There is a growing trend in the Recreational Vehicle (RV) market (ie caravans, motorhomes, campervans & camper trailers) to replace the traditional lead-acid batteries with new lithium batteries (Lithium Ion Phosphate - LiFePO4). There are several reasons for this: Weight Reduction - with the relevant state police forces cracking down on overweight camper trailers, many owners are now looking to strip out weight from their RV vehicles so they are within the legal weight limits by replacing their lead-acid batteries with LiFePO4 lithium RV batteries which are about 25% of the weight and volume of traditional lead-acid batteries, and about 70% of the weight of AGM batteries. This means that by swapping out lead-acid for lithium batteries, the battery capacity can be greatly increased while reducing (or at most equaling) the current volumetric space. These days with ever increasing number of electronic devices installed in modern RVs, this increase in battery capacity is very much needed. High Efficiency - LiFePO4 lithium batteries are generally >95% efficient whereas lead-acid or AGM batteries range between 80% to 85% efficiency. Depth of Discharge (DOD) - LiFePO4 lithium batteries are typically discharged to 80% - 90% on a daily basis and up to 100% in a backup situation without causing any damage, however lead-acid batteries can only be [...]

Company directors, George Drougas and Nestor Diaz founded Solar Energy Warehouse in November 2019, after 12 months of in-depth research and planning. They both came from a telecommunications infrastructure deployment background and have worked in the Australian Telecommunications industry for a combined period of over 50 years.  Solar Energy Warehouse has an extensive network of connections with most telecommunications carriers in Australia i.e. Telstra, Optus, Vodafone, TPG and NBN, plus numerous vendor companies such as Nokia, Visionstream, Silcar, Kordia, Huawei and Service Stream, to name a few. More specifically, George and Nestor have both been involved in the deployment of mobile phone networks nationwide and for all major Australian telecommunication carriers.  They have in-depth knowledge of property, design and construction of mobile network site programmes. With this background, they believe there is an opportunity to introduce alternate battery technologies to provide power backup systems within their networks, which rely mostly on traditional lead-acid batteries.  All Telecommunication companies in Australia are now trialling alternate battery technologies with a view to move to implement this change quickly. The feedback we’ve received from our contacts in the telecommunications industry is that the typical lifespan of lead-acid batteries in their networks is around 7 years, however many batteries have been failing within 3 years.   The three main advantages [...]

After a delayed start, the NSW Government finally announced on the 28th of Feb 2020 the Empowering Homes program, which was the result of a commitment that the Berejiklian Government made in the run up to the NSW State election in March 2019. It was announced in June 2019 that the first systems would be installed during the 2019/2020 summer under the scheme, however delays have resulted in the scheme being announced in late Feb 2020 as a pilot program to homeowners in the Hunter region in NSW, which will be run for 12 months before being extended across the rest of the state to include 300,000 homes. The scheme involves interest-free loans of up to $9,000 for a battery system or up to $14,000 for a solar and battery system to households with a combined income of up to $180,000. The pilot program is open to homeowners living in the eligible postcodes in the areas for Cessnock, Dungog, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Mid-Coast, Muswellbrook, Port Stephens, Singleton, and Upper Hunter. Homeowners can check the Energy Saver website to determine if their postcode is eligible as well as application details at the link: https://energysaver.nsw.gov.au/households/solar-and-battery-power/solar-battery-loan-offer

On 7th March 2020, Victoria’s Minister for Solar Homes, Lily D’Ambrosio, announced that the solar battery rebate has been expanded to include 247 eligible postcodes. The rebate is aimed at providing eligible households which already have solar systems of 5kW or more with a rebate of up to $4,838 towards installing battery storage at their homes. Over 70% of the additional new 143 postcodes are in regional centres such as Bendigo, Shepparton, Wangaratta, Yarrawonga, Mildura, Port Fairy, Traralgon, Sale, and Bairnsdale, which cover approx. half of the homes that have existing solar systems of 5kW or greater.  The additional postcodes were selected in consultation with power distribution network service providers to target growth areas with large numbers of solar powered homes. Solar Victoria has also stated that they will look to expand the battery rebate program to controlled batteries, microgrids and VPPs from July 2020.

Changes announced in January 2020 by the SA government to their Home Battery Scheme, means that the scheme will now be open to new home buyers and new builds. Previously, the Home Battery Scheme required the batteries to be installed within a 6-month window, which did not allow enough time to build a new home.  However, the window has now been extended to 12 months, meaning that developers can now receive the Home Battery Scheme subsidy for the installation of batteries. They can then offer the solar and battery systems to new home buyers at no additional cost. One of Australia’s leading residential building industry suppliers, Stoddard Group, is keen to take advantage of the Home Battery Scheme and expects to install 2000 solar plus battery systems in South Australia in 2020, and more than 10,000 over the next four years, with the aim of forming one of the largest virtual power plants (VPPs) in the world.

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has launched a new Green Home Loan program. This Green Home Loan is for borrowers who build or buy a home that has a minimum 7-star NatHERS energy rating. This is the first home loan to use home energy efficiency rating as a criteria for eligibility. Bank Australia is the first Australian bank to offer the scheme funded by the CEFC, which offers 0.4 per cent discount to their home loan rate, and is applicable for 5 years. This means that a home loan for a median priced house in Sydney of $1M, would equate to a saving of $4,000 per annum (equating to $20K over 5 years).  In addition, the borrower’s house would be valued 10 per cent higher, because it is a seven-star rated home. Bank Australia will later extend the benefits of the loan to existing homes to finance green home improvements, with solar plus batteries being expected to be the major contributor to achieving a seven-star rating. There is an increased focus from home buyers on energy efficiency and sustainability features in their homes. Green home loans will help create new demand for lower emissions housing. Along with lower ongoing energy costs for home owners, home builders will need to meet the market expectation [...]