CleanNRG

Solar Battery Storage – is it worth it and how not to get ripped off!

Recently we were approached by a concerned customer who received a letter in their letterbox titled:

“Want to store and use your valuable solar energy at night”.

Answer: Most people would of course shout ‘YES!’ from the rooftops, but here is where things start to smell a little fishy. The letter then proceeds to explain that “most homeowners still believe that solar batteries retail at $10,000 – $12,000”. This is true if the solar battery storage system is around 8-13kWh (for example the Tesla Powerwall 2 is a 13.2kWh solar battery), which is sized accordingly to suit most Perth homes.

This particular retailer (let’s call them Company A), claiming to be “Perth’s largest solar battery retailer”, is offering a 1.2kWh solar battery storage bundle for “only $5,499”. A 1.2kWh solar battery is a tenth of what most homes need.

So, you ask, what is wrong with this picture and why is this not quite adding up?

There are a few issues here:

  1. The cost – The price quoted by Company A is hugely inflated. At Clean NRG Solar, we have done our own in-house calculations and as a Clean Energy Council Approved Solar Retailer we would quote this exact system with an RRP of $3,999.
  2. Payback time -The retailer claims the daily savings with this solar Battery storage solution is: $1.50/day which = $547/year.

We have crunched the numbers and the savings are in fact .22c/day which = $80/year.

Leaving a payback time of (drum roll please) 68 years!

  1. The output – or amount of power this battery storage solution generates is, to put it delicately, tiny. What we would call this within the industry is a “microsystem”. Consider this, in simple terms system of this capacity, would run 3 x 75 Watt light globes for 4 hours – that’s it, nothing else.
  2. Blackouts – Last but certainly not least, one of the best benefits of having a solar battery in your home is for backup power to be available in the event of a blackout. This particular battery storage package quoted by Company A does not function at all in a blackout.

In summary – buyers beware and always choose a Clean Energy Council Approved Solar Retailer.

So is solar battery storage worth it?

Provided that a system is sized accordingly to your energy usage patterns and purchased from a Clean Energy Council Approved Retailer Solar battery storage is worth it for some homes and businesses in Perth.

  • Working families, in particular, would benefit the most from solar battery storage, or any household that can’t use their power during the day.
  • Those who would like to guard themselves against blackouts are also good candidates for solar battery storage in Perth, however as mentioned earlier, not all systems have this feature. Please choose carefully.
  • Lastly, for those who have a (to put it politely) ‘intense dislike’ for power companies. Why? Because there is no doubt that solar battery storage will dramatically reduce or in some cases completely eliminate your power bills.