Green Wedge

from HVAC&R Nation Summer 2020

by AIRAH

AIRAH News

SOAKING UP THE SUN

Just as solar panels are now the norm on top of Aussie homes, another piece of kit is becoming more common inside them.

The Tesla Powerwall 2. The Energizer Homepower.

Around four million Australian homes are predicted to have solar panels on their roofs by 2030. We already have the highest uptake of solar globally, with more than 21 per cent of homes fitted with rooftop PV systems.

Skyrocketing energy prices – growing by almost 120 per cent between 2008 and 2018 – and householders’ wishes to reduce their carbon footprint are boosting uptake.

This is all good news for the home battery storage market. Thanks to better technology, falling prices, and government rebates, a battery boom could be on the cards.

The quiet market segment started getting mainstream buzz when Tesla joined the party in 2015. CEO Elon Musk unveiled the Tesla Powerwall, part of the company’s grand vision to end our dependence on grid power and switch to solar energy. The Tesla Powerwall 2 is a rechargeable cobalt-based lithium battery boasting a 13.5kWh capacity (7kW peak/5kW continuous) that the company says is sufficient for daily cycle applications when fully charged. If required, you can stack up to nine units to expand capacity.

The Powerwall debuted in the US market at an astonishing US$3,000 (Au$4,253) and almost immediately sold out through to the middle of 2016. Setting up a unit in Australia would cost around Au$11,700.

Six months after Tesla claimed its 100,000th Powerwall installation, long-time battery maker Energizer announced the global launch of its first Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), Energizer Homepower, in October 2020.

The Energizer Homepower features a 6.1kWh capacity module that can connect up to three additional sub-units with a maximum total capacity of 24.4kWh. Like the Tesla system, Energizer Homepower comes with software that allows you to control your energy use and solar production in real time from anywhere in the world. In addition, the mobile app can guide your technician along a step-by-step installation sequence, which helps to reduce installation time.

For Australian solar users, the biggest draw of the Energizer announcement is probably the unit’s pricing, at $7,500–8,500. Depending on capacity and brand, a lithium-ion battery and hybrid inverter will typically cost between $8,000 and $15,000 to purchase and install.

The price is lower if you factor in government rebate schemes. For example, Victoria’s Home Solar Battery Rebate can take as much as $4,174 off the price.

So don’t be surprised when you spot a large white battery box on your next residential job – we’ll be seeing a lot more of them in the future. ■