Battery storage
Solar battery storage for Victorian homes
Battery storage keeps the solar you generate during the day so you can use it at night, instead of exporting it for a few cents and buying it back at full price after dark.
That is the whole idea. Whether it is worth doing comes down to how much electricity you use in the evening, what your feed-in tariff is, and what you pay per kilowatt-hour — not to how large a battery you can fit.
Before you start
Does battery storage need solar first?
Yes, for the rebate. The federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program requires the battery to be installed alongside a solar PV system of no more than 100 kW — either one already on your roof, or one installed at the same time. A battery on its own can be installed, but it won’t attract the discount.
If you already have solar, the question we need to answer is whether your existing inverter can take a battery, or whether you need a hybrid inverter as part of the job. We check that before quoting rather than after.
Sizing
What size battery do you actually need?
The honest answer is that most Victorian homes need less than they think.
Work from your evening and overnight usage. A battery only earns its keep on the electricity it actually cycles — capacity that sits unused most nights is capacity you paid for and don’t recover.
There is a second reason not to oversize, and it is new this year. The federal certificates are tiered: the support is weighted heavily toward the first 14 kWh of usable capacity, tapers from 14 to 28 kWh, and is small above that. So the extra storage in a very large system is close to full price.
A bigger battery does not mean a bigger rebate. It means a bigger battery.
Equipment
Battery storage we install
We supply complete systems rather than loose parts — a hybrid inverter and battery matched as one package, because the two have to be compatible and it is the pairing that determines what the system can actually do.
FOXESS and GoodWe, in single-phase and three-phase, with inverters from 5 kW to 15 kW and storage from 16 kWh to 48 kWh, installed across Melbourne and regional Victoria.
Every battery storage system in our range includes backup capability and is grid-forming, which means it can keep working during an outage rather than shutting down with the network. What your switchboard allows is confirmed on site.
Compatibility
Single phase or three phase?
This is the question almost nobody can answer about their own house, and it is the one that decides what can be installed. A three-phase inverter cannot go on a single-phase supply.
You don’t need to know. It is on your switchboard, and we confirm it at the site assessment. Don’t let it stop you getting a recommendation.
Pricing
What it costs
Our complete battery storage systems run from around $9,100 to $22,100 before rebates, depending on inverter size, storage capacity and phase.
Those are indicative figures, not quotes. What you actually pay depends on your property, your switchboard, your network connection and which programs you qualify for. You receive a written quote after an assessment.
Battery savings calculator
See what a battery could save you
Three quick questions: a suggested battery size for your home, what the federal battery discount could be worth on it, and an estimate of your bill savings. Indicative, not a quote.
Will a battery run my whole house in a blackout?
It will run what you have nominated it to run, for as long as the stored energy lasts. Every system we supply is backup-capable, but what can be put on the backup circuit depends on your switchboard. That is a site-assessment question.
How long do they last?
Product warranties on the systems we supply run to 10 years. Real-world life depends on how hard the battery is cycled and the conditions it is installed in.
Can I add battery storage later?
The FOXESS systems stack in modules, so capacity can be added. There is a limit set by the inverter and the master unit, which we would talk through before you buy so the first system doesn’t box you in.
Do I have to join a virtual power plant?
No. To qualify for the federal discount a grid-connected battery has to be capable of joining one. Whether you actually join is your decision.
Is a battery worth it if I am not home during the day?
Often more so. If your solar is exporting all day while nobody is home, a battery is what lets you use it at night instead of selling it cheaply and buying it back.
Next step
Find the right battery storage for your home
Four questions about your property and we will show you a system that fits, with an indicative price and a smaller and larger option beside it.