💡 What You Need to Know
- Australian solar households are estimated to use only about half of the electricity they generate, exporting the remainder to the grid.
- Falling feed-in tariffs mean households can receive very little for exported solar, then pay much higher rates for grid electricity during peak evening hours.
- A solar battery stores surplus daytime energy for use after sunset, increasing self-consumption and improving the return on a solar system.
- Battery storage may be most valuable for homes with high daytime exports, heavy evening electricity use, large solar systems or persistently high power bills.
- A battery can also reduce reliance on the grid, help protect against rising energy costs and, when configured for blackout protection, provide power during outages.
You’ve already installed a solar setup. It’s offsetting your electricity bills by producing enough energy for daytime use. You’re also getting a neat credit for exporting excess power to the grid.
It sounds like the ideal solar setup.
But it’s not.
If you’re sending a large chunk of your power generation back to the grid, your setup isn’t reaching its full financial potential.
A solar battery changes that.
Hint: It’s to do with your evening power consumption.
What Happens to Excess Solar Energy?
Your solar setup produces maximum energy in the afternoon, between 11 AM and 3 PM when the solar noon is at its peak.
However, the typical household’s power consumption during these hours is minimal, as many households are unoccupied during this period. As a result, the panels only power appliances like the refrigerator, pool pumps, or washing machines.
Due to the weak power demand and the absence of a storage device like a solar battery, the surplus energy is exported to the grid.
You get credits for all the exported energy, which can be used to offset your electricity bills. However, feed-in tariff rates have plummeted over the years. In fact, the Victoria government removed the requirement for minimum feed-in tariff too, enabling retailers to buy solar power for as low as $0.00.
How Much Solar Power is Typically Wasted?
Australian households with solar are estimated to consume only about 50% of their electricity production, with the rest being exported back to the grid.
Factors like your solar system size, household occupancy during peak generation hours, and usage patterns determine how much power is wasted.
In short, without a solar battery, you consume only a fraction of the energy your solar setup produces.
It’s this gap in self-consumption that creates an opportunity for storage and improved ROI.
Why Self-Consumption Matters More Than Feed-In Tariffs
For every kWh of exported energy, you get energy credits in the form of feed-in tariffs. This contributes to your savings by cutting electricity bills.
But when you export this excess generation, you’re unable to use it during the evening hours, when consumption tends to peak.
After sunset, your energy use rises as most members are in the house. You’ll have lighting and air conditioning switched on along with other heavy-duty appliances like the dishwasher and microwave.
During these peak hours, you have to purchase expensive electricity from the grid. On average, you pay about 2-3 times the rate for every unit of electricity during these hours as compared to off-peak hours.
Feed-in tariffs are even lower. In fact, solar feed-in tariff rates in Victoria have dropped from 12¢/kWh in 2019-20 to near-zero. This number is minuscule compared to 36¢/kWh peak grid pricing .
In short, you’re selling your excess power for a significantly lower amount and buying power at much higher prices.
But with a solar battery, you can change that.
Use the excess power to charge your solar battery during peak power generation. This energy can then be used when the peak tariffs start in the evening, and solar generation stops.
A right-size solar battery enables you to use nearly all the energy produced by the solar system. This increased self-consumption increases your ROI and provides more predictable long-term energy savings compared to exporting excess energy.
Which Homes Benefit Most from Battery Storage?
Just because a solar battery helps you save on peak tariffs doesn’t automatically make it worth the investment. Buying a solar battery is costly, so it’s necessary to analyse your energy use patterns and calculate the return on investment before choosing to go ahead.
Typically, households with high daytime energy exports could see the greatest improvement in their solar ROI by investing in a solar battery and increasing self-consumption.
Likewise, if you tend to reserve heavy energy use for evening hours, you can benefit from using the power stored in your solar battery.
Apart from the energy use patterns, your solar setup matters too. If you’ve got a large solar system, it’ll generate more surplus energy that would get exported. By storing that energy in a battery, you can power your household through the night.
In a nutshell, if you’re continuing to see high electricity bills even after installing a solar system, it would make sense to revisit your energy use pattern and assess whether adding a battery into the mix will help.
The investment becomes even more attractive with the current solar battery incentives offered by the Australian government.
Beyond Savings: Other Benefits of Increasing Self-Consumption
Your energy savings improve significantly when you use most of the power generated by your solar setup.
But the advantages of self-consumption go beyond monetary gains.
When you invest in a solar battery, you also unlock some other benefits:
Energy Independence
By producing energy using a solar setup and consuming it all yourself, you essentially create a self-sustaining energy loop. When implemented correctly, you will need to buy little to no energy from the grid.
This insulates you from grid-related fluctuations. For instance, power outages increased in 2024. If you live in an area prone to blackouts, self-consumption can help you avoid them, as some batteries will power your household during a power outage (provided you’ve installed it for blackout protection).
Future Proofing Against Rising Energy Costs
Australia’s energy costs are rising every year. So, while your ROI calculations may take current energy prices into account, it’s important to recognise that buying electricity from the grid will only become costlier.
By increasing self-consumption, you essentially lock in your energy costs. The one-time investment keeps powering your house for over a decade.
Make More Use of the Energy You’re Already Producing
You might already be seeing some reduction in your energy bills with your solar setup. But if you are still exporting the bulk of your solar power to the grid, investing in a solar battery could increase your savings and solar ROI.
It maximises the value of the energy your panels produce and makes you more energy independent.
With the current solar battery rebates, the battery costs come down significantly, making the transition even more lucrative.
But the move isn’t for everyone.
At Think Renewable, we can analyse your unique energy requirements and recommend whether you can benefit from the addition of a solar battery.
Speak with our team now for an honest consultation.
PS: The rebates are scheduled to be reduced on January 1, 2027. So, make the transition soon to take advantage of the lower battery costs.
