Bosch is a German multinational engineering and technology company that was founded in 1886. The company is one of the largest automotive suppliers and also provides a wide range of […]
Tag: batteries
The ACT’s solar battery storage incentive program
The ACT government’s Next Generation Energy Storage (Next Gen) program, initially launched in 2016, is one of the most ambitious battery storage incentive schemes in Australia, aiming to subsidise the […]
What size battery do I need?: A quick guide
What size solar panel array do you need for your home? And if you’re considering battery storage, what size battery bank would be most appropriate? This article includes tables that […]
Solar Calculators Library
Over the years, Solar Choice has developed a range of interactive solar and battery storage-related calculator tools. We have published this for our customers to use for free which fits […]
How is Solar Energy used? Self-consumption explained
When it comes to solar power in Australia, lots of things have changed in the last few years. If you’re currently shopping around for a solar system, perhaps the most important thing […]
Solar Analytics Monitoring – A complete review
[This article was originally published in May 2018] I’ve had Solar Analytics installed on my home now for about 3 months. Since that time I’ve referred to and shared screenshots […]
Home storage to be taken over by EV’s?
Electric vehicles will become a key asset for the Australia’s energy market operator to manage the grid, and could even make home batteries redundant in the long-term, an industry insider […]
Off grid power systems: can you go off the grid with a 10kW solar system plus battery storage?
We previously wrote an article about the feasibility of an Australian home going off-grid with a 3kW solar system – quite a small system size for such an ambitious endeavour. […]
Is home solar battery storage worth it? (updated 2019)
This article has since been updated for 2019. Click here to see the updated version. Since 2015 Australians have been talking about home battery storage being on the cusp of […]
Backup power with home solar battery storage: What are your options?
Home battery storage is becoming increasingly popular in Australia, and one of the most in-demand features is backup power, which provides electricity to a home even when the grid is […]
Why doesn’t my electricity retailer give me a 25c solar feed-in tariff?
Why don’t retailers offer higher solar feed-in rates? Does it matter if feed-in tariff rates are low? What are some of the alternative approaches to conventional feed-in tariffs that are beginning […]
9 things you should know if you’re considering home battery-storage
For several years now, home solar battery storage has been a hot topic in Australia, and 2019 looks set to be the best year yet for batteries. If you’re actively […]
Expanding an existing solar system with more panels and/or batteries? Know your options
There are nearly 2 million Australian households with solar panels installed on their roofs. Many of these households would like to add more solar and/or batteries to their systems, but […]
Time of use vs flat rate electricity tariffs with solar & batteries
If you’re connected to the grid and own your home, you pay for electricity. In most places, in Australia, there are basically two types of tariffs: Flat rate tariffs (aka ‘peak […]
Kilowatts vs kilowatt-hours in solar power & battery storage: Power, energy or capacity?
If you’re shopping around for solar panels or a battery storage for your home, you’re undoubtedly come across the terms ‘kilowatt’ (abbreviated as kW) and kilowatt-hour (kWh). These terms might […]
SwitchDin paves the way for virtual power plants & microgrids
SwitchDin is a Newcastle-based energy technology startup aiming to crack open the enormous potential of distributed energy resources (like small-scale solar and battery storage) in Australia’s energy future. The company […]
Solar Choice’s Solar & Battery Price Indexes are going quarterly!
In light of the fact that solar & battery system prices have stabilised in recent times, Solar Choice has made the decision to begin publishing our Price Indexes quarterly as […]
Reposit First energy monitoring system reviewed
Since February of this year I’ve had Reposit Power’s Reposit First monitoring system installed at my Newcastle home. The goal has always been to write a review of how the […]
Customer dissatisfaction with electricity retailers driving uptake of solar, batteries
Australian consumers are even less satisfied with energy retailers than they are with banks and insurers, and are increasingly choosing to take matters into their own hands – a consumer […]
An improvement to our Solar & Battery Storage Calculator
Our Solar & Battery Storage Payback Estimator is one of the most widely-accessed resources on the Solar Choice website, with thousands of visitors per month. We take pride in the […]
Considering battery storage? Do these 5 things first
In April last year, we got 7.8kW of solar with a SolarEdge inverter, including consumption monitoring. In November, we got a 9.3kWh LG Chem battery. From this experience, we have […]
The role of flow batteries in the future renewable energy grid [VIDEO]
One of the most impressive presentations from the 2018 Australian Energy Storage Conference was the keynote speech on the second day by Redflow ‘technology evangelist’ (and former chief) Simon Hackett. […]
Sungrow Battery: An Independent Review by Solar Choice
Inverter manufacturer Sungrow has recently introduced its PowCube battery storage system into the Australian market. The PowCube system consists of a Sungrow SH5K Hybrid inverter and up to 3x SPB4K8 […]
NSW solar feed-in tariff rates to drop from 1 July 2018: What does it all mean?
NSW’s regulator IPART has released its draft report for its recommendations for the state’s benchmark solar feed-in tariff range, to come into effect from 1 July 2018. The recommended ‘flat’ […]
AC vs DC battery storage explained
As interest in solar battery storage grows, so does the number of people with questions about their many options. At some point, energy storage system shoppers may find themselves having […]
Over 20,000 battery storage systems installed in Aus in 2017: SunWiz
After an extended period of research, SunWiz has released its much-anticipated Australian Battery Market Report for 2018. As Australia’s leading provider of solar market research, SunWiz’s position of a trusted independent […]
Our presentation to Ku-ring-gai Council
On Wednesday 14 March, James gave a presentation to about 60 residents of Ku-ring-gai Council in Sydney. Anyone who is interested can view the slides from the presentation here. Ku-ring-gai […]
Powershop to pay battery owners under new Grid Impact plan. What’s the go?
Electricity retailer Powershop and battery control technology developer Reposit Power have come together to offer a first-of-kind product to battery storage system owners in Australia. Anyone with a (Reposit-equipped) battery […]
Expanding an existing solar system with more panels and/or batteries? Know your options
There are nearly 2 million Australian households with solar panels installed on their roofs. Many of these households would like to add more solar and/or batteries to their systems, but […]
Battery Storage Price Index – February 2018
This month we’ve changed up the style of the graphs that we use for our ‘Are We There Yet?’ Meter, and altered them to focus only on the ‘low’ end […]
Battery storage: Are Australian households about to charge into market?
The combination of economics, a crucial state political battle, a move to local manufacturing, and soaring grid prices, could finally deliver Australia’s much forecast boom in residential battery storage. According […]
