The NSW Government is helping householders buy in to solar battery storage systems with a new guide.
The NSW Home Solar Battery Guide, published this month, aims to help households buy the right battery system.
The guide covers topics like ‘Understanding your energy use’, ‘Your home power station’, and ‘Will a battery save me money?’.
The guide also contains practical information on how a solar battery storage system works.
“Solar powered homes can meet most of their energy needs when the sun is shining,” it states. “Any excess solar energy can be exported to the grid and shortfalls are met by importing grid electricity.
“When you add a battery, the solar energy that is not used at home during the day is used to charge the battery. The energy in the battery can then be used at night or early in the morning when you need it.”
Choosing a battery for your solar system
A solar battery system should suit a home’s energy usage, the size of the rooftop solar system and electricity use.
To get an idea of size and use, the guide provides practical examples. One of these is the example of ‘Scott’:
“Scott lives two hours outside the city and power outages happen sometimes when there is a storm. After installing solar panels a few years ago Scott found out that they don’t work during a power outage.
“By talking to a local solar and battery installer he learned that not all battery systems are designed to provide backup. While it was a bit more complicated than he thought it would be, he thinks that achieving up to 24 hours of backup will be sufficient and his business will cover some of the costs.”
NSW is switching on to solar power: Energy Minister
In his introduction to the guide, Energy Minister Don Harwin says rooftop solar panels are “more affordable than ever”.
“More than 350,000 of our households are already harnessing the power of the sun,” he says.
“Battery storage gives people the power to bank their solar supply and be able to use it any time – day or night. This means that those 350,000 households are now considering whether storage works for them.”
In addition, the guide contains links to solar industry stakeholders, a FAQ, and a glossary explaining solar energy terms.
Calculate your solar battery storage needs here.
