Can it take you off-grid – and is that even a good idea? And how do you go about selecting the right battery for your home?
The critical question to ask is, ‘are you sending any power back to the grid unnecessarily?’, says Chris Williams, CEO and Founder of Natural Solar.
Natural Solar is Australia’s largest solar battery installer and a Tesla Powerwall Certified Installer.
“The whole purpose behind a battery is to capture excess solar generation during the day and store it for later,” Chris says.
Knowledge is power
Depending on the size of your solar system and your power usage throughout the day, a battery can save you more than you might earn through feed-in tariffs.
Chris has noticed that many customers see their usage go down, mostly thanks to the Tesla app and the ability to monitor and manage your power usage in real-time.
“A lot of it comes down to education. Customers become more engaged with how much energy is being used and when they’re using it. This awareness can lead to a change in behaviour and because of that, they can end up using less power.”
Getting off the grid?
Many solar users are curious about disconnecting from the power grid and becoming completely self-powered. Still, it’s not always practical, as Chris explains.
“Can you get your electricity bill down to zero, or get to a situation where you’re not drawing power from the grid? It’s possible, but we wouldn’t guarantee it.“It’s about ensuring you’ve got enough excess throughout the day, and sizing the battery appropriately. Some houses may need two batteries. We even see some big houses with six.”
But a grid connection is an excellent backup to your solar system and there’s no extra cost.
Solar Power – Use it or lose it
Solar panels do a great job of powering your home during the day, but that’s when most households use the least energy. Adding a battery to your system can help you get the best value from your investment and provide added security with backup protection during an outage.
So what next?
Adding a battery to your solar system can help you get the best value from your investment.
Customers with an eligible CommBank home or investment home loan can use the CommBank Green Loan to purchase a home battery. The loan offers customers a low secured fixed rate over 10 years and you can use it to buy and install up to $20,000 worth of eligible clean energy products, including a Tesla Powerwall.
To find out more, including what you need to consider before choosing an installer, visit the Clean Energy Council’s website. Explore more stories and insights on our Sustainability Hub.
The views expressed in this article are solely those of Chris Williams, CEO and Founder of Natural Solar
