The Future is Battery Storage

Australians have embraced energy efficiency and over the last few years. Almost 2 million homes have had solar power installed on their roof top, but now the industry and the Government are looking at ways to make solar power and our homes even more efficient, saving the investor money and helping to reduce residential emissions.

The energy sector is headed for a revolution and it will begin with the introduction of battery storage to Australian homes. These systems will be synchronised with existing solar systems, if unsuitable for solar it will connect to your energy meter and offset peak power consumption. This will transform the way we use energy in our homes, just as solar has. We will be able to store energy produced by our solar systems and use it in the evening, saving money by reducing the peak energy costs. 

Energy companies are already seeing the potential with Energy Australia and SPAusnet all with pilots in their networks. Aussie Solar’s TM5000 Battery Storage system has an extra feature which switches over and uses battery power during a blackout.

Making your home more energy efficient does make a huge difference, you will be saving money, you will be investing in a smarter way to utilise your solar power and the power you buy from the network will be reduced. You’re protected in a blackout and you will have power to selected appliances. Let’s not forget that your decision does impact on the environment by minimising your reliance on the network.

For more information about solar power and battery storage, visit our website.

Is Our Environment in the “Too Hard Basket”

When I was at school I learnt all about the environment, I tried my best to save the world from the harsh effects of the hole in the ozone layer, I was the proudest kid to be part of our school “Earth Keepers” program. This was 1987, before recycling bins, before “Clean Up Australia Day”, before “Climate Change”. We all changed our behaviours to “do the right thing”.

Fast forward to 2002 and the Environmental movement was stronger than ever, we have learnt about Climate Change, we started yet again to change our behaviours and over the next decade changed our homes accordingly. We became energy efficient, installed low energy lights, solar panels, solar hot water, fuel efficient cars, dug a vegetable patch and reduced our water usage.

In the last three years there has been little in the movement, nothing has progressed, no new solutions. Where has the leadership gone? Where are the people giving us advice on what we can do to make our environment a better place? In my opinion the next solution is Battery Storage, but there has been no information in main stream media.

According to the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) we should be aiming for a carbon neutral planet by 2050. It has taken 27 years to get this far, are we able to take our energy efficiency to the next level?

I know as a country we can, we just need the right leadership and information to make the changes required and step by step we will make this planet better.

For more information on the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report, click here to read the press release. 

Amber Ferguson

Why All Homes With Solar Will Consider Battery Storage

There are currently close to two million homes in Australia with solar power. We are all saving money, especially thanks to the generous state feed in tarrifs. What happens when the Feed in Tarrifs end, what about  solar customers on a net meter?

We will all be exploring the Battery Storage option.

Let me break it down,

With solar on a NET meter arrangement if you do not use the solar power during the day you will be exporting solar power to the network, this is throwing your money away. Example; if your at work and your home doesn’t consume the solar power to offset your bill then you send the solar power to the grid, the network (Endeavour, Essential or Asugrid) will pay you approx 0.08c per Kw Hr, but when your home and you use power from the grid in peak time the network will charge you anything from 0.25-0.44c per kw hr.
All customers that are currently on a gross meter arrangement and collecting the 0.60c will also need to change their meter to a NET meter in Jan 2017 when the NSW gross Feed in Tarrif expires.

Our advice to customer who have a gross metered solar system is, install a TM5000 with an additional 1.5kW Solar System on a NET Meter feeding solar power into the batteries. And your gross solar will be unaffected.

Or

Net solar customers can install the TM5000 and feed into the batteries. An additional Solar System can also be installed if more solar power is required.

Battery Storage has many benefits

• Storing and using your solar power onsite
• Blackout protection for selected circuits
• Load sharing during peak periods
• Advanced tariff management
• 7 pre-set modes for simple installation
• Generator input and start control
• 5kW, 10kW and 15kW storage systems available

The solar consumer is very much in control of their power, no longer reliant on the grid the possabilty of becoming independant from the grid is very real. Should the power companies start shaking in their boots? I wouldn’t imagine we could ever shake them up, but they too are looking at storage solutions to help regulate and protect their networks. SP Ausnet in Victoria & Ausgrid in NSW all with their own pilots on how storage can assist their networks indictes that we are all moving in the same direction.
Aussie Solar Installations have been installing the TM5000 Battery Storage system in  NSW and we are seeing many enquiries from all states. We would say at least 30% of our enquiries are regarding the battery storage solution and over the next 12 months this will become 50% of our business.

Customers who are looking to control their own energy should be investigating the TM5000.
For more product information go to our web site  

http://www.aussiesolar.com.au/tariff-management.html


Written by Aussie Solar Installation