Is new battery energy storage right for you?

The surge in rooftop solar systems is about to extend to energy storage systems as Australians come to grip with rises in energy prices which increased by 61 percent between 2008 and 2014 despite a 7 percent fall in consumption (Australian Bureau of Statistics). 

Around one in seven homes in Australia have a solar photovoltaic system installed and many are now considering newly-released battery back-up storage systems to extend their home-grown energy usage after the sun stops shining.  South Australia and Queensland lead the nation with 25% and 24% of homes respectively having a rooftop solar system with southern states like Victoria (11%) and Tasmania (10%) recording significant penetration when compared with other nations.

However, installing solar systems caused grief for many with over-engineered systems being pushed to households, unreliable installer arrangements and products that were second-rate in terms of performance and reliability.

Now that residential energy users have the opportunity to store the energy they generate but don’t consume during daylight hours, Australian company 360Energy is urging people to first determine if a battery back-up storage system is right for them and if so, which one and of what size.

Michael Anthony, 360Energy CEO says, “While we would be delighted to install as many systems as we could, we must satisfy ourselves that what we are recommending is viable for the customer.  That means the size of the system, the storage system recommended and there being transparency about the payback period.

“To help make a wise decision about energy storage, 360Energy has developed software that takes potential customers through a process to allow them to understand and appreciate precisely what installing an energy storage system means for them, including financial considerations.

“Few people will be able to justify becoming self-sufficient in electricity to allow them to disconnect from the grid; our monitoring software helps customers understand how to utilise the 360Energy system to use energy in the most efficient way, even prior to purchasing your system.

“The goal is for our customers to achieve 80-90% energy savings from their own power station with the cheapest possible capital outlay.

“When financial incentives to embrace solar were offered, many adopters were provided with inappropriate systems in terms of efficiency or functionality, which means many systems today are not performing or underperforming.

“While we have recently been appointed as an Authorised Reseller of the Tesla Powerwall, our company has been in servicing the storage market for the last 2½ years, and last year achieved 65 percent market share through our 360Storage dealer network, Mr Anthony says.

Regardless of whether or not energy storage makes financial sense for a customer, the next step in establishing a customer relationship will be home automation where appliances and services can be activated remotely from a mobile phone.  The oven can be pre-heating, air conditioning cooling the home or the swimming pool cleaner activated; 360Energy’s systems are all ready for our customers to upgrade to such innovations.

About 360 Energy

360Energy provides products and services to our customer that empowers their ability to deliver energy independence, save money and improve the quality of life to transform customers’ energy experience.