The NSW Battery PRDS Incentive is Now Available
The NSW Battery PRDS Incentive is Now Available
Posted 1 Dec
If you are looking to invest in a battery for your home in Australia, you may be wondering what size battery is right for you and your house. Will be 10kWh be enough for my home?
As more solar owners invest in energy storage, we thought it would be helpful to explore elements that affect what battery brand, size, and type will be right for your energy requirements.
The right size battery will allow you to take full advantage of consuming excess solar that you generate, instead of expensive grid electricity. Battery storage is a great way to further reduce energy bills and push your home to greater energy independence.
The good news is that every Australian property has options that can allow you to save on your electricity bills whether it is with a battery, or simply changing your tariff plan.
Now is the perfect time to take advantage of battery storage as the NSW battery PDRS incentive is now available in New South Wales. This means you can save huge amounts on your first battery.
Finding the right battery for your home greatly depends on the amount of electricity your household consumes, and when you mostly consume it. Below are some generalised indicators of what size batteries households need based on their averaged consumption and production metrics.
*Based on consumption and time-of-use averages.
Each household will have different production and consumption amounts. For example, my one-person household consumes around 8-9kWh of energy per day on average, and my small solar system producing around 13kWh of energy per day.
Even on a ‘high usage’ day, I consumed 13.9kWh of energy, but my solar system produced 14.4kWh. Looking at the chart below, almost all of that 14.4kWh was fed back into the grid for little return which could have been better used to offset my consumption later.
In this situation, I would be benefited from installing a battery as the large majority of my electricity consumption is when the sun is down and solar isn’t producing. If your usage looks the same as this chart, it may be an indication to consider getting a battery too.
Tip: If your consumption is mainly during peak periods and battery storage just isn’t an option for you, consider looking into flat rate tariffs.
Whilst feeding solar energy back into the grid can still earn you credit on your bill, but there are other options that far outweigh the return rate. In situations where you get a battery, you could store the excess solar energy that would otherwise be sold back into the grid for cheap. Using this stored energy instead of using peak electricity prices for those on a time-of-use tariff, can help Australian properties reduce their electricity bill by avoiding high energy prices.
With an average consumption of around 8-9kWh daily, a 10kWh battery would ensure that I consume most, if not all my generated solar energy.
Households in Australia will vary in their consumption and production, so there generally isn’t a ‘one-size fits all’ in terms of battery storage capacity. However, identifying your energy usage habits can give you insight into how much energy capacity you’d need to fulfil your requirements.
By understanding your daily needs, you can implement a battery to allow your home to be solar powered 24/7.
If you were interested in joining Amber and selling excess energy capacity to the wholesale energy market during peak periods for rewards, this will also increase the required capacity. Note: if you install an expandable system like Sungrow or BYD, you can add modules to increase capacity in the future.
If one of your goals is to install a futureproof energy storage system, then there are a few aspects to consider. Firstly and most obviously, investing in a quality battery system will mean the difference between a short and long-lasting solution.
Secondly, investing in an expandable system will allow you to add modules and expand energy storage capacity in the future. Having a modular system can provide flexibility when your goal trajectory changes.
Your primary goal may be just to reduce the costs of your energy bill. Whilst there are a few ways of achieving this, the simplest way to save is to use your solar energy as the main energy source and use the grid as a backup. This is called a microgrid.
The other method is joining Amber SmartShift to automatically trade on the wholesale energy market to earn up to $19/kWh during price spikes. This accelerates the payback period of your battery investment.
Lastly, investing in battery storage gives homes in Australia greater energy independence. This method of maximising your solar energy allows you to store and consume the energy YOU generate 24/7.
By having free energy stored for when you most need it, you are less vulnerable to fluctuating peak electricity prices. No more generators or playing board games in the dark.
By producing, storing, and consuming your own power, you stay in control of costs
Depending on the battery size that you need, there are a few options that may consider.
There are some strong battery models to pick from around the sub-10kWh capacity.
Sungrow’s SBR has 2 options under 10kWh, a 6.4 kWh option (SBR064), and a 9.6 kWh option (SBR096). BYD also has an 8.3 kWh option in
their HVM series.
Batteries around the 10 kWh mark seem to be the sweet spot for most homes. Battery options around 10 kWh is Tesla Powerwall which sits at 13.5 kWh of capacity. Sungrow and BYD also have options in this capacity bracket with HVM series sitting at 11 kWh and 13.8 kWh options, Sungrow SBR series at 12.8 kWh, and Sungrow SBH series option (SBH100) which sits at exactly 10 kWh.
All 3 brands mentioned have ways of achieving 15 kWh + capacity options. Sungrow and BYD can be expanded to
over 15 kWh with BYD reaching up to 22.1 kWh on a stack, Sungrow SBR reaching 25.6 kWh, and Sungrow SBH reaching 40 kWh.
|
Single Stack Capacity |
Multiple Units in Parallel Capacity |
|
| Tesla Powerwall 2 | 13.5 kWh | Up to 10 units |
| Tesla Powerwall 3 | 13.5 kWh | Up to 4 units |
| Sungrow SBR064 | 6.4 kWh | Up to 4 units |
| Sungrow SBR096 | 9.6 kWh | |
| Sungrow SBR128 | 12.8 kWh | |
| Sungrow SBR160 | 16.0 kWh | |
| Sungrow SBR192 | 19.2 kWh | |
| Sungrow SBR224 | 22.4 kWh | |
| Sungrow SBR256 | 25.6 kWh | |
| Sungrow SBH100 | 10 kWh | 4 units in Parallel (160 kWh) |
| Sungrow SBH150 | 15 kWh | |
| Sungrow SBH200 | 20 kWh | |
| Sungrow SBH250 | 25 kWh | |
| Sungrow SBH300 | 30 kWh | |
| Sungrow SBH350 | 35 kWh | |
| Sungrow SBH400 | 40 kWh | |
| BYD Battery-Box HVM 8.3 | 8.3 kWh | 3 units in Parallel (65 kWh) |
| BYD Battery-Box HVM 11.0 | 11.0 kWh | |
| BYD Battery-Box HVM 13.8 | 13.8 kWh | |
| BYD Battery-Box HVM 16.6 | 16.6 kWh | |
| BYD Battery-Box HVM 19.3 | 19.3 kWh | |
| BYD Battery-Box HVM 22.1 | 22.1 kWh | |
NSW residents can save on their first battery through the Peak Demand Reduction Scheme.
Whilst most homes and businesses in NSW can greatly benefit from battery storage, there are situations where a battery investment actually
doesn’t make any sense. Whilst there are lots of other variables, here are a few reasons on why a battery might not make sense to
invest in:
Items like air conditioning and pool pumps are high consumption appliances that contribute to your energy costs.
You can use a combination of timers for off-peak consumption and direct solar to help offset the usage costs.
If your energy bill is already naturally low, then solar feed-in-tariffs may be enough itself to reduce your bill by a certain amount.
Whilst you could benefit from a battery, without joining Amber it may take a long time to pay itself off.
If you consume a large portion of your energy throughout the day, then a solar-only system may be sufficient and reducing what your bill
would otherwise be. You’ll need to make sure your solar can produce enough power to fulfill your energy requirements.
Explore the now available NSW Battery Storage Incentive, and save on your first battery today!
Even though there are many variables that can affect the ideal battery capacity for you and your requirements, these elements should help indicate what range to look for. When you talk to your local installer, don't be afraid to ask questions about the components they choose!
If you're still unsure about what battery to pick, our team provide free consulting and quoting for homes and businesses looking at getting battery storage in the Newcastle and Hunter region. If you'd like to contact your local professionals, feel free to reach out. Our team would love to have a chat.
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