1/5/2024 0 Comments Are solar batteries worth it![]() ![]() In addition to the financial benefits a lot of people are buying batteries to become more sustainable and also to be more independent from the grid. When this happens, you get paid for this energy. In simple terms, a VPP is a community of battery owners who band together and give permission for a very small amount of their battery to be used to help the grid during peak times. Lastly, Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) give you the opportunity to get paid for having a battery. The power bill above shows peak demand charges, which are becoming standards for homes. This trend is set to continue and there is even talk of customers being charged for energy being sold back at times where the grid struggles to accept exported solar power. This means the energy you are selling back during the day is worth less, so storing in a battery and then using later, is becoming more valuable. Back in 2013, you could get up to $0.60 with some retailers in certain areas. In addition to TOU tariffs making batteries more appealing, feed in tariffs (FITs) are also decreasing, meaning the money you get paid for selling energy back to the grid is becoming less valuable.Īt the time of writing, the average feed in rate in Australia is $0.074 per kWh sold. The array from this chart was facing about 30 degrees off North to the East. You can see how the energy start to drop off around 2pm and by 4pm it is only producing about 50% of the max output. The chart above shows a typical solar production. ![]() With some batteries, you can set the discharge time, so it only discharges during peak times when you are being charged more. This is where a solar battery will start saving you a lot more money because you can store energy from your solar panels during the day and then use it during peak times. Solar PV without a battery is usually starting to drop off at 4pm and by 5pm, depending on the orientation of your solar array, you might not be getting much energy from your panels. These times vary a little bit from one area to another but usually 4pm – 9pm, or thereabouts. ![]() In a nutshell, what this means is you either are already, or you will soon start to get charged a lot more for electricity during peak times. It is this peak demand that is presenting a major challenge for the grid.īecause of this peak demand and the costs associated with supplying at these times, energy retailers are starting to introduce more Time Of Use (TOU) tariffs which can include peak demand penalties. When everyone starts coming home from work and turning on electrical appliances, the grid demand increases significantly. This is great for home and business owners who are saving lots of money from selling energy back to the grid, but it presents major issues at the same time. The chart above shows the solar duck curve which is causing issues for electricity supply. This is commonly known as a duck curve because the energy exported back to the grid starts dipping down from sunrise, curves upwards and peaks between 10am – 2pm and then curves back down through to sunset.Ĭhart showing duck curve caused by solar panels. With all these solar panels installed and producing energy from sunrise to sunset, often when people are not at home, there is a lot of energy being pumped back into the grid. This means Australia has the highest rooftop penetration for solar PV per capita globally. Solar panel installations have boomed in Australia since 2010 and we now have over 3 million homes with solar panels on the roof. ![]()
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