A battery stores solar power you generate but do not use straight away, so you can use it later — in the evening, overnight, or during a blackout. It sits alongside your existing or new solar system. It does not replace solar panels. This page covers grid-connect battery storage. For a property with no grid connection at all, see our off-grid solar guide instead — different sizing, different pricing.
Why a battery makes sense
Current feed-in tariffs sit around 5c/kWh in NSW and 6c/kWh in the ACT. Retail tariffs sit around 34c/kWh in NSW and 37c/kWh in the ACT. Every kWh you store and use yourself is worth several times more than the same kWh exported to the grid. A battery captures that gap. It also gives you backup power during an outage, which matters more on rural and South Coast properties with less reliable grid supply.
Sizing a battery correctly
We size batteries against your real usage pattern, not a fixed number. We offer 5kWh, 10kWh, 13.5kWh and 20kWh options. A smaller battery suits a household that uses most of its power during the day. A larger battery suits a household with high evening or overnight usage. Guessing the wrong size wastes money either way — too small, and you still draw from the grid at peak rates; too large, and you paid for capacity you rarely use. We model your actual bill and usage pattern before recommending a size.
Real pricing
Our battery pricing is fitted from our own completed jobs: $429 per kWh of battery capacity, on top of the solar system itself at $824/kW. See our battery storage payback guide for worked examples using these real numbers, or run your own property through our savings calculator.
Adding a battery to an existing system
You do not need to have installed your solar through us to add a battery. We assess your existing inverter first — some inverters support a battery retrofit directly, others need a separate battery inverter alongside them. This assessment is part of your free quote, not a separate cost.
Battery storage for businesses
Commercial battery storage follows the same logic at a larger scale: capturing self-consumption value, and adding backup power for operations that cannot tolerate an outage. Businesses with demand charges on their electricity bill — a separate charge based on peak power draw, not just total energy used — can also use a battery to reduce that peak draw, which residential customers do not need to worry about. We size commercial batteries against your actual load profile, not a rule of thumb.
Battery chemistry and depth of discharge
Not all batteries are cycled the same way. A grid-connect battery mostly tops up daily bill savings, cycling gently. An off-grid battery gets cycled harder and needs to tolerate deeper, more frequent discharges — this affects both the usable capacity you are actually paying for and the expected service life. When comparing quotes, check the depth of discharge rating, not just the headline capacity number, since two batteries with the same kWh rating can deliver very different real-world usable storage.
Charge controllers and inverter integration
The charge controller is what actually protects the battery from over- or under-charging. It is a smaller line item than the battery or panels themselves, but a poor one shortens the life of the expensive parts of the system. On a grid-connect battery, this is usually built into the hybrid inverter rather than a separate component — we confirm exactly what is included before you compare quotes on price alone.
Common battery questions
How long do batteries last? Warranty terms vary by product, and are usually capacity-based — guaranteeing a minimum usable capacity remains after a set number of charge cycles or years, since battery capacity naturally degrades with use. We walk you through the specific warranty for your product before you commit.
Can a battery power my whole house during a blackout? It depends on the battery size and your inverter's backup capability, not just capacity — some setups back up the whole property, others back up a limited circuit selection. We confirm this specifically as part of your quote, rather than assuming.
Is a battery worth it if I am on a low usage plan? Not always. The payback period depends heavily on your usage timing and tariff. We would rather tell you honestly if a battery does not make financial sense for your situation than sell you one anyway.
Want a real number for your property?
We model battery sizing and payback against your actual usage, not a generic estimate.
