With the end of microinverter manufacturer Enecsys in early 2015, so ended the company’s online monitoring platform, leaving Enecsys system owners without any way to monitor their system’s output data. Two years […]
Category: Solar System Products
Solar Choice blog articles and reviews about components for solar power systems, including solar inverters, solar cells, solar modules, and solar batteries.
How much can you really save with ‘selective export’ of solar & battery energy?
Now that solar feed-in tariff rates are so low across the country, there’s little reason for a solar system owner to send their energy back into the grid, as they […]
‘No more energy bills’ with solar? Buyer beware
Rooftop solar panels are a fantastic investment in Australia, but be realistic in your expectations “Eliminate your energy bills!” is a phrase – sometimes used in solar sales pitches – that […]
Is home solar battery storage a good match and your energy consumption habits?
Each household uses different amounts of electricity in different patterns throughout the day. Some consumption patterns are more conducive to battery storage as an investment, and knowing your consumption habits […]
New smart meter from carbonTRACK to benefit households, bolster grid resilience
Australian home energy management system developer carbonTRACK has announced the launch of an ‘intelligent smart meter’ that promises to benefit households, electricity retailers and grid operators alike. For end users, the […]
Aquion Energy files for chapter 11 bankruptcy
US ‘saltwater’ battery manufacturer Aquion Energy has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to a press release issued by the company overnight. Chapter 11 bankruptcy, sometimes referred to as ‘reorganisation’ […]
WINAICO solar panels in Australia
WINAICO Solar is a high-end solar PV panel manufacturer that puts an emphasis on the quality and reliability of its products. The WINAICO module range includes models for residential, commercial, […]
Electricity demand tariffs in Australia – How to handle them
If you hear the words ‘Demand Tariffs’ and start scratching your head, don’t worry – you’re not alone. In this article, we’ll examine what demand tariffs are and how to deal […]
Believe the Hype: Australia’s Battery Market set to skyrocket
For quite some time I’d dismissed the hype about the attractiveness of installing grid-connected batteries in Australia. Yes, everyone loves the idea of energy independence, and would love to give […]
Batteries with benefits: How Reposit Power customers are maximising battery value
Reposit Power is an Australian battery technology company whose name has become synonymous with battery storage value maximisation. The company’s software does two important things for homes with battery storage […]
The heat wave sent spot market prices soaring: What does it mean for solar?
Wholesale electricity prices on Australia’s eastern seaboard went through the roof this past weekend as homes as businesses pumped their air conditioners in an attempt to stave off the brutal […]
Tesla’s Powerwall 2 in Australia: Advice for shoppers
Tesla leapfrogged its competitors last year with the announcement of its new generation of battery storage product: Powerwall 2. Tesla’s Powerwall 2 is a more powerful and sophisticated version of […]
CATCH Power – A solar diverter made for the Aussie market
CATCH Power is an Australian company who say they have crafted a solar diverter perfectly tailored to Australian market conditions. By March this year, the company will offer four different versions of […]
Solar battery storage in Melbourne, Vic: Compare prices & installers
As prices fall, a growing number of Melbourne households are becoming interested in installing battery storage for solar energy. It is now possible to compare battery storage installers and prices in […]
Zhongli Talesun’s solar panels in Australia
Zhongli Talesun is one of the largest solar panel manufacturers in the world, with a 28 year history in the solar industry. The company offers solar modules for a range […]
Should you oversize Solar Panels to your Inverter? Pros and Cons explained
After numerous questions about the relationship between solar panel power and inverter power, I decided to put together this blog post. Now logically, if you have (say) 3,000 Watts of solar […]
A comparison of home energy management systems in Australia
Solar PV systems are already commonplace and affordable in Australia, and battery storage is getting there quickly as well. Increasingly, Australia’s solar homes are looking for ways to maximise the […]
Solar battery storage in Canberra, ACT
Battery storage for residential solar energy is becoming increasingly popular in Australia – including in Canberra, ACT. If you’re a Canberra resident looking to install a battery storage system for […]
Let’s talk about ‘energy throughput’: Should it replace battery ‘cycle life’?
Australians households are fairly solar-savvy lot. With a solar panel for every human being in the country, Australia is a world leader in solar uptake, and there’s tons of information online […]
Power vs energy in home battery storage systems
Different battery storage products have different specifications and capabilities, making them better or less well-suited for various applications. In this article we’ll talk about ‘power batteries’ vs ‘energy batteries’ – […]
Battery storage take-up in Australia to snowball forward
A NSW-based community solar and battery storage bulk buy program has been so successful that the promoters believe the battery storage sector may be in the early stages of mass-market […]
Why depth of discharge matters in solar battery storage system selection
Depth of discharge (DoD) is one of the key figures to keep in mind when selecting batteries for a solar energy system. What is depth of discharge and how should […]
How Trump could be great for battery storage
Deutsche Bank has described the global battery market as being at an inflection point, with global consumption expected to treble from 70Gwh in 2015 to 210GWh by 2018, and then […]
BYD Battery: An Independent Review by Solar Choice
Background on BYD – Company History BYD’s size, reputation and experience help to make the B-Box a potentially attractive option for anyone considering batteries for home energy storage. In addition […]
Solar and battery energy storage in Perth, WA
Approximately 25-30% of the homes in the Perth area have solar PV systems on their roofs according to the APVI – many of these households are interested in installing a […]
Battery storage could seriously disrupt fossil fuel industry: Report
A new report from global credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings has warned that battery storage is showing serious potential to “displace current technology far more rapidly than anticipated.” The report, […]
Is Tesla’s Powerwall 2 the cheapest lithium battery for homes?
Tesla is selling second generation lithium-ion batteries at retail prices that are cheaper than the average manufacturing cost at most companies, setting a pace for the industry that is beating […]
Proposed tariff would keep solar households connected to the grid
Australia’s main network lobby hopes to encourage more than one million households with solar and storage to stay connected to the main networks, rather than quit the grid, with the […]
US grid-scale energy storage developer to setup base in Australia
A US grid-scale energy storage developer is looking to set up a collaborative research base in Australia, and possibly a manufacturing hub, as it begins to test its liquid metal […]
Are you a home battery storage early adopter?
The age of grid-connected home battery storage is upon us. While battery price points aren’t yet low enough for us to start seeing mass uptake, they are low enough to […]
LG Chem’s range of battery storage banks in Australia
LG Chem is one of the clear leaders in Australia’s burgeoning home battery storage market. The company’s RESU lithium battery made a big splash when it was introduced last year […]
